Michigan got off to a slow start offensively, but defense and timely offense down the stretch gave the Wolverines a huge, 69-62 win at Maryland.
The Wolverines were strong early defensively, but they made only one of their first seven shots from the floor. Sophomore wing Isaiah Livers, starting for the injured Charles Matthews, got a number of good looks but missed his first three; U-M fell behind 8-4 before junior point guard Zavier Simpson made one of his patented hook shots, and it was a tight game early.
The game was tied at 10 after freshman Colin Castleton finished with a one-handed slam inside, but the Terps took a 12-10 lead into the second TV timeout on the strength of offensive rebounding. They had four in the first eight minutes before Jalen Smith picked up his second foul at 11:37 and went to the bench.
Maryland went on a 6-0 run before Simpson countered with another hook, but the Wolverines still couldn't shoot. They were 4-of-16 other than Simpson’s 4-for-4, and they had a number of great looks.
Livers and junior Jon Teske both missed triples; Livers missed another making it 0-for-8 to start before frosh Ignas Brazdeikis finally hit one at 4:45. A Livers steal and two free throws made it 23-22 Michigan in a game in which U-M was shooting only 31.8 percent from the floor.
The Wolverines finally tied it when Brazdeikis made one of two free throws. They were 7-for-8 from the line at that point and had eight offensive rebounds, the big reason it was close.
Teske’s tip-in after yet another missed three, this one from Simpson, gave U-M its first lead at 2:15. He air-balled his next two shots, but his pick and roll finish gave the Wolverines the lead back and U-M finished with a 28-24 edge at the break.
Simpson finished the half with a drive and finish through the teeth of the Terps defense. He was involved in nine of Michigan’s 10 field goals in the first half and had six points and six assists.
Brazdeikis and Teske both finished with eight points, and despite finishing only 10-of-29 shooting and 1-for-11 from three in the first half, U-M outrebounded the Terrapins 21-15. Maryland didn’t get another offensive rebound in the last 11 minutes of the stanza.
SECOND HALF
Maryland started crashing the glass on the first possession of the second half, getting three … it resulted in an Anthony Cowan free throw. To that point, however, Cowan had managed only two points on 1-of-7 shooting.
Simpson, though, picked up his third foul on a foolish play away from the ball and went to the bench at 18:37.
U-M stayed a step ahead. Livers finally tripled at 17:55 to give Michigan its biggest lead, 33-27, but Maryland continued to attack the offensive glass. The Terps grabbed a 36-35 lead at 15:50 with a transition bucket, capping a 9-2 run and forcing a timeout. They had six offensive rebounds in the first four minutes of the half.
Brazdeikis and Poole both responded with jumpers to help U-M keep pace, but the Terrapins’ Bruno Fernando was a man inside defensively. He blocked three shots in the first six minutes to make it tough on the Wolverines.
U-M continued to miss shots. Livers and Teske both came up short on wide open triples, and Maryland took a 43-41 lead into the final 10 minutes.
The Wolverines answered with Simpson back in the game. Livers made U-M’s third triple in 15 attempts and Simpson drove and finished after a stop to make it 46-43 with 8:23 remaining.
Both teams had trouble scoring at that point, but Brazdeikis hit a huge three at 5:20 to make it 51-45. The Wolverines had Maryland on the ropes when Simpson hit another running hook at 4:35, giving U-M its biggest lead at 53-45.
Teske finally tripled at 3:10 on a set play to give the Wolverines a nine-point edge.
Simpson came up with huge plays down the stretch, a finish and a pass to Brazdeikis underneath for a bucket, and Livers provided the dagger with a triple with 59 seconds remaining. The Wolverines closed it out at the line.
Brazdeikis finish with 21 points to lead U-M, and every other starter finished in double figures. Simpson notched a double double with 12 points and 10 assists.
Michigan improved to 15-4 in the Big Ten with one game remaining, a road contest at Michigan State next Saturday.
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