Maryland women’s basketball vs. Indiana preview

Five days after dropping its first game in nearly two months and learning that one of its best players will miss the remainder of the season, Maryland women’s basketball is back in action Tuesday against Indiana.

The No. 14 Terps (15-3, 4-1 Big Ten) hope to recover from a disappointing 82-68 loss to Michigan State on Thursday. They’ll have to adjust to life without Blair Watson, who was averaging nearly 14 points per game before tearing her ACL in practice last week.

Maryland’s outlook is a little different now.

This team isn’t as talented as it had been in recent years, but still cruised through most of its early schedule, losing only to No. 1 UConn and defending champion South Carolina before reeling off 13 straight wins. The Terps were shaping up as a top-two Big Ten team once again, even as teams like Michigan and Iowa took steps forward.

In the first game with Watson out, though, Maryland dropped its first conference game to anyone other than Ohio State since joining the Big Ten in 2014. And it happened at home to an unranked team. Tuesday’s game should be an indicator of how Maryland adjusts its approach without Watson—the Terps are back down to nine available players—and it’s also a chance for a much-needed win before No. 8 Ohio State comes to College Park on Monday.

Indiana hopes to turn around a difficult season.

The Hoosiers are 8-11 overall and 1-5 in Big Ten play, although three of their conference defeats have come to ranked teams. They’ve also got non-conference losses to Chattanooga and Saint Mary’s.

But Indiana has Tyra Buss, who’s been one of the premier scoring point guards in the league for a while. The senior is averaging 19.8 points per game this year, and although her season high is just 28, she’s gone as high as 38 during her career. Maryland will also have to worry about forwards Amanda Cahill (13.7 points, 8.2 rebounds) and Kym Royster (11.7 points, 6.2 boards). Still, Indiana hasn’t threatened any teams of Maryland’s caliber, and another upset would be devastating to the Terps.

How to watch and listen

Tuesday, Jan. 16, 7 p.m. ET, XFINITY Center, College Park

Streaming: BTN Plus, WMUC Sports