Both the AP and Coaches Poll have the Indiana Hoosiers ranked near the bottom of the top-25 as they head to College Park to take on the Maryland Terrapins, a team on the outside—looking into—the top-25 rankings.
The Hoosiers and Terps boast identical records heading into Friday’s showdown with Indiana getting the nod in the rankings because of a more difficult schedule. Nevertheless, these two teams are both just outside the top-25 in the KenPom rankings sitting at No.27 and No.28 with the Hoosiers the ever-so-slight edge.
Given how close these two teams are overall, we should be in for a fun matchup on Friday night. Look for the Terrapins to try and take advantage of the home court to get a win over a ranked opponent. Meanwhile, Indiana will be trying to bounce back from a loss to Michigan.
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Indiana Hoosiers vs. Maryland Terrapins
Date and Time: Friday, January 11, 2019, 7 p.m. ET
Location: XFINITY Center, College Park, Maryland
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Hoosiers vs. Terrapins TV Coverage: FS1
The Hoosier come into play off a loss to Michigan, their first loss of the Big Ten schedule and third on the year.
Indiana did its best to hang with the Wolverines. The Hoosiers got down early with a difficult first half, but battled back to keep it relatively close in the second half. Indiana edged out Michigan on the glass and outshot the Wolverines on the outside, but had some issues finding open shots from the floor. The Hoosiers also found themselves in a sizeable turnover deficit.
Maryland will be a much less daunting defensive opponent, allowing the Indiana offense to come shine. This offense has been limited the last couple games with just 63 against Michigan and 73 against Illinois. Overall, the team is shooting 51.9-percent from the floor and putting up 77 PPG.
For the Hoosiers, it’s primarily about its pair of superstars in Romeo Langford and Juwan Morgan.
Langford has been especially consistent for a freshman. The 6’6” guard is shooting over 50-percent from the floor and putting up 18.2 PPG though he does struggle shooting from the perimeter. Despite that, he’s certainly the leading contributor in the backcourt and offers 5.7 RPG and already has 15 blocks and 11 steals this year, too.
Inside the paint, Morgan has 16.7 PPG. The senior forward is a solid shot anywhere on the court and is actually outshooting Langford on the perimeter. An excellent shot all over the court, he provides plenty of matchup problems for the opposition. Even Michigan couldn’t stop him as he scored 25 against the Wolverines who were focused on him and Langford.
Morgan is also a strong rebounder with 7.8 RPG and a solid blocker, too. Indiana managed just one block and one steal in the game against Michigan, but the team is generally better at creating turnovers than that.
Morgan and Langford are the only two Hoosiers averaging double-digit points, but the team does have depth with four others putting up between 7.2 and 8.5 PPG. Devonte Green is growing as a backcourt threat while Rob Phinisee is a good shooter on the outside.
Inside, Justin Smith joins Morgan although neither provide much size. De’Ron Davis and Evan Fitzner offer more size, but neither are overly athletic and both are seeing limited playing time to this points as Indiana prefers going with a small, more athletic set.
While Indiana is coming off a loss, Maryland is looking to extend its winning streak to four in a row.
The Terrapins have won back-to-back games in Big Ten play including a road win over Rutgers and a win at home over a then-ranked Nebraska team.
The Terps barely edged out the Cornhuskers 74-72 while shooting 47.1-percent on the outside. Maryland dominated on the glass. The team allowed a big game to James Palmer, but otherwise held Nebraska mostly in check.
As a whole, Maryland’s a solid shooting team, but not quite as accurate as Indiana. The team is a little better on the boards, however, with Bruno Fernando leading the way with 10.1 RPG to go with his 14.5 PPG.
Between Fernando and Jalen Smith, Maryland has a strong frontcourt with a height advantage over the Hoosiers. Outside, Anthony Cowan Jr. leads the way in scoring with 16.5 PPG and adds 4.3 APG.
In total, this team is six deep in players with at least 9.1 PPG, leaning heavily on its six-man rotation. Of the six, Aaron Wiggins and Eric Ayala provide quality perimeter shooting while Fernando and Smith dominate the boards and combine for 3.5 BPG.
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Indiana is a good team that’s leveraged some good wins to climb into the backend of the top-25 recently, but don’t overlook Maryland at home.
The Terps have quietly put together a strong start to the season. The team hasn’t played overly remarkably, but they’re sitting neck-and-neck with Indiana in the KenPom rankings for good reason. This is a balanced team.
While Indiana is led by Morgan and Langford, it’s all about Cowan and Fernando for the Terps. Watch which duo comes out of the gate the strongest on Friday and is able to get on a roll early. At the same time, the supporting cast for each will be crucial in the game.
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Key Player
The key for both teams will be the supporting case alongside Morgan, Langford, Cowan and Fernando. We can expect those four to play well, but the ability of the rest of the rosters to support their stars will be crucial.
For Indiana, the big key will be Justin Smith. The fellow forward alongside Morgan stands at just 6’7”, but will be asked to play a big role in helping the Hoosiers be competitive on the glass. Fernando is the best rebounder on the floor in this game while Smith can also be a stronger rebounder.
With the height inside favoring the Terps, Indiana will need to show they can overcome that and grab their share of rebounds to stay competitive.
Hoosiers vs. Terrapins Live Betting
This should be a good game. Look for all four of the big boys to play excellent basketball, but count on good outside shooting from Wiggins and Ayala to spread the court for Maryland while Fernando and Smith win the battle inside the paint.
Home court ultimately plays a big role in this as Maryland. Behind their home fans, the Terps jump out to an early lead. Indiana’s been prone to slow starts in the past and that continues on Friday. From there, Maryland will battle to hold the lead, ultimately getting a big late game block to secure the victory.
Check out all of the live betting at BookMaker.eu for Friday’s college basketball action.
NCAA Basketball Score Prediction: Maryland 77, Indiana 75
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