Undermanned Maryland men’s basketball falls to No. 2 Michigan 101-83

Photo courtesy of Maryland Athletics

Facing the Big Ten’s best scoring offense, Maryland men’s basketball needed a standout showing from forward Solomon Washington. The senior delivered until he was disqualified early in the second half.

Without Washington, Maryland surrendered a 56-point second half to No. 2 Michigan in a 101-81 loss at the Xfinity Center in College Park on Saturday.

“Tonight was [Washington’s] third game … so we were beginning to figure out how he could help us best,” head coach Buzz Williams said. “He’s very impactful.”

After a lackluster offensive showing against Iowa, Williams overhauled the starting lineup. Guards David Coit, Andre Mills and George Turkson Jr. all drew the start, and senior forward Elijah Saunders was moved to the bench.

Myles Rice and Darius Adams – the Terps’ starting guards against the Hawkeyes – also came off the bench after combining for eight points on 1-for-9 shooting in Iowa. Additionally, guards Isaiah Watts and Guillermo Del Pino were ruled out due to injury, limiting Maryland’s depth in the backcourt.

Williams’ changes to the lineup immediately paid dividends.

Coit scored nine of Maryland’s first 10 points on three consecutive 3-pointers. The graduate student showed he can power the Terps’ offense as the go-to scoring option in a 41-point showing against Mount St. Mary’s on Nov. 19, and looked to be on pace for a similar performance in just the first few minutes. 

“Diggy is video game-like sometimes,” Williams said.

Maryland finished the half 10-for-18 from three and committed only four turnovers in the first 20 minutes, an issue that has stunted its success. The Terps average a Big Ten-high 13.9 turnovers a game.

“Our turnover rate has been our number-one offensive problem,” Williams said. “We played with a really low turnover rate. We had our best offensive rebounding percentage, some of that is correlated.”

Maryland also shoots and shoot 31.1% from long range, the second-lowest mark in the conference. Michigan has forced opponents into even worse shooting numbers.

The Wolverines’ opponents shoot just 34.5% from the field, the second-lowest clip in the nation, and less than 30% from three. KenPom ranks Michigan’s defense as the country’s best by a sizable margin. It still couldn’t stop Maryland in the first half.

The Terps scored 50 points – the most Michigan has allowed in a half this season. Coit and Rice combined for 34 points on 11-for-19 shooting from the field and made eight of their 12 3-point attempts. 

Maryland’s torrid first half was dampened when senior forward/center Pharrel Payne suffered his second injury this season. Payne went down in a heap and grabbed at his leg. Payne was later helped off the court and was unable to put weight on his right foot.

The Texas A&M transfer also fell awkwardly against Marquette on Nov. 15, sustaining what appeared to be a serious injury, but missed only one game. 

“We’ve kind of been through that before,” Williams said. “A lot of the same words that the guys were saying to me in the timeout in [Marquette], they were kind of saying to me as I went to see [Payne] tonight.”

Payne leads Maryland in scoring this season at 18.7 points per game and has been the focal point of the Terps’ offense. But roughly four and a half minutes of the first half after Payne’s injury, Maryland still outscored Michigan 13-9.

Maryland then lost its best defensive player less than two minutes into the second half.

Washington was called for a technical foul in the first half after gesturing toward the Michigan bench following a corner three. He picked up a second technical foul for a delay of game in the following half, disqualifying him for the remainder of the contest. 

The Terps immediately felt his absence. Michigan rattled off an 8-0 run and reclaimed the lead just a few minutes later. Shooting 75% from the field and converting six of their nine 3-point attempts, the Wolverines grew their lead to as much as 20.

Maryland continued to shoot well in the second half, but it found itself at a rare disadvantage at the free-throw line. Michigan converted 14-of-15 from the stripe, while Maryland only attempted three free throws. The Terps’ 13 free throws were their second-fewest this season.

Despite the lack of production from the free-throw line – which Williams has said the Terps will have to rely on – Maryland scored its second-most points against a Power Five opponent this season.