Winners of three straight games, Maryland will hit the road to begin conference play against Indiana on Friday night in Bloomington. The Hoosiers have begun their season with a 5-1 (0-0) record, with their only loss coming to UConn as part of The Empire Classic in New York City. Their best wins came against Wright State and Harvard, with other victories against Florida Gulf Coast, Army, and Louisville. Mike Woodson is in his third year as their head coach.
The Hoosiers are led by their talented frontcourt duo of Kel'el Ware and Malik Reneau, who are each averaging more than 15 points per game and converting more than 60% of their shots from the field. Ware is a big 7-footer with a decent shot from the perimeter, so Julian Reese will certainly be tested. It'll be interesting to see how much Kevin Willard elects to utilize Caelum Swanton-Rodger and/or Mady Traore in this game due to Indiana's size inside.
These teams met twice last year, once in the regular season and again in the Big Ten Tournament. They split those meetings, with Maryland winning the first in College Park. The last time the Terps traveled to Assembly Hall was two seasons ago, a game Indiana won by ten points. In fact since joining the conference, Maryland has won just one of the six games they've played in Bloomington (a one-point victory in 2019-20).
KenPom Rankings
- Maryland: #59 (#125 AdjO, #22 AdjD; #268 AdjT)
- Indiana: #72 (#79 AdjO, #76 AdjD; #135 AdjT)