Men's Basketball Throwback: Maryland vs. Indiana
3/20/2020 1:26:00 PM | Men's Basketball
On March 20, Big Ten Network will present a reairings of Maryland's victory over Indiana in the 2002 NCAA National Championship game. The contest will air at 1 p.m., 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. Maryland Basketball's official Twitter page, @TerrapinHoops, will live tweet the 8 p.m. airing. Fans can prepare to relive the greatest moment in Maryland Basketball history with two previews from 2002, first from umterps.com and second from the Associated Press.
Indiana-Maryland Preview
March 31, 2002
GAME: No. 5 Indiana (25-11) vs. No. 1 Maryland (31-4)
ROUND: National Championship
SITE: The Georgia Dome, Atlanta
Maryland entered the NCAA tournament as one of the favorites to win the national championship.
Then again, so did some of the other teams Indiana has already beaten.
The Terrapins try to capture their first national title Monday night when they face the Hoosiers, who could pull off one last surprise by winning their sixth.
After reaching the 2001 Final Four and returning the core of that team, the Terrapins began this season with high expectations.
The Hoosiers, on the other hand, began with question marks. They were a perennial power during most of Bob Knight's tenure, but were not expected to be in the second season under Mike Davis, who took over when Knight was fired.
Maryland has lived up to its expectations. The Hoosiers have exceeded theirs.
"I just know, reading about them, seeing them play during the year, how tough they are, how driven they are this year," Maryland coach Gary Williams said of Indiana. "They seem to be on a mission. I think they had a lot of courage to play as hard as they did."
Williams' team has been the most impressive team in the tournament. With powerful inside play from Lonny Baxter, strong play from Juan Dixon on the perimeter and good bench contributions, the Terrapins have averaged 87.4 points in the tournament.
Maryland built a big lead midway through the second half and held on to beat Kansas 97-88 on Saturday night. Dixon made a number of key plays down the stretch and finished with 33 points for the Terrapins, who overcame Baxter scoring just four points as he was plagued by foul trouble.
"Juan Dixon is probably one of the best competitors in the country. He wants to win in the worst way," Davis said. "He's a tough guy."
Dixon is the leading scorer in the tournament with 137 points, while Baxter is tied for sixth despite his quiet night Saturday.
Unlike Maryland, Indiana seemingly has no stars. It hasn't mattered.
The Hoosiers, who upset defending champion Duke in the third round, knocked off another pre-tournament favorite Saturday night by beating Oklahoma 73-64. The Hoosiers got little offense from Jared Jeffries, their best player, but still shot 52.1 percent against one of the nation's most respected defensive teams.
Indiana's offense has come alive in the tournament. The Hoosiers have shot 50 percent or better in all five games and are the top shooting team from the field at 55.1 percent. Reserves Jeff Newton and A.J. Moye are shooting 79.3 and 68.4 percent, respectively.
The Hoosiers have been even better from 3-point range. Indiana was 6-for-6 in the second half Saturday night and is 23-of-32 (71.9 percent) in its last two games.
Much of that scoring has come from the reserves, who have outscored the opposition 126-65 in the tournament. Indiana's bench outscored Oklahoma's 41-12.
"That's what a national championship team is about. It is a team game," reserve guard Donald Perry said. "You cannot do it with just one or two guys. You have to have a whole team playing together.
"I think we have a good team and if every one plays well in their role then we win."
If that happens, Indiana could make more NCAA tournament history. The Hoosiers would become the first No. 5 seed to win the championship and tie the 1988 Kansas team for the most losses by a national champion.
It will take more than a good offensive night to beat Maryland, however. Connecticut and Kansas both scored more than 80 points, only to find that the Terps had too many weapons.
Besides Dixon's strong play Saturday, Maryland got 30 points from starting forwards Byron Mouton and Chris Wilcox, and 22 points from its bench. That allowed the Terps to survive with only 14 minutes from Baxter, the Most Outstanding Player of the East Regional.
"This team has never gone away in any tough situation," Williams said. "We've gotten beat but teams have really had to make a great effort to get us."
Dixon will likely be covered by Dane Fife, who has shut down the opposition's top guard in two straight games. Fife, the Big Ten defensive player of the year, limited Oklahoma's Hollis Price to six points on 1-for-11 shooting on Saturday after holding Kent State's Trevor Huffman to eight points on 2-for-7 in the South Regional final.
The other guard spot could see freshman Perry getting more time for Indiana. With starter Tom Coverdale struggling with his injured ankle on Saturday, Perry responded by scoring a career-high 10 points.
Indiana is 5-0 in championship games and has won all four meetings against Maryland.
PROBABLE STARTERS:
Indiana - F Jeffries (15.2 ppg, 7.6 rpg), F Kyle Hornsby (7.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg), F Jarred Odle (9.1 ppg, 5.1 rpg), G Fife (8.6 ppg, 2.6 apg), G Coverdale (12.0 ppg, 4.9 apg) or G Perry (2.6 ppg, 1.2 apg).
Maryland - F Wilcox (12.1 ppg, 7.1 rpg), F Mouton (11.3 ppg, 5.0 rpg), C Baxter (15.2 ppg, 8.1 rpg), G Dixon (20.5 ppg, 4.6 rpg), G Steve Blake (8.0 ppg, 8.1 apg).
HOW THEY GOT HERE:
Indiana - At-large bid, Big Ten, beat No. 12 Utah 75-56, first round, beat No. 13 NC-Wilmington 76-67, second round, beat No. 1 Duke 74-73, South Regional semifinal, beat No. 10 Kent State 81-69, regional final, beat No. 2 Oklahoma 73-64, national semifinal.
Maryland - At-large bid, Atlantic Coast Conference, beat No. 16 Siena 85-70, first round, beat No. 8 Wisconsin 87-57, second round, beat No. 4 Kentucky 78-68, East Regional semifinal, beat No. 2 Connecticut 90-82, regional final, beat No. 1 Kansas 97-88, national semifinal.
ALL-TIME TOURNAMENT RECORD:
Indiana - 57-25, 31 years.
Maryland - 28-17, 18 years.
News and Notes from Championship Monday
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.
