What to Expect: Maryland at Indiana – Inside the Hall

Indiana will look to rebound from its second-half collapse against Northwestern when it hosts Maryland on Sunday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. The Terps are top 25 in KenPom and beat Illinois 91-70 Thursday night at the State Farm Center.

Sunday’s game will tip at noon ET on CBS:

After Wednesday’s 79-70 loss at Northwestern, Indiana is now 1-3 in its last four games and facing its most challenging stretch of the regular season.

The next seven games for the Hoosiers are against teams ranked in the top 30 of KenPom. Up first is Maryland, which recorded its first road win this season at Illinois on Thursday night. The Terps beat the Illini 91-70 behind 27 points from Julian Reese and 25 from Derik Queen.

MEET THE TERRAPINS

After a disappointing 2023-24 season that ended with a 16-17 record, Kevin Willard retooled the Maryland roster for his third season at the helm.

The Terps are pushing the pace – they play the 64th fastest pace in the country – and force a ton of turnovers with their pressure.

The headlining newcomer is freshman McDonald’s All-American Derik Queen.

The 6-foot-10, 246-pound product of Montverde Academy chose Maryland over Indiana and has been dominant in his first (and likely only) season in College Park. Queen averages a team-high 15.6 points and is second in rebounding at eight per game.

Queen shoots an efficient 61.4 percent on 2s and is an excellent free throw shooter at 76.3 percent. With soft hands and terrific footwork, Queen has a high motor and his mobility makes him one of the most versatile bigs in the country.

Senior Julian Reese joins Queen in the starting frontcourt. The 6-foot-9, 252-pound big man is third on the team in scoring (13.7 ppg) and first in rebounding (9.2 rpg). Reese ranks in the top five in the Big Ten in offensive and defensive rebounding percentage. Reese shoots 57 percent on 2s and 71.9 percent from the line.

Maryland starts a three-guard set with three newcomers – South Florida transfer Selton Miguel, Belmont transfer Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Virginia Tech transfer Rodney Rice.

The 6-foot-1 Gillespie is one of the top guards in the Big Ten. He balances scoring (14.4 ppg) and playmaking (4.5 apg). Gillespie leads the Terps with 38 steals and has connected on a team-high 47 3-pointers. He shoots 42.3 percent for the season on 3s and is 44.6 percent from deep in Big Ten games.

Rice, a Maryland native, sat out last season after struggling as a freshman at Virginia Tech back in the 2022-23 campaign. He’s one of five Terps averaging in double figures at 12.1 points per game and shoots 57 percent on 2s, an excellent percentage. Rice is second on the team with 37 made 3-pointers.

Miguel is a fifth-year senior from Angola who played two seasons at Kansas State and two seasons at South Florida before using his final year of eligibility with the Terps. He’s shooting nearly 40 percent on 3s and averages 11.3 points per game.

The Terps didn’t use their bench much in the win at Illinois, as all five starters played at least 31 minutes.

The primary backup names to know are forward Tafara Gapare and guards Deshawn Harris-Smith and Jay Young.

The 6-foot-9 Garape transferred from Georgia Tech, can stretch the floor and is an efficient finisher. He’s making 61 percent of his 2s and 37.9 percent of his 3s in 13.8 minutes per game.

Harris-Smith started last season for the Terps but is now a reserve who has slightly improved his game. The 6-foot-5 guard is finishing better than a season ago – 55 percent on 2s versus 46.7 percent as a freshman.

Young played his freshman season at UCF, his sophomore season at Memphis and is now a backup for the Terps in year three of his career. He’s shooting 42.9 percent on 3s in 13.3 minutes per game.

TEMPO-FREE PREVIEW

All national rankings in the graphic below are updated through Thursday’s games.

Maryland is an elite defensive team, ranking in the top 20 nationally in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency. Terrapin opponents turn the ball over on 21.9 percent of possessions, which ranks in the top 25 in the country. On average, Maryland forces 15.5 turnovers per game. That number stands out after Indiana turned it over 17 times in its loss at Welsh-Ryan Arena earlier in the week.

Maryland is also an excellent defensive-rebounding team. Its opponents grab just 25.9 percent of their missed shots, which ranks in the top 35 nationally. The Terps also defend well without fouling, as their opponents have mustered a free-throw rate (FTA/FGA) of 26.5 percent.

Offensively, Maryland is shooting 35.8 percent on 3s, 56 percent on 2s and 74.7 percent from the free throw line. Last season, those same numbers were 28.9/48.8/72, illustrating Willard’s roster upgrades in the offseason via high school recruiting and the portal.

Maryland also does an excellent job handling the ball. The Terps turn it over on 14.8 percent of their possessions, which ranks them in the top 30 nationally.

WHAT IT COMES DOWN TO

The KenPom projection is Maryland by four with a 36 percent chance of an IU victory. Bart Torvik likes the Terps by five with a 32 percent chance of a Hoosier win.

Maryland comes into Bloomington confident after dominating Illinois on its home court. The frontcourt duo of Queen and Reese is one of the best in the nation and the backcourt is much improved in year three of the Willard era.

Indiana’s last home game was ugly, as the Fighting Illini blew out the Hoosiers. Still, the Hoosiers have just one home loss and can remain in the NCAA tournament picture by winning home games. However, that task will become tough, as the next four games in Assembly Hall are against teams projected to make the 2025 NCAA tournament field.

With just 11 regular season games remaining, Indiana needs to start stacking wins to salvage a season that began with significant expectations that have not been met so far.

Filed to: Maryland Terrapins