Five takeaways from Indiana’s win against Maryland
Indiana improved to 6-1 with a comfortable 65-53 win against Maryland on Friday at Assembly Hall.
Here are five takeaways from the victory against the Terrapins:
Trey Galloway delivers his best game of the young season
Indiana fans had been waiting to see the version of Galloway they saw for most of last season.
On Friday, Galloway delivered his best performance of the young season.
The fourth-year guard from Culver Academies stuffed the stat sheet, finishing with 12 points, six rebounds and six assists. He was an efficient 6-for-10 from the field and logged a team-high 34 minutes.
With Xavier Johnson sidelined with a foot injury, it was a performance the Hoosiers desperately needed.
“Well, he knows we’re a little shorthanded not having his running mate with X out,” Mike Woodson said postgame. “He’s going to have to do more and give us more, and he’s a senior; that’s what he’s supposed to do.”
Galloway looked more comfortable getting to his spots on Friday. He scored a few buckets in transition, but also got into the lane against a Terps defense that didn’t put up strong resistance to drives for most of the game.
Kel’el Ware dominates Julian Reese
Julian Reese was a surprise inclusion on the 10-man preseason All-Big Ten team but was off to a strong start through Maryland’s first seven games.
Reese had been averaging close to a double-double but was no match for Kel’el Ware.
The 7-foot Ware established himself early, scoring in the paint and then knocking down a 3-pointer in transition.
“I felt like it was good for us as a team to get that start early,” Ware said postgame. “Just to show the team that we came here to play today and just complete the mission to win the game.”
Ware finished with a double-double – 18 points and 14 rebounds – and notched his fourth game MVP on KenPom in seven games.
Reese compiled a solid line – 14 points and eight rebounds – but committed four fouls and was no match for Ware defensively.
After his 8-for-12 shooting performance, the Oregon transfer is shooting 65.6 percent on 2s and 55.6 percent on 3s through seven games.
Without X, Indiana handles Maryland’s defensive pressure
Maryland’s ability to force turnovers is a strength of its defense, but Indiana handled the pressure for most of Friday’s game.
The Hoosiers committed 16 turnovers, four more than Woodson’s goal of 12 or fewer per game. However, only three came in the first half, and several came down the stretch when the game was out of reach.
Maryland did finish with a slight edge in points off of turnovers – 18 to 13 – but Indiana’s ability to get stops and handle the pressure early set the tone for the comfortable win.
“It’s a learning tool for me. I’ve got to be better in helping them,” Woodson said. “They (Maryland) didn’t do anything any differently than they did in the first half. I thought their press the first half slowed us down a little bit. But we were still able to execute the press, and they were matching defense in the halfcourt and we were still able to still get points and move the ball.”
While Woodson did indicate his disappointment in Indiana’s sloppiness in the final seven minutes, Indiana’s steady guard play without Xavier Johnson was impressive and pivotal against the pressure of the Terps.
Mackenzie Mgbako continues to look more comfortable
Mackenzie Mgbako’s rough start to the season was the target of heavy scrutiny.
A five-star prospect and top 10 player nationally, many expected Mgbako to translate to a high level scorer immediately.
But that wasn’t the case, as Mgbako was benched in several of IU’s early games as he struggled on both ends.
The Gladstone, New Jersey product followed his 18 points against Harvard with another stellar effort against Maryland. Mgbako had 13 points on Friday on 4-for-9 shooting from the field and 4-for-4 shooting from the free throw line.
More importantly, Mgbako is contributing on other key areas. He had seven rebounds against Maryland, dished out three assists, had a steal and didn’t commit a turnover in 26 minutes. Three of his rebounds were offensive and he’s been aggressively crashing the glass in the last two games.
A difficult return to Assembly Hall for Jordan Geronimo
Former Indiana forward Jordan Geronimo, who transferred to Maryland last spring, returned to Bloomington Friday.
It was a difficult evening on the floor for Geronimo.
The 6-foot-6 forward started for the Terps but didn’t score in 27 minutes.
He was 0-for-5 from the field with four rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot. He also committed three turnovers and three fouls. Geronimo even air balled a free throw.
The performance was in some ways reminiscent of the struggles former Indiana wing Miller Kopp had in his return to Evanston to take on Northwestern. Geronimo couldn’t get anything going.
He will, however, get another crack at the Hoosiers. Indiana travels to College Park to take on Maryland near the end of the regular season on March 3.
Filed to: Kel'el Ware, Maryland Terrapins, Trey Galloway