IU basketball: Indiana 74 Maryland 64 — Three keys | Highlights

Indiana defeated Maryland by a final score of 74-64 on Thursday evening at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Ind.

The Hoosiers led 30-27 at halftime, and were led in the game by Xavier Johnson with 24 points and 6 assists. Race Thompson had 19 points and 9 rebounds.

IU (17-10, 8-9) will travel to Minnesota for a 6 p.m. Eastern tip on Sunday evening.

THREE KEYS TO THE GAME

1. Xavier Johnson bounces back. Indiana point guard Xavier Johnson was struggling through a brutal five game stretch that coincided with Indiana’s five game losing streak. The senior was a perfect 7-of-7 from the field including 3-of-3 from long range. He had 24 points, 6 assists and 3 turnovers. Johnson only played 27 minutes due to first half foul trouble, but he had 20 points in the second half alone. He is one of 18 players in IU history to be perfect from the field in a game on at least 7 attempts.

2. Highly efficient offense. Indiana made 28-of-47 shots (59.6 percent) from the field and had 15 assists. They made 15-of-20 in the second half. It was their highest field goal percentage of the season. Race Thompson was 9-of-12 from the field, Trayce Jackson-Davis 4-of-6, and Miller Kopp 3-of-5 to complement Johnson’s perfect night from the field. Indiana was particularly dominant in the paint, where they owned a 44-24 edge. The Hoosiers made 67.6 percent of their 2-point shots.

3. Pesky defense forces Maryland mistakes. The Hoosiers forced 16 Maryland turnovers and scored 22 points off those miscues. Fatts Russell was a menace for the IU defense with 23 points including five threes, but he had just one assist against four turnovers and required 21 shots to get his point total. And fellow stars Eric Ayala and Donta Scott were just a combined 4-of-18. The Terps shot 43.4 percent as a team.