Maryland Terrapins 80, Indiana Hoosiers 68: Terps dominate final 10 minutes.

by John M (The Crimson Quarry) on Dec 2, 2009 8:30 AM EST Comment 4 comments

Darron Cummings - AP

Indiana and Maryland were tied at 54 with 8:54 remaining, but the Terrapins exploded for 26 points in the final nine minutes to put away the Hoosiers. As the articles in the headlines post make clear, Tom Crean was quite dissatisfied with the Hoosiers' defense, and it seemed that Maryland made a layup or a five foot jumper on every possession of those final ten minutes. Maryland scored 38 of its 80 points in the paint and shot 56 percent from the field in the second half. In what was roughly a 77 possession game, there certainly were areas of improvement: IU's 16 turnovers were lower than usual in number and in percentage (about 20%), and Maryland committed 18 turnovers. IU dominated the offensive boards, with 20 ORs in approximately 50 opportunities, and rebounded reasonably well at Maryland's end. Still, as Tom Crean noted, the defensive effort near the end of the game was poor, and most significantly, that lack of effort resulted in IU's two main offensive threats, Christian Watford and Maurice Creek, sitting on the bench in crucial stretches.

Individuals:

Watford scored 16 points on 5-10 shooting, but he committed 5 turnovers...again, and obviously the coach was upset with his defense.
Creek led IU with 19 points on 6-14 from the field and 4-4 from the line.
Verdell Jones had 10 rebounds, but scored only 6 points on 3-15 from the field.
Jeremiah Rivers had a great reverse layup and a resulting scary fall to the floor, but didn't do much otherwise.
In unexpected relief for Rivers, Jordan Hulls didn't do much as a scorer, but he did play 23 minutes without a turnover.
Derek Elston, who has played so well off the bench, managed 10 rebounds in 20 minutes but shot only 2-10 from the field.

I'm not sure what to make of this. Sadly, it was one of IU's more competitive games against a major conference opponent in the last two seasons. On the other hand, it was a home game against a solid but not overwhelming team, the sort of game that IU fans had hoped IU might be able to win this season. This team will win more than six games, but it's becoming increasingly unlikely that IU will be able to approach .500. I hope I'm wrong, and this team has enough talent to improve (do I say this after every game). Now, the Hoosiers have a week to get ready for a game against Pitt at Madison Square Garden.

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I appreciated Crean's response

I have gotten used to the Mike Davis-style, “cut-us-a-break-we’re-young” response after a game like this. I saw things that I liked yesterday, and I thought that the defensive intensity for the first 32 minutes of the game or so was good (not great). I like it that Crean was not satisfied or making excuses. I like it that he lit into Watford and sat him for not fighting through a screen and giving up an easy bucket with about 5 to to, when it was still a winnable game. I want to see improvement. I expect to see improvement. Turnovers and rebounding improved yesterday. Let’s see the defense improve now.

by hoosierdaddynow on Dec 2, 2009 9:45 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

The end result was dissapointing, but there were some positives.

I thought Creek really stood out. He played with a lot of energy, and seemed to give good effort most of the time. Like most freshmen, he’s still learning the importance of giving max effort on the defensive end. He also showed a nice shooting touch with good range.

I was also impressed by Rivers’ effort and ability, especially after the injury. He is definately more athletic than I had thought. I think his leadership and ability to run the team will be the biggest factor in how many games IU wins this season. He needs to take the lead in helping the freshmen stay composed during the game. He could help the offense immensely If he can develop into a more consistent shooter from the outside. It didn’t seem that Maryland was at all concerned with him shooting from 15 feet out.

IU also showed an ability to play very good defense. However, like most things with this team, it was very inconsistent.

It’s hard to know what to expect from a team that is relying so heavily on freshmen and sophomores. However, they seem to be showing progress and, for the most part, they are giving good effort. Unfortunately, we can’t ask for much more than that at this stage in their development. I do have confidence, though, that they will be a much better team at the end of the season than they are at this point. I would expect Hulls and Elston in particular to show a lot of improvement throughout the season. Creek and Watford are already playing at a higher level than the other freshmen, but I would definately expect improvement there as well.

by acelion on Dec 2, 2009 10:46 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Good comment

I agree with you that the issue is not necessarily one of effort or even of doing certain things right (aside from convincing Dumes that he does not need to jack up 23-footers outside of the offensive flow). What we need is consistency in that effort, particularly on the defensive end. On the bright side, we’re getting 32 minutes of good basketball per game this year, which is up about 8 minutes from last year.

by hoosierdaddynow on Dec 2, 2009 11:04 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Wooo!

Finally, the Big Ten takes a challenge. I know I was a bit down after watching the end of the Maryland game (sure, sure- there’s positives and all that- but it sucked to watch the hoosiers just get taken out of the game when it counted), but the win over the ACC has assuaged that loss a bit. And from such unlikely sources- PSU and NU on the road, Illinois a big comeback, and Wisconsin finally pulled its own weight, taking down Duke (barely) at home.

Phew.

by Devin of CBC on Dec 3, 2009 12:07 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

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