Earlier this season, Maryland was on a two game winning streak when the Indiana Hoosiers came to College Park.
The Hoosiers dominated Trayce Jackson-Davis scored 19 points and grabbed 9 rebounds that night. Race Thompson chipped in with 18 points and 12 rebounds in the 68-55 Hoosier victory.
Fast forward to last night. The Terps were on a two-game winning streak with Indiana up next again… And again, the Terps would come up short in the 74-64 loss.
This time around, Maryland did a better job on Jackson-Davis. The Indiana big man spent a lot of the night in foul trouble. Jackson-Davis finished with just 10 points. But, once again, Thompson had a big game. This time, Thompson finished with 19 points.
The difference for the Hoosiers was Xavier Johnson.
Johnson shot 7-7 including 3-3 from the three-point line. Johnson would finish with 24 points and 6 assists.
“Going into the ball game we knew he was going to get downhill and attack,” said Manning. “For Russ pick the poison was to make him shoot threes and he made them tonight.”
For the Terps, Fatts Russell would score 23 points but it took him 21 shots to get it.
Head Coach Danny Manning didn’t feel like Russell got a friendly whistle. “For me, for Fatts to play 37 minutes, shoot the ball 21 times and not get one damn free throw.”
How can Maryland win in March?
That’s the million dollar question for the Terps. Maryland can win when Russell has big points, low efficient games when they’re playing the bottom teams in the conference. But how does Maryland beat the better teams?
It can’t come with Russell being a volume shooter.
Eric Ayala and Donta Scott could help by being better on offense. Last night, Ayala shot 1-7. Scott wasn’t much better. He shot just 3-11.
How can the offense help them? In Ayala’s case, it could be something as simple as getting back in a groove after his injury.
Getting Scott started is a different challenge. The initial thought would be to get him some post touches but how? Last season, the Terps didn’t have Qudus Wahab and Julian Reese on the roster. Once former coach Mark Turgeon brought in Wahab and Reese, the dynamics of the offense, and subsequently, the roles changed.
Scott was impacted more than anyone else on the roster. He has less scoring zones and, on most nights, the Terps don’t have the bandwidth to allow Scott to shoot his way into a groove.
Reese will also be a key in March. Despite his minutes with Wahab pretty much mirroring each other, Reese is more dynamic and is easier to play with the Terps’ current roster.
Head coach Danny Manning can play Reese out on the perimeter because he can make plays. Sometimes it’s a shot. Sometimes it’s moving the ball on offense. If Reese can get comfortable putting the ball on the floor and driving to the basket, it will open up the rest of the floor.
Manning trying to find creative ways to get Hakim Hart would also help the Terps.
Maryland faces Ohio State on Sunday.
