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ANN ARBOR – How’s that for a rebound performance? Michigan, after retiring from its first game of the season, responded with an 87-63 victory over Maryland on Tuesday.
The Wolverines protected the ball, caught fire at 3 and set the tone defensively. They looked like the team that outscored three ranked opponents in a row earlier this month, not the one that fell flat in Minnesota on Saturday.
Isaiah Livers led all scorers with 20, his biggest production since Game 3 of the season, and Franz Wagner added 15.
The Wolverines led by at least 17 for the entire second half. They improved to 12-1 and became the first Big Ten team to achieve seven league wins.
Eli Brooks returned after missing Saturday’s game with a strained right foot. The main goalie started and played 22 minutes.
Michigan shot 12 of 24 from downtown while holding Maryland 4 for 19. Livers made four triples; Smith had three, all within the first four minutes.
The Terrapins, true to their name, got off to a slow start. Michigan led 8-0, 17-3. Maryland slashed the margin to single digits for a while, but a strong end to the half made it 42-25 at the break. Six of the Michigan Big Ten have been won by double digits.
This includes an 84-73 in Maryland on December 31. Michigan freshman center Hunter Dickinson had 26 points that night, missing just one stroke. On Tuesday, Dickinson was in a doubles team as soon as he touched the ball and scored just three points. Unlike some times against Minnesota, he was patient in finding the right teammate.
Michigan committed 20 turnovers to the Gophers and lost by 18. Michigan had just 10 turnovers to Maryland, which fell to 8-7 (2-6).
Smith, scoreless against Minnesota for the first time in his college career, scored 11 goals, all in the first half, to accompany a team of six assists. Brandon Johns Jr. scored a season-high 11 points in 13 minutes off the bench.
First-year goalie Zeb Jackson has started working in the rotation. He played six minutes before Juwan Howard stepped deep into his bench for the 2:45 final. Austin Davis added nine points in 10 minutes off the bench in place of Dickinson.
At 4:22 pm remaining, three technical fouls were issued after Darryl Morsell of Maryland scored by contact. Morsell got one for demanding a bad call, as did Maryland coach Mark Turgeon. The Michigan bench also received one for some reason. Michigan, thanks to Livers’ free throws, gained three points in the event and climbed 55-34. Brooks’ basket on possession that followed pushed the lead to 23.
The margin was 18 with just over seven minutes to go before the Michigan race slammed the door for good. Johns had a personal 4-0 push, then Wagner did the same to go 80-56 with 5:22 left.
Smith hit three top 3s as Michigan edged out 11-3. The livers then caught fire, draining two in 30 seconds to make it 17-3 with 14:16 left in the half. Maryland, at that time, was 1 for 5 in the field with four turnovers.
Johns hit a 3 corner which put the Wolverines 22-7. The Terrapins flaked off. Hakim Hart, starting from the leader in place of Eric Ayala, hit a 3 to make 28-19 with 5:35 left in the half.
Smith’s impressive acceleration and transition and Wagner’s 3 in the dying seconds made Michigan 42-25 at halftime. The Wolverines shot 8 of 14 from deep in the first half.
Brooks opened the second half with a triple on Wagner’s well-crafted play and flow, and the Wolverines never looked back.
Luke Wilson, a senior goaltender making his first appearance of the season, drew a charge in the dying minutes that had the entire Michigan bench, including Howard, standing and cheering.
Michigan visits Purdue on Friday.
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