Three Things: Indiana 63, Maryland 55

Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports In a crucial home game against a mediocre Maryland squad, Indiana secured a badly needed 63-55 win on Monday night. If you watched so much as a single minute of the first half, that score might surprise you.

Because IU was bad — almost incomprehensibly bad across those first 20 minutes.

But the Hoosiers recovered midway through the second period, riding Trayce Jackson-Davis’ assertiveness to the finish line. Here are Three Things:

Maryland was awful. Indiana was slightly better.

This wasn’t a must-win game. But it was definitely a You Should Really, Really Try Your Best To Win This type of game. With a trip to Madison on deck, Indiana couldn’t afford to fall…