BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – With 3.9 seconds to play in Indiana men’s basketball matinee against Maryland, the Hoosiers trailed by a point with an inbound coming to take the lead. As Trey Galloway looked to throw the ball in from the left corner, Myles Rice and Malik Reneau both stood within 10 feet of Galloway in the corner.
Galloway inbounded to Rice, who airballed a smothered 3-point attempt, as Maryland came away with a 79-78 win in Assembly Hall.
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The miscommunication that crowded the area epitomizes the struggles Indiana (14-7, 5-5 Big Ten) has experienced this year.
“The play that we had coming underneath, we just didn't execute,” Indiana head coach Mike Woodson said. “Myles didn't come off (a screen), and he stayed there in the corner, and we didn't get much out of it.”
Before the last play, Maryland’s Derik Queen tapped the ball out of bounds, so the Hoosiers needed a new set to run. Woodson and his staff proceeded to sub out 7-footer Oumar Ballo and Anthony Leal for Luke Goode and Mackenzie Mgbako, respectively.
“I think we were trying to run a play, but then the substitutions kind of got everybody confused a little bit, trying to put everybody in their right spots,” Rice claimed. “Then we didn't have a timeout, so we were trying to fix everything on the fly a little bit in such a heated moment.”
Rice went on to blame himself for the mishap, saying that as IU’s point guard, it was his responsibility to “make sure we all know what we're doing.”
IU unraveled in multiple instances in the game’s last 30 seconds after leading 78-74. Galloway missed the front end of a one-and-one when it was 78-76 IU, then Maryland’s Rodney Rice nailed a 3 to put the Terps ahead with 7.5 seconds left.
The Hoosiers had a foul to give before Rice’s game-winning shot, and Woodson said he told the team to use it. Myles Rice took his eyes off Rodney Rice momentarily, which allowed the latter space to launch a shot from the left wing.
“We had discussed it in the huddle, yes,” Leal said about Indiana not fouling on Maryland’s last possession. "It's on us as players to go out there and execute what's told us to do.”
Time and time again, Indiana fails to nail the little things and pay attention to details. These failures led to multiple mistakes at the end of Sunday’s game, and are an immense reason Indiana has lost four of its last five contests.
For the second game in a row, Indiana’s opponent made double-digit 3s, as Maryland was 12-of-24 (50%) from deep. Indiana has allowed 11 or more 3s to opponents in all of the aforementioned four losses it’s taken in January.
Teams are draining 3s against the Hoosiers because Indiana has fallen asleep and not matched up well with quality shooters. The miscommunication leading to Rodney Rice’s game-winning 3 — which was his fifth of the afternoon — has become all too normal for Indiana.
“A couple times we lost guys, but there were a few times that we were right there,” Woodson said of IU’s perimeter defense. "Obviously you're not close enough if guys can just turn and shoot in your face and make them. We've just got to get better in that area, guarding the 3 ball.”
“I think it's just important for us to get back and get matched up no matter what the matchup is,” Myles Rice said. “Just find a man and be able to take that away.”
IU’s next game comes Friday when it heads to West Lafayette to face No. 11 Purdue. The Boilermakers are second in the Big Ten in 3-point percentage (38.4%), so the onus will be on the Hoosiers to make Purdue’s outside shots uncomfortable.
The Hoosiers’ next four outings come against ranked opponents. If this team’s communication and focus issues prevail, expect more losses to follow.
Photo Credit: Maryland Athletics
