Maryland Basketball: Terps looking to avoid sweep against Michigan
No. 9 Michigan will be looking to sweep the season series against Maryland basketball on the road while the Terps need a win to keep their chances of a double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament alive.
TV Schedule: Sunday, March 3 at 3:45 pm ET on CBS
Location: Xfinity Center in College Park, MD
Maryland basketball got hit in the mouth at Penn State on Wednesday. The Terps were sloppy with the basketball and the Nittany Lions capitalized on every opportunity they were given. The Nittany Lions caused 17 Maryland basketball turnovers, 11 of which were steals.
Their poor ball security reminded me of the 21 turnover game they had in January against Illinois. Turnovers have been the Terps biggest problem this season. They beat themselves in that first meeting with Illinois and again with Penn State.
When the Terps and Wolverines met in February, Charles Mathews (14 points, six rebounds), Ignas Brazdeikis (13 points, five rebounds) and Zavier Simpson (12 points, eight assists, five rebounds) led the way for the Wolverines in their 65-52 win. They won the battles in points in the paint (34-24), points off turnovers (14-8) and fast break points (14-2).
Michigan basketball did the following things well against the Terps. First, after they got rebounds or forced a turnover, they pushed the ball down the court. This allowed them to set the pace of the game.
Second, they controlled the half court with solid ball movement either for open threes or easy dunks in the paint. Third, they used their defense to start their offense. In the first half of that game, the Terps went four straight possessions without a made shot.
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Ball control, ball control, ball control. The Terps need to take care of the ball if they’re going to have a chance. More than anything else, they’ll have to set the tone on the defensive end. This game will determine whether they stay in the double-bye group or fall out of it with a loss and Wisconsin win.