Xfinity Center was electric from the opening tipoff between the Maryland and Indiana men’s basketball teams. Fans packed the arena in white Maryland shirts as they anxiously awaited what they hoped would be a third consecutive win for the Terps.

The first basket of the game was a 3-pointer from senior guard Eric Ayala, exactly what the Terps needed to keep the crowd on its feet. Junior forward Donta Scott immediately responded with a 3-pointer of his own, and junior center Qudus Wahab followed with a basket, too.

But that early intensity was not enough. The Terps (11-10, 3-7 Big Ten) fell, 68-55, to Indiana (16-5, 7-4 Big Ten) on Saturday, Jan. 29. The Terps finished the game shooting 28.6 percent from the field. Junior guard Hakim Hart led the Terps with 15 points, while graduate guard Fatts Russell and Wahab finished with 12 points each.

“It was just one of those nights where you have opportunities to score the basketball and it doesn’t go in,” Maryland interim head coach Danny Manning said.

The Terps started strong Jan. 29, scoring the first eight points of the game and not allowing Indiana to score until about three minutes after the start. Indiana’s first basket came from senior forward Race Thompson.

But Maryland soon began to struggle both offensively and defensively. Indiana went on a 13-0 run to take the lead. At that point, Maryland had missed its last seven shots.

Turnovers and fouls also began to plague the Terps. Nearly halfway through the first half, Maryland had committed three turnovers resulting in five points for the Hoosiers. Fouls by Wahab and freshman center Julian Reese allowed Indiana to score four points.

“They were pressuring everybody, just making sure it’s not easy for us when we’re catching and stuff like that,” Hart said.

Finally, Russell drained a shot from behind the arc to break Maryland’s scoring drought. It was the team’s first basket in six minutes and trimmed the deficit to 13-11.

It was the same story for another few minutes. Maryland’s season-long struggles continued, and the Hoosiers capitalized on the Terps’ mistakes. But a second-chance layup from graduate guard Xavier Green seemed to provide his team with some much-needed energy.

Ayala soon drilled a shot from behind the arc on a fast break after an Indiana turnover, giving Maryland its lead back (18-17). But the Hoosiers gradually took control of the game and ended the first half ahead, 33-26.

The half ended with a dunk from Indiana junior forward Trayce Jackson-Davis after a Maryland turnover. Jackson-Davis finished the first half with 12 points.

“[Jackson-Davis] is a great player. He’s very dominant, and his left hand is … really good,” Green said. “We let him get a little too comfortable with his left hand, and he took advantage of it.”

Maryland shot 29 percent from the field and committed five turnovers in the half. Only 10 of its points came from inside the paint.

“You take the shots that are dictated by the defense,” Manning said. “And the defense dictated that we take some threes early on, and we didn’t make them, and they stayed compact with their defensive principles.”

The second half started with a 3-pointer by Indiana senior forward Kop Miller. Maryland appeared to find an answer through Hart, who nailed a 3-pointer, layup and free throw within the first three minutes of the second half.

But even early second-half energy from Hart was not enough.

Thompson responded with four points to extend Indiana’s lead to 11 points (45-34). Maryland once again struggled with missed shots, turnovers and fouls. Indiana capitalized on Maryland’s mistakes, and the Terps soon trailed by 15 points (52-37), which marked the first largest deficit of the game.

Maryland needed to find an answer fast, but that did not happen.

“I felt like they clogged the paint pretty well,” Green said. “We didn’t get a lot of paint drives. Going to the paint with our guards, that was tough for us.”

At one point, Ayala attempted to pass the ball to Russell, only for Indiana sophomore guard Trey Galloway intercepted the ball and turned around for a layup. Distinct boos erupted throughout Xfinity Center as the ball slipped through the hoop.

Things only got worse. Maryland appeared to have no answer for Indiana’s offense and struggled to generate its own. Indiana fans soon erupted in “let’s go Hoosiers” chants, and Maryland fans began to leave Xfinity Center with a few minutes remaining in the game.

Terps fans entered the game with high hopes, but the result turned out to be quite the opposite. As the final buzzer sounded, Maryland left the court to the sounds of ecstatic Indiana cheers. Players’ heads hung low, and they wore solemn expressions across their faces.

Michigan State visits Maryland Feb. 1.

“We’ve got to come in here [Jan. 30], we’ve got to have a good mental day of practice and get prepared for another talented team … another top-10 team coming in on Tuesday,” Manning said. “We’ve got to have a short memory, get prepared to go out and have a great night.”

Here are other notable aspects of the Terps’ home loss …

Eric Ayala and Donta Scott had quiet performances.

Maryland barely received any contributions from two of its strongest veterans in Ayala and Scott. Ayala finished the game with only six points, while Scott scored seven. Ayala posted zero points in the second half.

“We set our defense mainly for [Ayala, Russell] and Scott because they score the bulk of their points,” Indiana head coach Mike Woodson said. “We kind of locked in there. I thought everybody who guarded Eric and Russell were locked in. They saw bodies. They weren’t able to see gaps where they could make plays off the bounce.”

Maryland did not receive many contributions from its bench.

Bench production continues to remain a concern for Maryland. Xavier Green, Julian Reese and Simon Wright were the only Terps to come off of the bench during the first half. The group combined for two points, and the lone basket came from Green.

Maryland did not get any points from the bench in the second half.

Fatts Russell left the game with an injury.

With only a few minutes remaining in the game, Russell left the court while grasping his wrist tightly. He quickly left the game and did not play in the final stretch.

Manning did not know the extent of the injury after the game.

“We’ll have a better evaluation at some point [Jan. 30],” Manning said.

Ian Martinez returned to the court.

After not playing the past two games, sophomore guard Ian Martinez returned to the lineup. Martinez has struggled offensively recently. He has not scored more than two points since Nov. 25 against Richmond.

The Utah transfer played a little more than three minutes in the second half and posted no points.

Maryland struggled from behind the arc.

After a strong performance from behind the arc against Rutgers, it was quite the opposite against Indiana. The Terps’ 3-point shooting Jan. 29 resembled their play earlier in the season.

The Terps only shot 6-for-27 (22.2 percent) from 3-point range against the Hoosiers. Two of the 3-pointers came from Hart in the second half.

“It’s really not about taking threes,” Green said. “It’s about taking better threes and open threes.”

Photo Credit: Kenya Allen/PressBox

Emma Shuster

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