At the Bell: Indiana 70, Maryland 60 – Inside the auditorium

Quick thoughts on the 70-60 win over Maryland:

how did that happen

Indiana was shaky to start Friday’s Big Ten quarterfinal game against Maryland at the United Center. The Hoosiers made their first five shots and raced to an 11-5 lead in the first three minutes. But Maryland, determined to slow the pace, started to stall by forcing IU into the field. And the Terps started making 3-pointers as IU lost shooters on the perimeter. Donta Scott knocked Maryland’s sixth triple of the half to make it 30-22 with 5:32 left. However, Indiana responded with a 10-4 run to make it a two-point game at the break. The key factor at the break was 3-point shooting. Maryland was 6-for-13 and Indiana was 1-for-3. The Hoosiers beat Maryland 20-10 in the paint in the first 20 minutes.

After Maryland took a 7-point lead at 41-34 to open the second half, Indiana responded with a 12-3 run to claim a 46-43 lead in the U-12 media timeout. The Hoosiers extended the lead to eight on a pair of Trayce Jackson-Davis free throws with 10:31 to play and then to 11 at the 9:36 mark on Tamar Bates’ 3-pointer. The Terps halted a 15-0 rally by the Hoosiers with Donald Curry’s 3-pointer with 9: 01 remaining. After Hakeem Hart’s bucket made it 54-48 Indiana, Mike Woodson took an 8:20 timeout to go. The Hoosiers responded by extending the lead to 10 on a 61-51 run in media timeouts. The Terps had six points at the 3:27 mark and 2:38 mark, but Indiana responded each time. Jalen Hood-Scheveno gave Indiana a 9-point lead with 2:06 left. Maryland won’t get closer than seven points along the way as the Hoosiers advanced to the Big Ten Tournament Semifinal against Penn State on Saturday.

Outstanding performance

Jackson-Davis led Indiana with 24 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, four blocked shots and three blocked shots in 38 minutes. Hood-Scheveno played all 40 minutes and finished with 19 points, six rebounds, three blocked shots and two assists.

Notable stats

Indiana’s defense was outstanding in the second half, holding Maryland to 26 points on 8-for-32 shooting from the field. The Terrapins scored just 0.839 points per possession in the last 20 minutes.