IU men’s basketball team will compete in its second of five scheduled rematches Wednesday in College Park, Md.
Though the Hoosiers won the first contest, the Terrapins will be favored in this game.
The last time these teams met, IU had its best performance of the season — a 19-point dismantling of the nation’s No. 13 team. The Hoosiers shot an incredible 15-of-22 from deep, including junior guard Yogi Ferrell’s 7-of-8 shooting from ?3-point range.
Maryland failed to establish a presence inside against IU, which we saw was the recipe to defeat IU while junior forward Hanner Mosquera-Perea was sidelined.
Mosquera-Perea has since returned to the tune of a wary four minutes against Michigan on Sunday.
Don’t expect Mosquera-Perea’s minutes to increase drastically against Maryland. IU Coach Tom Crean will likely ease the forward back into the rotation over the next few games — and even then, there’s no guarantee he gets his starting spot back.
However, don’t expect the Hoosiers to win. Maryland and IU share at least one major similarity: they are different teams on their respective home courts.
Six of IU’s seven losses have come away from ?Assembly Hall, and the only home loss was a major upset by Eastern Washington. In games outside of Bloomington, the Hoosiers are just 3-6.
Maryland is in a similar boat. At home, the Terrapins are 14-1 this year. Their only home loss this season was to Virginia, kenpom.com’s No. 2 team.
But they’ve struggled on the road, especially recently. Maryland is 2-4 on the road in conference play, and they’ve lost their last three road contests by an average margin of 16.3 points.
Don’t expect IU to make 15 3-pointers in this one, either. Not that that number was a fluke, this Hoosier team is capable of hitting a lot of threes. But those games can’t be relied on or expected.
All statistics aside, this Maryland team is better ?than IU.
The reason IU looked so strong last time was because it couldn’t miss, and it will take a similar performance this time around to knock off the Terrapins.
On his weekly radio show, Crean said IU doesn’t have a response for Maryland senior forward Dez Wells. He was held in check during their first meeting.
Wells is so dynamic because he can do almost anything on the court. He can score 20 points, gather double-digit rebounds or distribute the ball from any position. If you put a guard on him, he can pound them down low. If you match him up with a forward, he can shoot over the top.
Watch Wells play Wednesday and you will see why Crean singled him out.
Of course, freshman guard Melo Trimble and junior forward Jake Layman are also threats to IU, but Wells will be the key guy in this game.
The Hoosiers have possibly the easiest end of their schedule in the Big Ten, so there’s no need to panic if IU loses this game. Maryland is a very good team, and they’re tough to beat ?at home.
My Prediction: Maryland 75, IU 64
Casey Krajewski is 12-2 in his predictions this season
crkrajew@indiana.edu
