Indiana Hoosiers Tied for First in Big Ten

With their rout of the No. 13 Maryland Terrapins on Thursday night the No. 23 ranked Indiana Hoosiers could be a team to challenge the Wisconsin Badgers for the Big Ten title.

On Thursday, the Hoosiers defeated the Terrapins 89-71 to move into a tie in first place with Wisconsin at 5-1.

Indiana proved that even though scoring is down in college basketball the defensive stats could be overrated. Teams that are able to score, or ones that can shoot are the top teams.

Because of that, Indiana stands out from other possible contenders. The Hoosiers do what no other team outside of Wisconsin in the Big Ten can do. They score buckets.

Yogi Ferrell a starting guard for Indiana will not always hit 7 of his 8 shots from beyond the three-point line. However, on Thursday the Hoosiers were hot, hot, hot.

Indiana shot 68% from the floor against Maryland who is ranked No. 9 in adjusted defense.

However, Ferrell was open for a reason. The Hoosiers have more than one shooter that teams must respect making it easier for them to get open.

James Blackmon Jr. a freshman guard leads the team in scoring at 16.5 points a game and shoots 41% from the 3-point line.

Robert Johnson does not shoot many 3s, but when he chooses to, he makes 40% of them.

Tom Crean the Indiana coach can pull sharpshooters off the bench as well. Collin Hartman a sophomore forward started for the first time at Indiana on Thursday due to an injury to Hanner Mosquera-Perea. He scored 15 points on a perfect 3 for 3 from beyond the arc.

Indiana is ranked No. 14 in adjusted offense. The Badgers at No. 2 and Ohio State at No. 23 are the only other Big Ten teams in the nation’s top 30.

Indiana is also leading the Big Ten in scoring averaging 81.5 points a game. The Hoosiers have already beaten the No 2, 3 and 4 ranked defenses in the Big Ten in Nebraska, Ohio State and Maryland.

Not much was thought of Indiana during the preseason. The Hoosiers were ranked just ninth one spot in front of Maryland.

Indiana is one of the best teams in the Big Ten on offense, with only Wisconsin the exception.

Consider this, Maryland had won all four of its previous road games when shooting 50% or better this year and against Indiana shot 51%. That would normally result in the win on the road for the Terrapins.

However, Indiana scored 89 points, which was the most allowed by Maryland all season. The Hoosiers shot a phenomenal 68% from beyond the 3-point line.

If Indiana’s offense can continue with it fine play, the Hoosiers could prove to the Big Ten that they do not need as many defensive stops to have a successful season.