Michigan came from 12 down in the first half to handle Maryland for a third time this year, but the Wolverines still need to be better to make deep runs in the postseason, both the Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments.
Senior guard Mike Smith was dynamite for his team, finishing with 18 points and 15 assists, and the bench brought U-M back in the game. But Eli Brooks was one of the biggest stories, shrugging off a sprained ankle to finish with 16 points on 4-of-8 three-point shooting.
Here are the three biggest storylines (no, the Juwan Howard - Mark Turgeon altercation isn't one of them), two concerns and one prediction following the 79-66 victory.
THREE BIGGEST STORYLINES In U-M’s Win Over Maryland
Eli Brooks’ return. We’d heard and reported early in the week that Brooks’ sprained ankle suffered early against Michigan State wasn’t as bad as it looked (and it looked bad when he was carried off the floor).
We then heard he would likely play this weekend, possibly as early as Friday, and reported this morning he would give it a shot against Maryland.
He was rusty, no doubt. He couldn’t move as well laterally, and he was short and flat on his jumper early, even airballing a few.
But when the game was on the line, big game Brooks was back. We’ve said it for years — he’s the guy who always seems to come up with the huge bucket when another team is surging, and it was his five straight points after Maryland cut it to 57-52 at 9:49 that proved biggest Friday.
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