INDIANAPOLIS -- Tom Coverdale couldn't stop grinning, leaned into the reporter in the Indiana locker room and said rather smugly, "Nice coming-out party, huh?''

	The schedule of games for the fourth annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge: Monday Florida State 80, Iowa 67 Tuesday Duke 91, Ohio State 76 Clemson 79, Penn State 70 Indiana 80, Maryland 74 (OT) Illinois 92, North Carolina 65 Wednesday Georgia Tech at Minnesota (ESPN, 7 ET) Northwestern at N.C. State (ESPN2, 7:30 ET) Virginia at Michigan State (ESPN, 9 ET) Wake Forest at Wisconsin (ESPN2, 9:30 ET)

Not bad at all.

"But I'm tired.''

He should be, after using every ounce of energy he had Tuesday with 30 points -- matching his career high -- in Indiana's 80-74 overtime win over Maryland in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

Start the Wooden Award player of the year campaign, because he's about as grassroots a candidate as there is without all the flare and finances of an over-hyped, oversaturated NBA-bound player.

Coverdale is the kid who won't get picked first for a rat ball game, but you can bet his team will win, leaving the opponent shaking his head wondering how he just got beat by a stocky, maybe 6-foot-1 (he's officially listed at 6-2, but that's a reach) redhead who didn't look like he had game.

He beats his opponent to the ball, makes steals just when it looks like the pass is complete, and gets in an opponent's head because he's always a threat to take a shot five feet beyond the 3-point line.

"All he does is make big shots,'' Maryland's Tahj Holden said. "He gives his team confidence and he's as confident a player as I've seen. He's one of the best in the country.''

Not pro, not NBA-bound, but rather one of the best college players in the country. Nothing wrong with that when he wins games like the one he helped take over Tuesday night.

Forget about the 30 points Coverdale once put up at Notre Dame as a sophomore, or even the gritty play throughout the NCAA Tournament last season on a bum ankle to jump-start the Hoosiers to the title game -- where they met, and lost to Maryland, 64-52..

Don't even start with the 20 he put up to beat UMass in the opener at the Maui Invitational. UMass? Come on. This was Maryland. This was the rematch. This was in Indiana, his state, in his capital city, in front of a raucous Conseco Fieldhouse crowd that was as fevered a college basketball atmosphere as we've seen in recent memory.

This was his game, his team, and this is quickly becoming his season.

"This was our biggest game, best win beside the tournament games,'' Coverdale said, referencing wins over Duke, Kent State and Oklahoma in the NCAA tourney. "We've been thinking about it all summer, thinking about the team that kept us from winning the national championship.''

Coverdale's 30 points, four steals, six boards, 9-for-10 free throw shooting, five 3s and five assists in 43 of a possible 45 minutes wasn't even everything he produced for the Hoosiers. There was more, much more. ...

"(Assistant coach John) Treloar always talked to me about being a leader and to do everything you need to do to help the team win,'' Coverdale said. "He told me to find out who's hot and find out who is shooting the ball real well. Tonight I had to score well for us to win. Being a senior you have to do that.''

Coverdale had deflections, he moved the offense, making the pass to set up the assist for someone else, motivating his team, fist-pumping and flat-out being one of the toughest leaders in the country in easily the best college game of this season to date.

"He's the most underrated guard in the country,'' Indiana coach Mike Davis said. "Most underrated player.''

Davis should know, because he gave Coverdale his shot when he took over the team two-plus seasons ago and handed the point guard duties to a player who couldn't get into more than 10 games as a freshman behind A.J. Guyton under then-coach Bob Knight.

	Tom Coverdale, center, isn't the prototypical NBA-bound player, but plays the college game better than almost anyone else.

"No one thought I could even play Division I my first year,'' Coverdale said.

Spin forward and he's having more fun toying with the college game than even he could have predicted.

"The most fun about this is that I've gone through my whole career earning everything,'' Coverdale said. "I'm going to miss this when it's over. Hopefully someone will see (in the NBA or in a pro league) how much heart I have and give me a chance. To say I've got a chance for player of the year is a big honor. I can't worry about that. I just have to be a leader, a passer or a scorer.''

Coverdale had to be a little bit of everything against the Terps. The Hoosiers were downright abysmal in the first 17 minutes, shooting in the teens. But it was Coverdale's 3-pointer that seemed to get the team going to suddenly cut the lead to 29-18. Then a Coverdale steal to feed Bracey Wright set up a three-point play and it was only an eight-point game after it was once 14.

The second-half comeback started with another Coverdale steal. He got to a loose ball before anyone else and matched Maryland senior point Steve Blake almost point for point. Blake, who would hit a would-be game-winning 55-foot 3-pointer that wasn't allowed because it came after the buzzer, finished with 22 points.

"I've got the most respect for him because he plays similar to me,'' Coverdale said. "He's not the most athletic, but he's one of the smartest point guards in the country. He's got a good feel for the game and he's a great leader. He steps up and hit some big shots to keep them in the game.''

But Blake didn't hit as many as Coverdale.

It was Coverdale's 3-pointer that gave the Hoosiers a 46-44 lead -- their first of the game. Coverdale's spin move and 3-pointer kept the Hoosiers flip-flopping the lead in the final few minutes and then his 3-pointer gave them a 68-67 lead. And while he only scored three points (all free throws) in the overtime, he helped get the ball plenty to Sean Kline. And it was Coverdale's confidence in the redshirt freshman forward that helped Kline stay in the game.

Kline became the third forward the Hoosiers desperately needed when he replaced an ineffective and ailing (strained rotator cuff) George Leach. Kline finished with 10 points (6-for-14 at the line) and five boards in 21 minutes while Leach played the same amount but had only three boards, never got to the line but did have six blocks. Leach was very supportive of Kline, hugging him when he came off the court and encouraging him throughout the second half.

"I've been saying all along that (Kline is) capable,'' Coverdale said. "We saw the real Sean tonight. He can play like that all the time.''

"This is huge from my standpoint that the team is comfortable with me on the court producing,'' Kline said of Davis and his teammates. "(Coach Davis) is fair about playing time and honors that if you produce on the court, then you'll stay out there.''

That's exactly why Coverdale hasn't left yet. And his presence means Indiana isn't through being a Final Four team. Tuesday's game, and Coverdale's performance, validated the Hoosiers' Maui Invitational victory last week and cemented them as the team to beat in the Big Ten and possibly more.

"We have a chance to get a No. 1 seed,'' Coverdale said of the NCAA Tournament, albeit in early December. "This win showed we've got heart.''

Everyone already knew that Coverdale had one. Now it's clear the same is true for the rest of this edition of Hoosiers, who are, perhaps, better than last season's team that lost to Maryland.

Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.