Indiana finishes undefeated at home and continues to build resume

Voters have begrudgingly moved No. 12 Indiana up in the polls over the past month because the Hoosiers have earned it. Some have taken longer to come around to giving the Hoosiers their due because Indiana just didn’t have the strength of schedule on its side that others in the conference and around the nation did.

But after the Hoosiers dispatched No. 14 Maryland, the preseason Big Ten favorite, on Sunday 80-62 to complete an undefeated season at home and put an exclamation point on their regular season conference title, there is little doubt Indiana is one of the best teams in the nation heading into the postseason.

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Point guard Yogi Ferrell made his final start in a record-setting career at Assembly Hall and scored 17 points while dishing four assists to lead Indiana to a 25th win, 17 of which have come in home games. Troy Williams scored 23 points for the Hoosiers. 

Ferrell is Indiana’s career leader in assists and starts. He earned one final well-deserved ovation from Indiana fans late in the game when he saw Maryland trying to save time by rolling the ball up the floor. He sprinted up the court and dived for the ball forcing a jump ball with Maryland guard Melo Trimble who fell asleep on the pllay and didn’t see Ferrell coming until it was too late.

Hoosiers fans serenaded their point guard for 30 seconds by chanting his name. “Yogi Ferrell…Yogi Ferrell…Yogi Ferrell.”

[Improbable bounce sends Northern Iowa back to the NCAA tournament]

Indiana capped the regular season by winning five straight, including three victories against ranked opponents, which adds to a resume that once was lacking in truly significant wins. The Hoosiers are the top seed in the Big Ten tournament next week but are still considered only a No. 3 seed in the NCAA field. If they can continue to roll and win the conference tournament, they would likely move up to a No. 2 seed in the NCAA field, which will be announced next Sunday.

Indiana is one of the best offensive teams in the nation with one of the best point guards in the college game and has improved defensively over the course of the season. The Hoosiers began the season with questions about the job security of head coach Tom Crean. They’re ending it with legitimate hopes of getting to the Final Four.

That brings us back to Maryland, a team many believed would have the kind of season Indiana has had. The Terrapins were once ranked as high as No. 2 in the nation but will go into the postseason losers in four of their final six games.

Maryland has been inconsistent on offense late in the season, taking cues from Trimble, who has suffered through a late-season slump. He led the Terrapins with 17 points on Sunday but needed 17 shots to get them.

The Terrapins will certainly hope to win a conference tournament title next week and they’re capable of it. But they might settle for getting back to playing a more consistent brand of basketball in advance of the tournament that could net them a national championship.

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[Kyle Ringo is the assistant editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KyleRingo