Michigan started well against Maryland, but poor defense and shooting doomed the Wolverines in an 83-70 loss.

The looks were there early. Senior point guard Zavier Simpson set up junior shooting guard Eli Brooks with a pair of good looks early, but he missed both and misfired on his first four shots, a sign of things to come. He'd struggle to six points on 0-for-3 from long range, 2-for-6 overall.

U-M got a bad break when Freshman Franz Wagner went to the bench with his second foul at 11:53, opening the door for a Terrapins advantage. They went on a 14-2 run, and it would have been worse had guard David DeJulius not caught fire. His bucket at 9:15 ended a 14-2 run, and two triples from the sophomore made it 20-15 around the eight-minute mark.

Brooks finally got on the board with an up and under and redshirt jujnior Austin Davis scored inside, but the Wolverines had trouble defending. The Terrapins scored on nine of 12 possessions at one point to grab a 12-point lead.

DeJulius did his best to keep U-M close offensively, finishing with a teardrop, but Anthony Cowan Jr. was a tough match-up for him. Cowan scored inside and out, backing DeJulius down a few times, on his way to 13 first half points.

More poor defense allowed the Terps to pull away. Still, DeJulius cut it to 10 just before the half on three free throws. Jalen Smith’s contested 35-footer at the buzzer gave Maryland its biggest lead heading into the half, 41-28.

DeJulius was the only one who played well offensively for the Wolverines in the first half, 13, Wagner five. Nobody else had four.

SECOND HALF

Michigan came out in the second half and attacked the rim with Simpson. He finished two inside and set up Teske for a par of free throws.

U-M rallied and had a chance to get within six, but Teske missed at the rim. Eric Ayala tripled to push the lead back to 11 at the 14-minute mark.

Wagner’s three-point play in transition cut it back to eight, however, and the Wolverines were within shouting distance.It was seven after a Simpson three, but Aaron Wiggins hit a triple of his own. Wagner’s three cut it back to seven and Simpson’s drive and finish cut it to five, forcing a Maryland timeout at 11:04.

Another stop and two Isaiah LIvers free throws made it 56-53 at 10:22, and the Wolverines were in business.

Then the wheels came off. The Terps responded with a 9-2 run. Ayala hit two more triples from the top to extend the lead back to 10, 65-55.

DeJulius cut it back to seven with yet another triple, but the Wolveirneas gave up an offensive rebound after two missed free throws and Wiggins hit a corner three, a dagger.

U-M still had chances, but a 1-for-10 stretch in the last five minutes sealed their fate and Maryland closed it out from the line.

DeJulius scored 21 to lead the Wolverines, who finish 10-10 in Big Ten play and will play Thursday at noon in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament.

---

• Talk about this article inside The Fort

• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel

• Listen and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes

• Learn more about our print and digital publication, The Wolverine

• Sign up for our newsletter, The Wolverine Now

• Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolverineMag, @Balas_Wolverine, @EJHolland_TW, @AustinFox42, @JB_ Wolverine, Clayton Sayfie and @DrewCHallett

• Like us on Facebook