March 31, 2002

By JIM O'CONNELL
AP Basketball Writer

ATLANTA (AP) - How Indiana and Maryland match up for Monday night's national championship game:

Frontcourts

Indiana's star is Jared Jeffries, who leads the team with 15.2 points and 7.6 rebounds a game. But Jarrad Odle also has been a big contributor at 9.1 points and 5.1 rebounds.

Maryland has a more traditional three-man frontcourt, with bulky Lonny Baxter (15.2, 8.1) in the middle between the unbelievably athletic Chris Wilcox (12.1, 7.1) and Byron Mouton (11.3, 5.0), the team's best defender.

It's easy to give the edge to Maryland, but Indiana relied heavily on its frontcourt in the wins over Duke and Oklahoma.

Backcourts

Tom Coverdale is second on the Hoosiers in scoring at 12.0 points, but his 176 assists dwarf the next-highest total on the team. Dane Fife (8.6) is the best defender and Kyle Hornsby (7.6) tied Coverdale for the team lead with 68 3-pointers. This group, and Jeffries, has made its mark from 3-point range, shooting 41 percent for the season, including the remarkable 15-for-19 against Kent State in the regional final and 8-for-13 against Oklahoma.

Maryland shooting guard Juan Dixon (20.5) has capped his All-American season with an NCAA tournament in which he has scored at least 27 points in all but one game, including 33 in the win over Kansas. Point guard Steve Blake (8.0) has more assists (37) than points (31) in the tournament.

Dixon and Blake have been one of the nation's best backcourts for the past two seasons, so the edge would have to go their way. Still, Coverdale, who played 29 minutes against Oklahoma despite a sprained left ankle, Fife and Hornsby have found a way all season to hold their own against all comers.

BENCHES

Indiana's Jeff Newton had a career-high 19 points against Oklahoma as the Hoosiers' reserves outscored the Sooners' 41-12 to improve their advantage to 126-65 for the tournament. Newton, a 6-foot-9 junior, is 23-for-29 from the field in the five games. A.J. Moye, Donald Perry and George Leach have also provided big minutes in the championship-game run.

Maryland's backcourt reserve has been Drew Nicholas (7.1), while Taj Holden and Ryan Randle have been able to spell anyone up front who has gotten into foul trouble.

This is the one area where Maryland has a hard time matching up with Indiana, especially during the tournament.

Coaches

Mike Davis is in just his second season as a head coach, but he has led the Hoosiers to one more NCAA tournament win this season than Bob Knight had in last his last seven trips with the Hoosiers.

Gary Williams is in his 24th season as a head coach and this is his second trip to the Final Four, the other coming last season. He has a 22-11 record in the NCAA tournament, the eighth-winningest mark among active coaches.

Williams has the experience edge. He started his head coaching career at American University in 1978-79, the season Davis was a high school senior, earning all-state honors in Alabama.

The Edge

Almost everything points to top-seeded Maryland. Indiana wasn't expected to do much as a No. 5 seed, but the Hoosiers have found a way to beat the big boys (Duke and Oklahoma) and the fellow surprise teams (North Carolina-Wilmington and Kent State).

Dixon has been the man for Maryland and there's no reason he shouldn't continue to be in his final college game: Maryland 88, Indiana 73.