Hoosiers Grab Road Victory at Maryland, Keep Up With Big Ten Leaders
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Mike Woodson has preached from the beginning that his list of goals at Indiana start with winning Big Ten titles. But there are a lot of other little goals that must be accomplished first to make that happen.
Things that haven't happened in a while at Indiana are happening now. The Hoosiers are starting to play well on the road, finally, and they are getting production from all over the floor. That's something new, too.
It was all on display Saturday when the Hoosiers beat Maryland comfortably at the Xfinity Center in College Park, grabbing a 68-55 victory for their second straight road win. The Hoosiers are 16-5 now, and 7-4 in the Big Ten, tied for the league lead in wins on Saturday afternoon.
Let that sink in for a minute. Tied for the league lead in wins.
Want another minute?
As Woodson requested, his Hoosiers are contenders.
"Yes, we're still a work in progress, but they're figuring it out. The defense got stingy, and they made a hell of a game out of it,'' Woodson said. "The strength of our ballclub is playing inside out, and those guys were really good tonight.''
It was the first time Indiana had ever won in College Park, failing in its first six trips here, and all four times since Maryland joined the Big Ten in 2014.
There was reason to be concerned early, but it didn't last long. Maryland scored the first eight points of the game in 2 minutes, but then the Hoosiers answered with a 13-0 run of their own.
They did it inside, especially in the first half, with Trayce Jackson-Davis and Race Thompson leading the way, Not only where they better than Maryland's big men, but they also played harder, too. Indiana pulled away with a 10-0 spurt to end the half, and never looked back, leading 33-26 at the break.
Maryland never got closer than seven points in the second half, and Indiana's lead got as large as 18.
Thompson led the way with 18 points and 12 rebounds, and Jackson-Davis had 17 points and nine rebounds. And their replacement off the bench, sophomore Jordan Geronimo, added six points and eight rebounds.
They were great, but this was a total team effort for sure. Forward Miller Kopp made sure the second half started well by hitting two consecutive three-pointers, and starting point Xavier Johnson, who grew 30 miles away from College Park in Woodbridge, Va., was terrific as well.
He made only 1-of-8 shots, and hit 5-of-6 free throws for eight points. But he had nine assists, tying a season high, and locked down defensively, keeping Maryland's guards at bay.
He got help on the defensive front from Trey Galloway as well, who subbed in early for Parker Stewart and shut down Maryland star Eric Ayala. Ayala and point guard Fatts Russell, who each hit made five three-pointers in a win over Rutgers on Tuesday and combined for 45 points, did nothing on Saturday.
Ayala, who came into the game averaging 16.3 points per game, had just six points on 2-for-12 shooting. Russell was just 3-for-12. Maryland shot just 28.6 percent as a team for the game.
"Trey's a guy who's going to try to blow things up. He's high energy,'' Thompson said. "You can't relax when you're on the road. They're comfortable here, so you've got to keep stepping on the gas and not have any let-up. We never let up.''
Woodson loved that everyone followed the game plan so well defensively. Outside of those first two minutes, Maryland struggled to score all day long.
"We set our defense mainly for those two (Ayala and Russell), and (Donta) Scott, and everybody who guarded Eric and Russell was locked in,'' Woodson said. "They didn't let them make plays off the bounce, and they handled the game plan very well.''
There was a lot of Johnson's shoulders with backup Rob Phinisee out indefinitely with a foot injury. Woodson hinted on Friday that he might play him 40 minutes if he had too, with third point guard Khristian Lander fighting though some tendinitis issues in his knee.
Lander hasn't played at all since Dec. 29, partly because of the knee and partly because Woodson's faith in him has wavered. He made his first appearance at the 10:05 mark of the first half, but picked up two quick fouls and was right back on bench just two-plus minutes later.
He got a longer run in the second half, and played well on the offensive end in nearly eight minutes. He had a nice feed inside to Jackson-Davis that led to a dunk, and then he hit an open three on the next possession as Indiana was pulling away.
His contributions were important — and much needed. Indiana needs to win on the road, and this one was big. And everyone made sure it happened.
"We went into Nebraska (on Jan. 17) and won the road, and that gave us confidence that we can win on the road. We can beat anybody when we play our defense, and we did that today.
"Xavier, he's been playing great and creating. He didn't score a lot, but he had nine assists, so that's helping us score a lot of points. We have a lot of confidence in him, the whole starting five, all of us. When you see other guys playing with confidence, it all helps. We're a confident team, and Coach Woodson gives us that confidence.''
Indiana has a week to catch its breath a bit now, since their next game isn't until next Saturday at home against Illinois. And when the Hoosiers walked out of the Xfinity Center, they had as many wins as any other Big Ten team.
Sure, it's crowded at the top with Wisconsin, Michigan State and Illinois all at 7-2 — (Illinois was playing Saturday night) — but there they are, right in the mix with them at the top of the league standings.
Just like Woodson wanted.
Related stories on Indiana basketball
- HOW TO WATCH: Here's everything you need to know about how to watch Indiana's game at Maryland on Saturday, with gametime and TV information, starting lineups and bios and all sorts of newsy nuggets. CLICK HERE
- INDIANA FAVORED: Indiana has struggled to win road game in the past several years, and finally ended an eight-game losing streak two weeks ago. That's why it's a bit surprising that the Hoosiers are a slight favorite at Maryland on Saturday, especially since the Terrapins have been playing well of late. Here's the latest on the point spread, and a full season history for both teams against the number. CLICK HERE
- PHINISEE OUT WITH FOOT INJURY: Indiana senior guard Rob Phinisee suffered a foot injury on Wednesday, and has plantar fasciitis. He will miss Saturday's game at Maryland, and with Khristian Lander still ailing, coach Mike Woodson may have to look for alternatives at the point guard spot behind Xavier Johnson. CLICK HERE
