Quick Reaction: Indiana men’s basketball beats Maryland 84-66

Entering tonight’s game at Maryland, Darian DeVries’ Indiana had yet to win a true road game on the season, dropping winnable games to both Minnesota and Kentucky. Buzz Williams’ Terrapins, winless through three games in Big Ten play, made for the perfect trap game opponent.

To avoid another road upset, DeVries was probably hoping for a start like Sunday night’s when Conor Enright and Tayton Conerway paired up to go 5-5 from 3-point range on Indiana’s first five field goals. Instead, his team came out flat offensively, scoring five total points over the first six minutes of play.

Things did not heat up quickly for either team from there.

Through the first 11 minutes of play, Maryland led 16-13, a lead Indiana cut into by a Lamar Wilkerson layup that was the beginning of the slow thaw for Indiana’s offense following an ice cold start. The Hoosiers scored 36 points in the first half, 16 of which came at the free throw line.

With such a large percentage of the points coming from the charity stripe, it’d be hard to call what Indiana did to close out the first half a “run,” but it was enough for a five point lead over a Maryland team that is struggling to establish an offensive identity in year one under its new coach.

By the break Indiana had shot 9-26 from the floor, including 2-12 from three.

The second half was a different story, in large part because of 16-straight points from Wilkerson, who caught fire from 3-point range and suddenly became a threat out to the logo. The Hoosier defense did its part to make Wilkerson’s hot streak a 16-4 team run, but his team-high 24 points was too much for the Terps to handle.

DeVries’ group shot better in the second half as a whole, with Enright and Conerway also cashing in from 3-point range, helping Indiana go 6-13 from deep in the final 20 minutes. Reed Bailey had 10 second half points on some wide open dunks on backdoor cuts with so much attention suddenly devoted to the perimeter.

It wasn’t a perfect game, but Indiana now has a true road win. At the end of the day, the margin of victory wsa enough to improve the Hoosier’s analytical profile as well, with Kenpom only favoring Indiana by seven pregame.