Charles Matthews had 14 points and six rebounds, freshman Ignas Brazdeikis scored 13, and No. 6 Michigan defeated No. 24 Maryland 65-52 in Ann Arbor, Mich., on Saturday.
Zavier Simpson contributed 12 points and eight assists for the Wolverines (23-3, 12-3 Big Ten), who bounced back from a road loss to last-place Penn State. The Wolverines never trailed as they forced 16 turnovers and held the Terrapins to 36.4 percent shooting.
Maryland (19-7, 10-5) was led by Aaron Wiggins, who had 15 points, six rebounds and three assists. Bruno Fernando supplied 12 points and eight rebounds, and Anthony Cowan Jr. chipped in 10 points.
The Terrapins were fortunate to be down just 27-18 at halftime. They shot 29.2 percent from the field and committed 13 turnovers in the half, but Michigan also struggled from the field (37.5 percent).
The Wolverines were red-hot at the start, jumping to a 14-2 lead in the first 5:20. Matthews had six points in that span and made a layup to finish the outburst.
Midway through the half, Matthews dunked to give his team a 15-point advantage at 21-6.
Maryland finished the half with an 8-2 spurt. Wiggins made a pair of threes during that span.
The Terrapins continued to hang around in the second half. Fernando's layup with 14:26 left cut Michigan's lead to 38-32. He hit two free throws with 11:03 on the clock to make it 42-36. When Serrel Smith Jr. drained his first basket of the game, a 3-pointer, the Wolverines' advantage was down to three.
Simpson made a 3-point shot with 8:49 remaining to nudge the Wolverines' lead to 47-39. Back-to-back dunks by Jon Teske gave the Wolverines a 54-44 lead. He soon tossed in a 3-pointer for an 11-point advantage.
The Terrapins never got closer than nine points the remainder of the game.
This was the first time in the series that both teams were ranked. Michigan holds a 7-6 edge, including victories in the past three meetings.
--Field Level Media
Maryland | Michigan | |
Aaron Wiggins 15 | Scoring | Charles Matthews 14 |
Anthony Cowan Jr. 3 | Assists | Zavier Simpson 8 |
Bruno Fernando 8 | Rebounds | Charles Matthews 6 |
Bruno Fernando 2 | Free Throws Made | Jordan Poole 4 |
Eric Ayala 1 | Steals | Zavier Simpson 2 |
Bruno Fernando 1 | Blocks | Jon Teske 3 |