Before No. 19 Maryland’s first game against Indiana nearly three weeks ago, Hoosiers point guard Yogi Ferrell was asked if Melo Trimble reminded him of the freshman version of himself.
“Just a little bit,” Ferrell answered.
That first meeting between the Terrapins and Hoosiers was touted as a matchup between Ferrell, one of the Big Ten’s best players, and Trimble, one of its most promising. The game itself, however, was all about Ferrell. The 6-foot junior hit seven of eight threes that night, knocking down the last with a 19-point lead, 38 seconds on the clock and a hand in his face. He finished with 24 points in a definitive 89-70 win.
“I think he was tired of hearing about Melo, and he felt like he was the best point guard in the league,” Maryland coach Mark Turgeon said. “So he stepped up.”
Turgeon and Maryland can only hope Ferrell and Indiana won’t be as hot this time around. As they try to put a recent five-game stretch of mediocrity behind them Wednesday night, the Terrapins will face the same team — and the same player — that started it. After losing only two of their first 19 games, Maryland lost to Indiana, then lost two of its next four.
“It’s definitely not a revenge game,” Turgeon said, “but it was a feel-good game for Indiana. They whipped us and it was a lot of fun in the building. So hopefully that’ll lock our guys into their defensive assignments and [have them] doing what they’re supposed to do and executing at a high level.”
When the Terrapins watched film of that first meeting, they left with a simple appreciation of Indiana’s shooting performance that night, not a list of glaring defensive problems they need correct. Ferrell, for example, made a series of tough, contested shots and only missed one of his eight 3-pointers. As a team, the Hoosiers shot 68 percent from beyond the arc.
Maryland forward Jake Layman said the team has stressed the importance of defending threes in practice this week. Yet it also trusts that Indiana, which has shot 42 percent from 3-point range in the five games since, will regress to the mean.
“They got hot,” Layman said. “First half, we played well. Our guys were watching the film. Then they just got hot and couldn’t miss, and there wasn’t much we could do.”
Ferrell has cooled off a bit from 3-point range since facing Maryland, but he remains one of the most dangerous players in the Big Ten. Entering
Wednesday’s game, he ranks sixth in the conference in scoring (16 points per game), fifth in assists (4.8) and first in free-throw percentage (87.2 percent).
In a weekly conference call with reporters Monday, Indiana coach Tom Crean said Ferrell’s game is continuously evolving.
“He just continues to improve and add things to his game, all the time,” Crean said. “One thing he’s so much better at is when there’s not a play, he can keep the ball and he can create something. At the same time, he’s playing with his head up and attacking very well. I think when the game is constantly moving, and more importantly he’s constantly moving, then that makes us that much harder to guard.”
In all likelihood, Trimble will be matched up with Ferrell again this time around. The freshman scored only 10 points against Indiana in Bloomington, then later fell into a two-game funk. He emerged from that lull Sunday against Iowa, scoring 20 points despite being poked in the eye and tumbling behind the basket into a cameraman, who accidentally dropped his camera on Trimble’s face.
Senior forward Jon Graham figures Trimble is looking forward to facing Ferrell again.
“I can imagine. Melo’s a really competitive player,” he said. “I’d expect him to come out and play like I know he’s capable of. He’s going to take on the challenge with Yogi Ferrell.”
When asked whether Trimble has shown signs of regression, Turgeon said he is not concerned about the freshman, just as he is not concerned about his team’s recent struggles.
Despite losing three of five, the Terrapins are 19-5 and one of four teams in a tie for second in the Big Ten. And four of their next five games — including potential resume-boosters against Indiana, Michigan and No. 5 Wisconsin — are at home, where they have only lost once this season, against No. 2 Virginia.
“We’re proud of what we’ve done to this point. We like where we are,” Turgeon said. “If you’d have told me we’d be 19-5 and 7-4, tied for second, and we have four of our next five at home? I’d be like, ’Whew. We’re in pretty good shape.’ So that’s how we’re viewing it.
• Tom Schad can be reached at tschad@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.