Hoosiers, Terps show they haven't lost much

INDIANAPOLIS -- Maryland has four new starters, and Indiana has three. Yet if Tuesday night's game is any indication, last season's NCAA finalists aren't thinking about rebuilding.

"We lost four really good players, and to come in here and play like this is a really good sign for our team and our program," Terrapins coach Gary Williams said after Indiana's 80-74 overtime win.

Because of the number of underclassmen leaving college basketball's best programs for the NBA, building a dynasty and sustaining it is more difficult for coaches than their predecessors. With the exception of Duke, teams have difficulty restocking their rosters.

Even schools that bring back strong teams often struggle early in the season, but that hasn't seemed to be the case for the 10th-ranked Hoosiers or the ninth-ranked Terrapins.

Critics questioned how Indiana would deal with the loss of Big Ten player of the year Jared Jeffries and defensive stopper Dane Fife. Or how Maryland would replace Juan Dixon, the NCAA tournament's most outstanding player, and the inside presence of Chris Wilcox and Lonny Baxter.

They've fared well. Indiana is off to a 5-0 start, having already beaten UMass, Gonzaga, Virginia and Maryland -- all on neutral courts.

The Terrapins, who lost three players to the NBA, are 3-1 and got their first real test against a ranked opponent Tuesday night. While they didn't win, they were strong on the inside and played well enough in a hostile environment to turn some heads.

"We've been playing pretty good defense, but I was kind of worried about our offense," Williams said. "Then you look at a guy like Ryan Randle, and you can't ask for anything more."

As expected, the teams were led by their veterans -- Steve Blake and Tom Coverdale. Blake scored a career-high 22 points, although his midcourt heave at the end of regulation was waved off by the officials. Coverdale was the only Hoosiers player who shot well. His 30 points matched a career high.

But their replacements played well, too.

Randle scored 20 points and grabbed 16 rebounds after Tahj Holden fouled out 5:41 into the second half, while Indiana went with three freshmen -- Bracey Wright, Sean Kline and Marshall Strickland -- for most of the final 15 minutes.

Wright scored 19 points, and Strickland's steal near the end of regulation helped Indiana send the game into overtime. Kline had 10 points and five rebounds in 21 minutes, even though Indiana coach Mike Davis was reluctant to play him.

It wasn't what they did that impressed Davis, but their confidence.

"This team believes no one can beat them," Davis said. "We've never played harder."