No. 13 Maryland Falls Short In 89-70 Loss At No. 23 Indiana
BLOOMINGDALE, Ind. (AP) --Coach Mark Turgeon thought No. 13 Maryland was pretty darn good.
He had no doubt No. 23 Indiana was just plain better Thursday night.
After watching the Hoosiers' shooters shred the Terrapins defense for 15 3-pointers in a stunning 89-70 upset, Turgeon tried to use his team's worst game of the season as a lesson for the rest of this year.
"Our closeouts were bad, and our toughness trying to guard the ball wasn't what it needed to be during that (decisive) stretch," Turgeon said. "I hated the layups. I know they had three, four or five uncontested 3s that they made. But for the part I thought we were shaking hands. Give them credit, they played a smart game tonight."
And the Terrapins (17-3, 5-2) didn't look anything like themselves.
Jake Layman finished with 13 points, Jared Nickens had 12 and leading scorer Melo Trimble managed just 10 on a night Maryland gave up a season-high point total. The only time Maryland led was 3-1, and the only time the Terrapins were tied was at 26-26.
Otherwise, it was all Hoosiers.
"Tonight was just a bad night, that's really all it is," Layman said. "We're never going to forget this night right here. We see them in a couple weeks, so we're looking forward to that."
Indiana was downright dominant.
The Hoosiers (15-4, 5-1) completely dismantled one of the league's best defenses by shooting 60 percent from the field and 15 of 22 on 3s. Indiana has won four straight overall, seven straight home games against Top 25 teams and have won a league-high 19 games over ranked foes since 2011-12 including four this season.
Kevin "Yogi" Ferrell scored 24 points, James Blackmon Jr. added 22. Ferrell was 7 of 8 from beyond the arc. Troy Williams finished with 16 points and seven rebounds. Undersized center Collin Hartman had 15 points and three blocks, both career highs, and the Hoosiers moved into a first-place tie with No. 6 Wisconsin.
"We're just improving," Crean said. "They've been improving all year and what these guys have done over a period of time is bond closer and they've really worked hard, I would say, to control what they can control."
Indiana jumped to a 12-3 lead in the opening minutes, scored seven straight to break the tie after a timeout and opened the second half on a 6-0 run to push a 38-35 halftime lead to 44-35.
The Hoosiers only led 61-53 with 10:25 left, but the Terrapins didn't stick around long. Indiana answered with five straight, then used an 11-4 spurt to push the lead to 18.
TIP-INS
Terrapins: Clearly, Maryland didn't play up to its usual standards. They came into the game, allowing opponents to shoot 37.7 percent from the field and 27.9 percent on 3s. They hadn't given up more than 77 points in any game this season. And the nation's No. 9 defensive rebounding team (27.9) managed only 18.
Hoosiers: Hartman has done a terrific job filling in since Hanner Mosquera-Perea went down with an injured right knee. But he was at his best Thursday. Hartman was 3 for 3 of 3 from the field in the first half -- all 3s. He opened the second half with two blocks, finishing 4 of 4 from the field, 4 of 5 on free throws with four rebounds and three blocks.
UP NEXT
Terrapins: Host Northwestern on Sunday.
Hoosiers: Travel to Ohio State on Sunday.
FAMILIAR FINISH
Maryland is now 2-6 all-time against the Hoosiers. But the two wins came on big stages. The first came in the 2002 national championship game in Atlanta. The
Terrapins only other win in the series came on Indiana's home court in the 2009 ACC-Big Ten Challenge.
ONE, TWO, THREE
The Hoosiers are making long-range shots at incredibly proficient rate. Not only did they fall two short of tying the school's single-game record Thursday, they have now made 35 of 68 over the last three games.
(Copyright 2015 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
