For a team who spent the last five games cleaning up small mistakes and winning with solid defense, No. 21 Indiana men’s basketball underwhelmed against Maryland on Tuesday.
Indiana’s effort was lacking on both sides of the ball, and the same small mistakes that were absent in its victories were present Tuesday as the Hoosiers fell 66-55.
“We didn’t execute, and we didn’t make shots,” head coach Mike Woodson said after the game. “That’s a bad combination.”
Maryland allowed Indiana to hang around in the game, shooting just 34% from the field, but the Hoosiers couldn’t make enough shots to pull themselves back. Indiana shot slightly better at 38% from the field but shot 32% in the second half and made just one of six 3-point attempts down the stretch.
The Terrapins had plenty of open looks from beyond the arc which they couldn’t capitalize on, shooting 5-for-22 from deep.
“We put so much pressure on our defense to get stops,” Woodson said. “They shoot 23% from three, you gotta think that you can win a game when that happens... We couldn't find any offense.”
More importantly, Maryland took advantage of Indiana’s fouling woes. The Hoosiers, who entered Tuesday night having allowed the most free throws in the Big Ten, were whistled for 20 fouls, eight more than the Terrapins.
Maryland, in response, made 25 of 29 attempts from the charity stripe. Indiana was 10-for-12 from the line, a 15-point swing in an 11-point game.
“This team shoots a lot of free throws here at home, and it was obvious again tonight,” Woodson said. “And you look at the stat sheet, I see 29 to 12. Come on man. It's two physical teams. It can't be that lopsided.”
At halftime, Indiana looked lost on the court. Maryland pressed and used a zone defense to shut down senior forward Trayce Jackson-Davis, who finished the day with 18 points and 20 rebounds. The 20-board effort was both the third of his career and this month, and he grabbed his 1,000th career rebound in the first half.
The Hoosiers couldn’t buy a bucket, finishing the half making just one of their last seven shots.
Indiana turned the ball over seven times in the first half and Maryland was able to capitalize to the tune of 8 points without turning the ball over once itself.
Despite it all, Indiana worked the lead down to 2 points early in the second half. Freshman guard Jalen Hood-Schifino carried the ball up the court looking at a chance to tie the game before his defender forced him to pick up his dribble.
His pass attempt to sophomore guard Tamar Bates was lackluster, and Maryland picked it off, leading to a flagrant foul on Bates. Maryland made both free throws and a layup on the ensuing possession, a four-point swing that took Indiana out of the game.
Hood-Schifino had the worst statistical night of his career, shooting 1-for-14 from the field for 3 points and turning the ball over four times. He added five rebounds and four assists, but his torrent of misses weighed down an Indiana team that needed makes late. He made just one of his 10 second-half attempts.
Woodson said his message for Hood-Schifino is that nights like he had happen, and now he has to move forward.
“You ain’t gonna make shots all the time,” Woodson said. “Some of the shots, he was pressing a little bit to try to keep us in it, but he’ll bounce back.”
[Related: ‘Not your typical freshman’: Jalen Hood-Schifino is developing into Indiana’s next star]
While Hood-Schifino has done an admirable job as a freshman leading Indiana without senior guard Xavier Johnson, the latter’s presence was notably absent Tuesday. With junior guard Trey Galloway in foul trouble, Indiana didn’t have another guard to look to for shot making.
“Our perimeter play was nonexistent tonight,” Woodson said. “We haven’t had that in a while.”
The Hoosiers will try to clean up the mistakes that plagued them Tuesday before their next game. Indiana will battle its in-state rival at 4 p.m. Saturday in Assembly Hall, facing No. 1 Purdue.
