April 1, 2002

By MICHAEL MAROT
AP Sports Writer

ATLANTA -- With little inside help, Indiana needed a lot more than 3-point shooting against Maryland.

The Hoosiers didn't get it.

Indiana's improbable NCAA tournament run ended Monday night with a 64-52 loss to Maryland in the title game as big men Jared Jeffries and Jeff Newton struggled.

"They were definitely physical," said Jeffries, who hardly played like an All-American. "Down low, it's just a matter of putting the ball in the basket."

Jeffries and his teammates failed in that quest.

Throughout the tournament, Indiana had shown it could win with power, as it did against Duke and Oklahoma, or with outside shooting, as it did against Kent State.

Indiana, which reached the championship game thanks to impressive contributions from each of its four big men Saturday, failed to get much out of Jeffries or Newton against the Terrapins.

That was Maryland's plan.

"We wanted to stop those guys from getting off inside, because when they get it going on the inside, guys have to collapse on them and that opens up their outside shooters," backup forward Tahj Holden said.

The Hoosiers believed all along that they would go as far as Jeffries, the Big Ten player of the year, could carry them.

He got them into the national championship game with his versatility, but turned in one of his poorest games of the season Monday night.

The 6-foot-10 forward looked tentative, traveling twice in the game's opening minutes, and was blocked twice on drives. He struggled with his shooting, making only 4-of-11 shots and tossing up an airball. Jeffries had eight points and seven rebounds in what might have been his last college game.

"They did a really good job as far as just contesting shots," said Jeffries, who is considering leaving for the NBA. "They did a good job of not going across the arms and just contesting shots."

Newton, the Hoosiers' hero on Saturday, also struggled, scoring only six points and grabbing five rebounds. Jarrad Odle and George Leach played little more than bit parts.

Indiana had its usual strong outside game, hitting 10 3-pointers to keep it close. That wasn't nearly enough.

"We weren't strong with the ball," coach Mike Davis said. "I thought we did the best we could do, not making some shots that we probably should have made."

Davis continually pleaded with his players to run the offense, show patience and get the ball inside.

Lonnie Baxter, Chris Wilcox and Holden prevented Indiana from succeeding.

The Terrapins, in contrast, managed to go inside when they needed it most - in the game's closing minutes.

Baxter, Wilcox and Holden combined to score 27 points and grab 24 rebounds, many coming in the closing minutes when Indiana needed them to rally.

"Those guys are very good post guys, they've definitely got a future ahead of them at the next level," Odle said. "When you can bring guys off the bench that are just as good, it's tough."

Indiana struggled to match up against the Terrapins' big bodies all night.

The Hoosiers repeatedly fumbled passes and seemed to scramble on nearly every possession.

Indiana had nine turnovers in the first half and missed five layups. The Hoosiers shot 5-for-8 from 3-point range in the first half, but shot just 4-for-20 from inside the arc.

When their outside shooting cooled in the second half, the Hoosiers were without an answer for Maryland's defense. They scored just six points in the final 8:53 on two 3-pointers.

"I thought their inside defense was great," guard Tom Coverdale said. "That allowed them - they didn't have to double-team as much - they could just lock down on our shooters. We haven't really faced a defense that could do the things they did."