Mark Turgeon Praises Michigan's Defense, How 'Dialed In They Were'
It's been said many times so far this year, but Michigan once again put on a defensive clinic yesterday against Maryland, holding the Terrapins to just 52 points and a 36.4 shooting percentage.
The showing marked the 10th time U-M had held an opponent to below 53 points, and the ninth time they held a team below 37 percent shooting.
Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon was thoroughly impressed, afterward beginning his postgame statement by praising the Wolverine defense.
“Michigan was terrific, especially on defense,” he exclaimed. “They were everywhere and were dialed in, and you could tell they were coming off a loss because of how they responded.
“[Junior center Jon] Teske was everywhere and was tremendous protecting the rim and in ball screen defense. We built too big of a hole and against a great team and you just can’t do that. We cut it to three and had a chance to get closer, but then [junior guard] Anthony [Cowan] missed a layup.”
The sequence Turgeon referenced saw the Terrapins trim Michigan’s lead to 42-39 with 9:21 remaining, but a swing in momentum then occurred.
Cowan missed a corner three that could have tied the game, and sophomore guard Jordan Poole beat all but one Terrapin defender down the floor for an easy layup.
Michigan finished the game on a 23-13 run from that point on.
“I was disappointed when we didn’t run back on two straight possessions,” Turgeon lamented. “That was the game to me.
“I think [sophomore forward Isaiah] Livers missed a shot from the corner, but we still weren’t within 20 feet of him. That was disappointing because we had played through mistakes all year, but didn’t against Michigan.”
Mistakes were the story of the game early on for Maryland, who committed 13 first half turnovers.
They finished with 16, which were tied for the fourth most Michigan had forced all year.
Those crucial first half mistakes helped the Wolverines jump out to a 25-10 lead, with Turgeon explaining that several factors led to the early deficit.
“A lot of it was our turnovers, but it was also our inability to score around the rim,” he explained. “They had like five uncontested layups in the first half, and you can’t beat Michigan doing that.”
Despite the Terps’ poor offensive showing, the Maize and Blue were still unable to pull away for much of the game, hence the aforementioned three-point advantage with just 9:21 remaining.
Maryland hung around for much of the second half due to the play of sophomore center Bruno Fernando.
Even though he was held scoreless in the first half, he posted 12 points after the break, 2.5 points below his season average of 14.5.
“A lot of it was Michigan’s defense, but Bruno was over-pivoting and trying to shoot over Teske, and it snow balled on us,” Turgeon explained.
“Bruno let his offense affect his defense, so we were playing four on five at times. I can handle missed jump hooks, but you also have to bring it at the other end.
“A lot of our mistakes were just communication and want-to.”
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