Michigan Basketball Instant Recap: U-M 68, Maryland 67
Michigan got off to a sluggish start against a shorthanded Maryland team, and it nearly cost them. The Wolverines missed four shots at the rim in the first five minutes and fell behind by six, went down by as many as 14 before rallying.
Senior Muhammad Ali Abdur-Rahkman's two free throws with a second to go gave Michigan a 68-67 win.
Junior center Moritz Wagner’s triple cut an early six-point deficit to 10-7 at the 15:24 mark, but the Terps ripped off five straight to take an eight-point lead. Anthony Cowan Jr.'s desperation three banked in at 11:45 to make it 18-7. Sophomore big man Jon Teske ended the drought with a finish from redshirt sophomore Charles Matthews at 11:29.
The Wolverines were only 4-for-14 from the floor before fifth-year senior Duncan Robinson tripled to make it 18-12 at 10:00. Cowan answered with a triple that pushed it back to nine with another buzzer beating triple.
It was 11 on a put-back, and U-M appeared sluggish on both ends.
The Terps made it 26-12 on a Jared Nickens three with 6:00 to go in the half, but Robinson finally drove the lane and answered. Still, U-M trailed 28-14 with 3:33 remaining in the half and was shooting only 6-of-24, 2-for-8 from long range, and getting outrebounded 20-10.
Simpson missed another lay-up, U-M’s seventh or so at the rim, but U-M held, and Wagner scored inside to cut the deficit to 12. Little used grad transfer point guard Jaaron Simmons drove and finished to end the half.
Michigan shot only 9-for-29 from the floor to Maryland’s 12-of-25. The Wolverines were outrebounded 24-12 and didn’t get to the free throw line, trailing 30-20.
SECOND HALF
The Wolverines came out with more energy and go the crowd into it right away, scoring the first seven points of the half. Wagner’s triple cut it to 30-27 at 17:28, forcing a Maryland timeout.
Simpson’s steal and three-point play in transition tied it just like that, and the crowd was alive. Cowan ended the drought with a drive and finish, and the Terps added four more to take a six-point edge.
Freshman shooting guard Jordan Poole ended a 7-0 drought with a triple from the top. Wagner then answered a Maryland dunk with another triple to cut it back to 39-36.
The Wolverines continued to match Maryland twos with threes. Livers made one from the corner at 13:15, and Poole nailed one in transition, and just like that the Wolverines were up … a blocked shot and another Poole three-pointer made it 45-41 Wolverines.
Cowan finally answered with a three from the top at 12:15. Maryland took the lead back with a three after Matthews missed again at the rim, but Wagner answered with his own. It was 49-47 with 10 minutes remaining. Robinson kept the three-point barrage going with a tile from the corner, and it was 52-47 at 9:30 after a seventh straight made triple.
Three straight fouls in a span of 10 seconds put Maryland in the bonus, and Darryl Morsell made a pair.
Poole continued to shine. He drove and finished, and then found sophomore Jon Teske on a pick and roll finish, and one. Michigan was up 57-49 with 8:10 to go after his 11 points in 10 minutes.
The two teams traded a number of misses before a Matthews putback pushed the lead to 10 with 6:00 to go. The Terps wouldn’t go away. They scored five straight and it was game on, forcing a Michigan timeout with 3:38 remaining.
Both teams traded turnovers, and Wagner made two free throws at 2:48 to push the lead back to seven and give U-M some breathing room.
Kevin Huerter's three at 1:49 cut it to four. An Abdur-Rhakman miss at the rim and two more Huerter free throws cut it back to two before Abdur-Rahkman responded with a huge triple.
That set up a fabulous finish. Simpson scored inside, but Cowan hit a desperation three. Simpson then missed two free throws with 20 seconds remaining. The Wolverines lost Kevin Huerter, and he tripled with 3.5 seconds remaining. Abdur-Rahkman somehow got open over half court and took it to the rim, taking a great pass from Livers. He was tripped with 1.2 seconds remaining, and the 92-percent free throw shooter made both.
Huerter's desperation heave at the buzzer fell short, and U-M improved to 5-2 in the Big Ten.
Wagner finished with 18 and Poole added 11 in the win. Nobody else scored more than seven.
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