Maryland has won 19 straight games and hasn’t lost a Big Ten game in its history. The Terrapins joined the conference this season.
The Hoosiers, on the other hand, have lost their last three games. On four different occasions, IU (14-13, 4-12) has endured consecutive losses in some quantity or another.
The two teams will meet Thursday in College Park, Md., from opposite ends of the Big Ten standings. Maryland (25-2, 16-0) holds the top spot, while IU is tied for 11th.
“There’s a reason why at this point they are No. 5 in the country right now,” IU Coach Teri Moren said.
The game will be a ?rematch from Jan. 25, when Maryland beat IU 84-74, but Moren saw much more than just a loss. It was a night that saw the Hoosiers trailing 18 at halftime and missing their first 13 3-pointers. But IU changed its approach, drove to the basket and made it a 10-point game.
“I thought, after watching our game again, what I was proud of the most was how we got down but we fought back,” Moren said.
As IU continued to lower the deficit late in the second half, Maryland Coach Brenda Frese called two timeouts down the stretch to talk things over with her team.
“In spite of not shooting the ball from outside very well, I thought one of the things we did a great job of was we really tried to attack them off the bounce,” Moren said. “We got some good things going down the stretch, pressed them ?a little bit.”
Since then, IU has taken steps forward and other steps backward as Moren preaches consistency and steady ?progress.
This includes double-digit losses to Michigan State, Iowa and Michigan as well as convincing wins against ?Purdue and Illinois.
Saturday, IU made a late comeback against then-No. 21 Nebraska and had it come down to the final shot in a 3-point loss.
Now, the Hoosiers end the regular season with road tests at Maryland and No. 20 Rutgers. Losses in both games would drop an IU team that once stood at 10-1 to a below .500 record of 14-15. IU is 3-7 on the road this season, and it will be senior night for the Terrapins on Thursday.
The Terrapins are shooting 48 percent from the field this season and ?possess a scoring margin of 20.8 greater than opponents. Moren said IU will be trying to change it up defensively and keep them off-balance as Maryland can score in many different ways and has a strong bench.
IU is currently tied with Wisconsin for 11th place in the Big Ten, leaving both in the bottom four. The bottom four teams have to play an extra conference tournament game to make their way in.
Just above IU is Illinois and Michigan State at only one game ahead. But it will be difficult to make that jump out of the bottom four against two ranked opponents over the next week.
“(Maryland) is a really good basketball team,” Moren said. “Another tremendous challenge for our young team. It is going to be a challenge that, regardless of win or loss, is going to make us better.”
