As the clock hit zero Sunday afternoon, Maryland fifth-year senior guard Selton Miguel sent the orange Adidas basketball soaring high into the Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall rafters.
The ball landed with a thud on Branch McCracken Court — a fall from grace similar to that of Indiana men’s basketball, which squandered a 4-point lead in the final 30 seconds en route to a 79-78 loss to Maryland.
Indiana (14-7, 5-5 Big Ten) has lost four of its last five games. Sunday’s defeat may sting more than the others.
The Hoosiers had the Terrapins (16-5, 6-4 Big Ten) down 75-70 with two and a half minutes remaining. Maryland trimmed its deficit to 75-74 with back-to-back buckets, but after an and-one layup from Indiana fifth-year senior guard Anthony Leal, the Hoosiers led 78-74 with 38 seconds left.
Indiana appeared headed for its third Quad 1 victory, one that included a 10-point second-half comeback in front of a loud, energized crowd. Then, it fell apart.
Maryland junior guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie made a floater in the lane, pulling the Terrapins within 2 points with 28 seconds remaining. Indiana successfully inbounded the ball and moved past halfcourt before fifth-year senior guard Trey Galloway drew a foul.
The Hoosiers hadn’t faltered yet. Then, Galloway missed the front end of a one-and-one — the start of a domino effect that ultimately buried Indiana.
Maryland called timeout with 18 seconds remaining. Galloway, a 65.5% free throw shooter entering the day, briefly put his hands on his head as he walked back to the Hoosiers’ huddle.
In the timeout, Indiana head coach Mike Woodson and his assistants told their players they had a foul to give on Maryland’s ensuing possession.
The Hoosiers didn’t use it. Maryland attacked the lane but lost the ball before it ended in the hands of Terrapins sophomore guard Rodney Rice, who buried a go-ahead triple with seven seconds left, stunning the Hoosier faithful.
Woodson liked the start of Indiana’s possession defensively until the play broke structure, resulting in what Woodson later described as a “huge” mistake.
“We just didn’t get a key stop with a foul to give,” Woodson said postgame. “The ball scrambled out. The initial thrust of their offense, I thought we played it well. Then when the ball kind of spurted around, we just didn’t get up and take the foul like we should have.”
Leal, who finished with 6 points and five rebounds, confirmed postgame the Hoosiers discussed fouling in their huddle, but the players failed to do it.
“It’s on us as players to go out there and execute what’s told us to do,” Leal said. “We didn’t do it right there, but that’s not the reason we lost the game. There’s plays and plays that add up and lead up to that. Sure, yes, we were under the impression we were supposed to foul, and unfortunately, we didn’t.”
Still, Indiana had a chance.
Redshirt sophomore guard Myles Rice sprinted across the timeline, and the Hoosiers called timeout with five seconds remaining.
Out of the timeout, Maryland threw a curveball at Indiana, running zone defense. Galloway inbounded the ball to junior forward Malik Reneau, who had scored 8 points in the second half and found himself in a one-on-one against Maryland freshman center Derek Queen.
But as Reneau tried to drive on the baseline, Queen knocked it out of bounds. Woodson said Reneau was trying to draw a foul. No matter, Indiana retained possession with three seconds left.
Then, chaos struck.
Woodson went to his bench, inserting sophomore forward Mackenzie Mgbako and senior forward Luke Goode into the lineup for Leal and sixth-year senior center Oumar Ballo. Fans cheered at Goode’s entrance and Ballo’s exit, but cheers turned to boos when Leal left the court.
The fans’ split reaction mirrored the similarly confused attitudes of the Hoosiers’ players on the court.
“I think we were trying to run a play, but then the substitutions kind of got everybody confused a little bit, trying to put everybody in their right spots,” Rice said postgame. “Then we didn’t have a timeout, so we were trying to fix everything on the fly a little bit in such a heated moment. We’ve got to be better as players.”
Indiana’s baseline out of bounds play was designed for Rice, who started in the corner, to come off a screen from Reneau. Woodson said the Hoosiers knew Maryland wanted to switch everything, so Rice would have ideally had a one-on-one with Queen on the perimeter and enough time to attack the rim.
But Rice didn’t use the screen.
He remained in the corner, turned around and launched a contested 3-pointer, which didn’t hit the rim. Galloway tipped the ball outside, where it landed in Miguel’s hands before being sent toward the ceiling.
“I’ll just start by saying this: I know they’re not going to want me to say it, but that’s on me as the point guard,” Rice said. “No matter what lineup we’re in, we have to make sure we all know what we’re doing, and I’ll take some of the heat on that. It’s just a heated moment. You can’t really put it into words sometimes. Everything happens so fast.”
Woodson said the play came down to a lack of execution.
“Myles didn’t come off, and he stayed there in the corner,” Woodson said. “We didn’t get much out of it.”
Leal stood on the bench, his arms sitting atop his head. Reneau did the same. Goode threw his arms in front of him, palms face up as if he was asking the bench a simple — yet loaded — question: what happened?
Rice cited composure in key moments. Leal referenced handling punches and fighting better than the other team. Woodson added the failure to execute little details.
But there may not be a one-size-fits-all answer for a collapse that took the air out of a once vibrant arena.