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Maryland Basketball: Terps look to close season strong against Indiana

By Chris Bengel

Mar 3, 2016; College Park, MD, USA; Maryland Terrapins guard Melo Trimble (2) shoots over Illinois Fighting Illini forward Michael Finke (43) during the second half at Xfinity Center. Maryland Terrapins defeated Illinois Fighting Illini 81-55. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 3, 2016; College Park, MD, USA; Maryland Terrapins guard Melo Trimble (2) shoots over Illinois Fighting Illini forward Michael Finke (43) during the second half at Xfinity Center. Maryland Terrapins defeated Illinois Fighting Illini 81-55. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Maryland basketball team got back into the win column against Illinois.

Now the Terrapins will look to close the regular season strong against Indiana.

The Hoosiers have already clinched the Big Ten regular season title outright and will be the top seed in next week’s Big Ten Tournament. However, the Terps’ seeding is uncertain, so there’s still work to do.

Maryland looked like a well-oiled machine against Illinois on Thursday evening.

Star guard Melo Trimble looked like the Melo Trimble of old as he had 18 points (7-of-14), eight rebounds, and five assists. Trimble shot the ball well with the perimeter, attacked the rim with ease, and protected the basketball.

One of the biggest positives from Thursday’s game was the rebounding battle. After getting outrebounded by 19 against Purdue last Saturday, the Terps had a 36-26 advantage on the glass, including securing nine offensive boards.

Maryland also shot the ball extraordinarily well from beyond the arc. The Terps connected on 14-of-25 (56 percent) shots from three and four different players hit multiple three-point field goals on the evening.

Illinois wouldn’t have even been in the game if it weren’t for the sensational effort by center Maverick Morgan. Morgan had 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Illini and helped keep the game somewhat close in the first half.

Getting to know Indiana

  • Indiana really has had a sensational season. This is a team that put together a 14-3 mark during Big Ten play and only lost to Michigan State, Penn State, and Wisconsin. The Hoosiers are coming off a tight 81-78 victory over Iowa, which netted them the outright Big Ten regular season title and the top seed in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament. This is a team that averaged 82.8 points-per-game, which ranks 11th in the nation.
  • Guard Yogi Ferrell is the straw that stirs the drink for Indiana. The senior guard does it all for the Hoosiers as he averages 17.1 ppg, 5. assists-per-game, and 3.9 rebounds-per-game. Ferrell is certainly a player that is a high-volume shooter and can hit shots from just about anywhere on the court. He does a lot of his damage from beyond the arc as he is shooting 42.8 percent from three this season. Ferrell is fourth in the Big Ten in scoring, so this is somebody that Maryland has to be aware of on every trip down the floor.
  • For the second weekend in a row, Maryland will face one of the elite freshman post players in the Big Ten. Center Thomas Bryant is a very polished big man that has taken the conference by storm during the 2015-16 season. Bryant is currently averaging 11.7 ppg and 5.7 rpg for the Hoosiers. The star freshman is extremely athletic for his size and really knows his way around the basket. Bryant also runs the floor very well for a post player. With the amount of bugs that Maryland possesses, Bryant is definitely going to be their biggest challenge in the low post.

Next: Jake Layman gets much-deserved day in the sun