Meet the Opponent: Maryland Begins Big Ten Play at Indiana

Indiana hosts a 4-3 Maryland team on Friday night that has been strong defensively this season but remains in search of consistent offensive production beyond Jahmir Young and Julian Reese.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana begins Big Ten play against Maryland at 7 p.m. ET Friday inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

Coach Mike Woodson and the Hoosiers are 5-1 to start the year, with four single-digit wins and a 20-point loss to No. 4 UConn. Most recently, Indiana defeated Harvard 89-76 behind Kel'el Ware's 28 points on 12-for-13 shooting. 

While picked third in the preseason Big Ten poll, Maryland is off to a shaky 4-3 start in year two under coach Kevin Willard. The Terrapins have lost to Davidson, UAB and Villanova. Their wins have come against Mount St. Mary's, UMBC, South Alabama and Rider, each by 13-plus points. 

Here's a breakdown of Maryland's offseason roster changes, plus its strengths, weaknesses and season outlook after seven games.

Key returners

(2023-24 stats)

• G Jahmir Young: 15.9 ppg, 4.3 apg, 34.1 3-pt FG%
• F Julian Reese: 15.0 ppg, 9.9 rpg, 2.6 bpg
• F Donta Scott: 10.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 34.5 3-pt FG%
• G Jahari Long: 4.3 ppg, 1.0 spg, 13.3 3-pt FG%

Key departures

(2022-23 stats)

• G Hakim Hart (Villanova): 11.4 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 3.1 apg
• G Don Carey (graduated): 7.4 ppg, 1.9 rpg
• G Ian Martinez (Utah State): 5.7 ppg, 2.5 rpg
• F Patrick Emilien (graduated): 2.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg

Key newcomers

(2023-24 stats)

• F Jordan Geronimo (Indiana): 7.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg
• G DeShawn Harris-Smith (No. 32 freshman): 8.1 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 5.3 3-pt FG%
• F Jamie Kaiser (No. 65 freshman): 3.7 ppg, 19.2 3-pt FG%

Strengths

Jahmir Young could be the best point guard in the Big Ten, and Julian Reese is firmly in the second tier of the conference's bigs, given Zach Edey's dominance. Young already has a pair of 20-point games this year, but he's off to an inefficient start. The 6-foot-2 senior is shooting 38.6% overall, including a 3-for-10 night in Maryland's 57-40 loss to Villanova, the only major-conference school the Terrapins have played so far. 

Maryland isn't getting much from its freshmen and role players, so it's possible Young feels pressured to do too much. Young's main support has been Reese, a 6-foot-9 junior. Though he scored just 15 points on 3-for-12 shooting across two losses to UAB and Villanova, Reese already has four double-doubles and has blocked at least two shots every game. 

Even in its losses, Maryland's team defense has been a consistent force all season. The Terrapins rank 25th in the nation in KenPom's adjusted defensive efficiency metric, which measures points allowed per 100 possessions. Against Villanova, it's concerning that Maryland could only score 40 points. But it held Villanova to 57, which is its season-low by 19 points. The offense is a work in progress, but Maryland has been one of the top defensive teams in the Big Ten this year. 

Weaknesses

Maryland ranks 351st out of 362 teams with a 23.8 3-point field goal percentage. The most frequent shooters, Jahmir Young and Donta Scott, are both shooting a solid 34%, but the production takes a major drop off after them. Maryland was relying on freshmen DeShawn Harris-Smith and Jamie Kaiser to fill the shooting void on the wing, but Harris-Smith is 5-for-26 and Kaiser is 1-for-19 so far. Returning contributors like Noah Batchelor and Jahari Long haven't been any better, combining to make 7-of-33 3-point attempts. The Terrapins are shooting just 67.9% at the free throw line, which ranks 254th in the nation. 

Maryland has tried a few different lineup combinations, putting either Kaiser, Batchelor or Jordan Geronimo at small forward. With Geronimo starting, Maryland is 3-1 with a loss to Davidson. But it also lost to UAB with Batchelor starting and only scored 40 points against Villanova with Kaiser starting. Willard called Harris-Smith "by far the most talented player, probably the most physically gifted basketball player I’ve ever been able to coach so far," but he's shooting just 36.4% to begin his college career. Young, Reese and Scott is a solid veteran core, but the supporting cast has struggled. 

Season outlook

Aside from Purdue, every Big Ten team has several question marks at this point, so it's way too early to write anyone off. But Maryland was picked third in the preseason Big Ten poll, and that's looking like a long shot after seven games. KenPom predicts Maryland to go 16-15 overall and 9-11 in Big Ten play, which would usually be on the border of an NCAA Tournament or NIT appearance. Maryland should feel confident with Young and Reese leading the way, but the rest of the roster has work to do in year two under Willard.