Tonight, Tom Crean and the Indiana basketball team will face a quality Maryland team in the Big Ten/ACC challenge at Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers are coming off a solid victory over Northwestern Sate on Saturday in which they put up 90 points in their 90-72 win. Maryland on the other hand, went 1-2 at the EA Sports Maui Invitational.
This will be a very good test for Indiana. The Terps, led by Coach Gary Williams in his 21st season at Maryland were rated in the top-25 until their struggles in Maui.
The freshman for IU have led the way. Maurice Creek is the top scoring freshman averaging 16.3 points per game. Christian Watford is a lengthy defender that can help defend the middle and get a hand up on a jumpshot. In addition, Derek Elston has been a huge surprise and lift for this squad so far thus season. He is a determined rebounder, willing to battle inside and has the ability to knock down the open three.
Keep your eye on a few players in particular for the Terps. G Sean Moseley is averaging 13.2 ppg shooting 50% from three-point range and 62% from the field. Landon Milbourne at power forward is an inside presence to be reckoned with and Maryland’s leading scorer averaging 13.7 ppg.
This is a huge contest for the Hoosiers. I think the Hoosiers have a real opportunity to get a win tonight. Don’t call me crazy. This is a young group that has a big win in their future. Assembly Hall will be rocking, sold out for this huge “white-out” game. It wouldn’t be a shock but it won’t come easy.
Keys for the game: The Hoosiers must 1) defend well 2) take care of the ball, and 3) hit their free throws.
Indiana is 3-5 in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge and 28-18 all-time against members of the Atlantic Coast Conference…Through six games, the Hoosiers are averaging 74.3 points and shooting a Big Ten best 40.3% from three-point range…Next up, the Hoosiers will travel to Madison Square Garden in New York for a meeting with Pittsburgh at 9:00 p.m., December 8, as part of the Jimmy V Classic.
The team played hard for the first half but could not hit a shot in the second half it seemed.
Tonight was disappointing. We still have a lot of improving to do. IU lost all the momentum they had.
The team battled in the first half as the crowd really got into the game. But Indiana was dominated in the paint 26-8 in the 2nd half.
I also wonder why Tijan Jobe and Daniel Moore were playing at such a pivotal time in the game with about 11 minutes remaining.
Dumes, Elston, and Jones combined to shoot just 7-35 from the field.
I liked the effort that was there but IU just couldn't knock down shots.