The University of Maryland Terrapins fell to another 84-66 defeat facing the Indiana Hoosiers, and have now succumbed to an 0-4 record in conference play. With transitioning an almost entire new roster into this season and welcoming new head coach Buzz Williams into the program, the Terps are looking for ways to get a consistent footing in the Big Ten.
Maryland went 41% from the field goal, improving their 28% from last game after competing against the Oregon Ducks, but still could not contend against the Hoosiers commanding offense.
The Terps came out with strong momentum to start the first half, gaining a five point lead, but let the Hoosiers take frequent trips to the free throw line giving them more of an offensive advantage. Indiana quickly fought back deeper into the quarter, taking the lead and went into halftime five points up from Maryland.
Head coach Williams shared what mistakes he saw on the court: “I think the thing that hurt us the most was before the shot, we did good in many respects. We didn’t do good when they missed it. We gave up way too many offensive rebounds and we fouled too much,” he said.
When both teams came out for the second, it was clear that the Hoosiers entered the court with fire inside of them, specifically Lamar Wilkerson. “We had a big emphasis on stopping their best shooters coming into tonight’s game,” said senior Elijah Saunders. “I feel like in the first half we were able to do that and in the second half some of their guys who they rely on heavily got hot”. Maryland did everything they could to control Indiana from beyond the arc, but Wilkerson exploded in the paint. The senior went 3-of-5 from deep in the second and scored 18 of his 24 points in the half as well.
This was the first game transfer Myles Rice faced his former team, but he couldn’t get going offensively, scoring only two points. The Terps struggled from behind the arc but had a more dominant game in the paint, scoring 32 points compared to last week’s 12. Now Maryland is left still searching for their first Big Ten win as they head into more games against tough contenders.
The Terps will be headed out to California on January 10th where they’ll be facing the No.11 UCLA Bruins. See the full recap from Kelsi Jones.