Maryland's Undefeated Big Ten Home Record At Stake Tuesday Against Indiana
Every Big Ten road game is a challenge, but traveling to Maryland has been a nightmare for conference opponents.
Housing 17,950 fans, Maryland has the second largest stadium capacity in the Big Ten, behind Ohio State's Value City Arena. On Tuesday, No. 21 Indiana heads to the Xfinity Center in College Park, Md., where the Terrapins hold an 11-1 overall record and a 5-0 mark in Big Ten play this season.
Under first-year coach Kevin Willard, Marylands last two home wins have been especially dominant. The Terrapins pounded Nebraska 82-63 and led for the final 32 minutes of Saturday's game. It was a balanced effort behind senior guard Jahmir Young's 18 points, as five Terrapins finished in double figures.
On Wednesday, Maryland grabbed the lead near the five-minute mark of the first half and didn't look back in an 18-point win over Wisconsin. Again, Young led the team with 22 points, but Julian Reese, Donta Scott and Hakim Hart each scored 13-plus points.
Here's a snapshot of Maryland's Big Ten home games.
- 82-63 vs. Nebraska on Jan. 28
- 73-55 vs. Wisconsin on Jan. 23
- 64-58 vs. Michigan on Jan. 19
- 80-73 vs. Ohio State on Jan. 8
- 71-66 vs. Illinois on Dec. 2
There's been a stark contrast between the Maryland team that shows up at home versus how the Terrapins perform on the road. Maryland is 5-0 in Big Ten home games with an 11-point average margin of victory. Their record drops to 0-5 in conference road contests, losing these games by an average of 14.2 points. The Terrapins only lost by 3 at Purdue in their last road game, but they own 14-point losses to Iowa and Rutgers and a 35-point blowout loss at Michigan.
Maryland's success at home starts on the defensive end. Against Big Ten opponents, the Terrapins allow 63 points per game at home, but that number rises to 69.6 on the road. Conference foes have shot below their season-long field goal percentage in four of five games at the Xfinity Center. The only outlier is Nebraska, who lost by 19.
Turnover margin has been a factor, too. Maryland averages 8.6 turnovers in Big Ten home games, an impactful drop from its season average of 11.6. Opponents are coughing the ball up 11.2 times per game at the Xfinity Center, led by Nebraska's 15 turnovers on Saturday.
Maryland is a poor 3-point shooting team at 30.7 percent, good for 13th in the Big Ten and tied for 322nd out of 363 teams across the nation. The Terrapins have posted respectable 3-point shooting numbers at home in Big Ten play, however, connecting on 35.2 percent of shots beyond the arc. Two of their better 3-point shooting days have come in the last week, going 8-for-23 and 6-for-14 in wins over Nebraska and Wisconsin, respectively.
The Terrapins have leaned on Charlotte transfer Jahmir Young at home. The 6-foot-2 point guard leads the team with 16.0 points per game on 42.1 percent shooting this season, but he's taken his game to another level at the Xfinity Center. Young averages 24 points on 47 percent shooting overall, guiding Maryland to an undefeated home record in conference play.
In the big picture, Maryland is 11-1 at home with an ugly 87-60 loss to No. 9 UCLA on Dec. 14. This game was a blowout from the opening tip, as UCLA scored the first seven points and led 49-20 at halftime. Maryland turned the ball over 16 times and shot 40.1 percent. Young scored just three points, and senior forward Donta Scott was the only Maryland starter in double figures.
On the other sideline, Indiana has had promising moments on the road mixed with some of its worst games. On Nov. 18, Indiana gave now-No. 16 Xavier its only loss of the season at the Cintas Center, 81-79. But the Hoosiers went over two months without their second road win, losing 63-48 at Rutgers, 84-62 at Kansas, 91-89 at Iowa and 85-66 at Penn State.
Indiana's current five-game win streak includes a pair of Big Ten road wins, beginning with a dominant 80-65 performance at Illinois behind 35 points from Trayce Jackson-Davis. The Hoosiers secured their second conference road win on Wednesday, eking out a 61-57 victory at Minnesota.
Tipoff is slated for Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Related stories on Indiana basketball
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- HOLTMANN ON SCOREBOARD INCIDENT: A 10-to-15 pound piece of metal fell from the scoreboard at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall moments before the second half of Saturday's game between Indiana and Ohio State. Here's what Holtmann said about the situation after the game. CLICK HERE
