Indiana coach Tom Crean said on the Big Ten coaches' teleconference Monday that Maryland's success this season has a lot to do with the "matchup issues" the Terps present, as well as their ability to get to the free-throw line.
"What they have is tremendous versatility, they have a lot of matchup issues all over the court. They're getting outstanding guard play from not only [Melo] Trimble, who's playing incredibly well, but [Richaud] Pack is playing well, [Jared] Nickens and [Dion] Wiley can shoot the ball ... Not only can almost everybody on the court shoot the ball, but they can handle the ball."
Crean said senior guard Dez Wells is "an incredibly hard matchup, not only the way he can drive it, shoot it and score it, but he can pass it, especially from the low post."
Statistically, what stands out is the number of free throws Maryland is "taking and how many they're making," Crean said. "They're doing a great job of getting to the line and capitalizing on it."
The Terps have made 366 of 485 free throws (75.5 percent), making 46 more than any other team in the league while attempting 59 more than the next team. Nationally, Maryland ranks second behind only Brigham Young in those areas.