Terps Travel to Indiana
Maryland is coming off a big win over Minnesota to get them back to 4-4 in Big Ten play. Tonight, the Terps will be tested away from home, taking on the Hoosiers. Last time Maryland played on the road, they took #23 Michigan all the way down to the wire. Maryland completed a late comback and lost on two free throws in the final seconds.
The Terps took down Minnesota at home, 77-66, and looked very good in the game. Kevin Huerter dropped 19 and Anthony Cowan Jr. added a double-double with 15 points and 10 assists. Michal Cekovsky tallied 17 and Darryl Morsell finished with 13 as well. Maryland will look to get Bruno Fernando back into his offensive groove as he has struggled in the past couple games. (Also was dealing with the flu).
Indiana sits at 11-8 and 4-3 in conference. Don’t let the record fool you however, we all know that Assembly Hall is one of the most difficult places to play in the nation. The rebuilding Hoosiers are coached by Archie Miller. Miller led the Dayton Flyers to an NCAA Tournament appearance for four years straight and is an elite coach just trying to find what works for his new team.
The Hoosiers are led by junior forward Juwan Morgan. Morgan is a workhorse who puts numbers up across the board. He leads Indiana with 14.8 ppg and 7.2 rpg. He’s a tough defender and has a lot of speed for a 6’8 big. Senior Robert Johnson is the only other player to average double-digit scoring per game with 14. Johnson has scored 20+ points in four games this year including 21 against Michigan State. With the injury to De’Ron Davis, senior Josh Newkirk has filled the role. Newkirk is posting 2.9 apg but looks to score more with the absence of Davis.
Indiana is a very talented offensive rebounding team. The Hooisers average 12 offensive boards per game, putting them in the top five in the Big Ten. Indiana is a god awful three point shooting team, which is where Maryland has been getting destroyed from lately. They rank 327th out of the 351 D1 teams in three point percentage. (.307).
Overall, this is a game Maryland should win. Even though it’s on the road, these are the types of games the Terrapins must win in order to boost their resume for March. Maryland has beaten Illinois, giving them their only solid road win this season. The Terps lost by two to Syracuse and by one to Michigan, which would’ve given Maryland two quality wins on the road and help them out a lot. There is no time to think about it though, as Maryland just needs to keep winning.
Terps and Hoosiers at Assembly Hall. Tip is for 7pm on FS1.
