As the opening tip of the game was won by Michigan’s Hunter Dickinson, Maryland men’s basketball geared up on the defensive end in what was expected to be a tight battle, as the line for the game was a pick ‘em.
But in the blink of an eye the Wolverines made their first seven shots and jumped out to a 17-0 lead, and optimism for the Terps quickly vanished.
The Terps had their worst first half of the season. Maryland allowed 44 points, scored just 13 of its own and shot 4-30 from the field. The Terps dug themselves a hole that was just too big to climb out of, as Michigan handed Maryland its fourth loss of the season, 81-46.
Head coach Kevin Willard simply had no answer for Dickinson’s presence on the inside. The 7-foot-1 former All American went off, scoring 32 points on 13-16 shooting, and grabbed 12 rebounds against the undersized Terps.
Sophomore forward Julian Reese tried guarding him in the first half, but quickly got into foul trouble with three fouls in the first half, making it hard to keep him on the floor. He fouled out of the game with 9:43 left in the second half, scoring just two points in the game.
Graduate student forward Patrick Emilien was another attempted answer for Dickinson off the bench, but he also fouled out with over 14 minutes left in the game. Not a single Terp had any luck against the dominant Wolverine big man.
It was another game this season in which the Terps fell ice cold shooting from beyond the three-point line. Willard has talked about good shooting being crucial in order for Maryland to win, and the looks were not going in from the start. Maryland shot just 1-9 from three in the first half.
Senior guard Don Carey got the start after being benched the last few games and shot dismally on a high volume, going 0-8 from three, but he wasn’t the only Terp that struggled against a tough Michigan defense. Senior forward Donta Scott — averaging 13.2 points per game — finished with just five on 2-10 shooting from the field. Senior guard Jahmir Young — Maryland’s leading scorer — only scored five points.
Maryland’s trouble with fouling was present for the whole game, and was a big reason why a second half comeback was nearly impossible. Coming into the second half down 44-13, the Terps committed eight fouls in the first 10 minutes, compared to just two from the Wolverines. Willard got a tech due to sheer frustration with the amount of calls going against Maryland during that period.
After scoring just 13 points in the first half, the Terps got back on track scoring wise after the break. They put up 33 in the second half, but with the lack of an improved defense, it didn’t matter.
The loss for Maryland is its second in conference play, dropping to 1-2 in the Big Ten. The Terps will look for an improved performance next time on the court, when they travel to New Jersey on Thursday to take on Rutgers.
