Indiana avenged a regular season loss on Friday with a 70-60 victory over Maryland in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Big Ten tournament. The victory lifted the Hoosiers to 22-10 and set up a game Saturday against Penn State .
Here are five takeaways from the win over the Terrapins:
Indiana’s defense was elite in the second half
It was a two-half story defensively for Indiana on Friday night.
In the first 20 minutes, the Hoosiers allowed Maryland to shoot 6-for-13-of-3 and score 1.12 points per possession. It looked like the Terps were on track to match or surpass the 66 points they scored in late January against the Hoosiers at College Park.
The second half was another story.
Maryland shot just 8 for 32 from the field in the second half and scored just .839 points per possession. From the 14:26 mark to the 9:01 mark, Indiana held the Terps scoreless and went 15-0.
When the final buzzer sounded, Indiana had allowed just 0.963 points per trip for the game after allowing 1.069 in the first game between the two programs.
“I thought the second half was the difference,” Mike Woodson said after the game. “We went out and established ourselves defensively, eventually bounced back with them and were able to come out of it with the win.”
Maryland didn’t have an answer for Trayce Jackson-Davis
Trayce Jackson-Davis earned a unanimous spot on the All-Big Ten teams announced earlier this week and her Friday game was just the latest example of her dominance.
Jackson-Davis finished with a season-high 24 points, was effective 8-for-13 from the field, and hit eight of 13 from the free-throw line.
But as has been the case for most of the season, it wasn’t just the Jackson-Davis score that stood out on the stat sheet.
Jackson-Davis also had nine rebounds, seven assists, four blocked shots and three steals. And he was only on the bench for two minutes all night.
The Maryland greats struggled all night to stay with Jackson-Davis as Patrick Emilien fouled in 24 minutes and Julian Reese fouled four in 26 minutes.
Jalen Hood-Schifino goes the distance, scores 19 points
With the recent announcement that Xavier Johnson will not be returning this season, Jalen Hood-Schifino’s minutes will continue to be heavy.
The freshman guard played all 40 minutes on Friday, and they were far more productive than his opener against Maryland at the Xfinity Center.
Hood-Schifino shot just 1 of 14 against the Terps in the late January loss but rebounded well in the rematch.
The Montverde Academy product scored 19 points on 8 of 15 shooting from the field. His 3-pointer with 2:06 remaining extended Indiana’s lead to nine.
Hood-Schifino also did a great job handling the pressure from Maryland. He committed just two turnovers and delivered two assists while grabbing six rebounds and blocking three shots. His ability to score in transition was also crucial as the Hoosiers outscored the Terrapins 13-4 in quick break points.
“I think he got into the transition much better than the first time around,” Maryland coach Kevin Willard said. “I think we did a much better job in transition defense at home. I thought the transition defense was really the difference.
“And I think he did a great job attacking and going down. I mean even in the first half two of his buckets were in transition. So I thought he did a great job. work to pick up the pace.
Indiana dominates in the paint
While Maryland edged Indiana by 15 to 3-pointers, the Hoosiers had an even bigger advantage in the paint.
Indiana had 36 points in the paint to just 18 for the Terrapins and the contributions came from a variety of sources.
The aforementioned Jackson-Davis was dominant with 24 points and Race Thompson had four points, but rookie Malik Reneau’s play provided a major boost off the bench.
Reneau scored eight points in 21 big minutes and added 11 rebounds. Reneau only committed one fault. It was the type of performance Indiana could use more of as the playoffs progressed.
“Just being able to come off the bench and be a spark plug for my team,” Reneau said when asked why he was so effective on Friday. “Knowing when I’m in there, just being able to help on the defensive side.
“And on the offensive end, just relieving the stress on the guys, especially Trayce and Race, and just getting out there and bouncing back too.”
Jahmir Young struggles, as does Maryland offense
Jahmir Young is one of the Big Ten’s best goaltenders and a key cog in the Maryland offense.
His struggles were a major reason Maryland could only put up 60 points against the Hoosiers.
The 6-foot-1 scored 12 points, the second-highest total for the Terps, but was just 3-for-15 from the field. Maryland coach Kevin Willard said Indiana’s size may have bothered Young.
“I think one of Indiana’s biggest strengths is their size across their entire lineup,” Willard explained. “We tried to take advantage of Miller Kopp a bit because I think he’s the only weak defender. I don’t even think he’s a weak defender, but their size through, and even when they come in, I I thought Malik Reneau played tremendously well.
“Then Tamar Gates comes in and hits, plays really well. They don’t have little guys. For Jahmir, I thought Race did a hell of a job on the switches. I think they did a really good job of just being physical with us. You know, having to play a tough game last night, I thought Jahmir was – he did his best against their size.
It was a total team effort for Indiana to contain Young. The Hoosiers never allowed him to get comfortable and the bigs were great when they had to move to All-Big Ten guard.
(Photo credit: IU Athletics)
Filed at: 2023 Big Ten Tournament, Jalen Hood-Schifino, Trayce Jackson-Davis