Takeaways from Maryland men’s basketball’s 101-83 loss to No. 2 Michigan

Maryland men’s basketball opened its Big Ten slate in catastrophic fashion. It lost 83-64 to Iowa and hit just 17 field goals all game. It needed a rebound, and it got one Saturday.

Despite the Terps losing 101-83, they gave the Maryland faithful a reason to return to Xfinity Center in droves with how they fought. Maryland didn’t cower whatsoever to a No. 2 Michigan team that had been defeating its opponents by an average of 28 points. 

“[Michigan’s] the best team. And I thought we executed the plan at a very, very high level,” head coach Buzz Williams said.

Here are three takeaways from Saturday’s contest.

Pharrel Payne was injured again

Just weeks after suffering an injury and being stretchered off against Marquette, Pharrel Payne limped off the court after being rolled up on with under five minutes to play in the first half. He did not return to the game but was spotted sitting on the bench with his uniform on in the second half.

Without Payne, George Turkson Jr. and Elijah Saunders manned the paint for most of the game. But the duo are just 6-foot-7 and 6-foot-8, respectively, a far cry from some of Michigan’s towering bigs — Turkson was guarded by the 7-foot-3 Aday Mara. This led to the Terps being unable to grab a single rebound for the first 3:43 of the second frame.

Solomon Washington’s second technical foul — a delay-of-game infraction after a made Maryland basket — and subsequent ejection didn’t help things. Instead of the Terps having a versatile, aggressive defender at their disposal, Williams was forced to allocate big-moment minutes to Collin Metcalf and Aleks Alston — two players who haven’t seen the court much at all.

“Losing [Payne] changes our offense, losing [Washington] on the glass changes our offense,” Williams said. “But we played with a really turned low turnover rate. We had our highest offensive rebound percentage.”

Though Maryland outrebounded the Wolverines 20-14 in the first half, it was a different story as the game dwindled. In the second half, Michigan out-boarded Maryland 12-9, won the points in the paint battle 24–16 and notched three blocks to the Terps’ zero. 

Diggy Coit and the guard group had themselves a game

A 22-point first half is no joke — and Diggy Coit earned every single one of those points. After notching 41 points earlier this season against Mount St. Mary’s, there was little doubt about his ability to score in bunches. 

With so much attention being paid to Pharrel Payne inside the paint, Coit was able to exploit his 1-on-1 matchups outside the arc. He nailed three triples in the first four minutes of play, and all were impressive, James Harden-esque stepbacks. Coit’s veteran experience was evident — not only was he a settling presence for the Terps in a monumental primetime slot, but he expertly navigated screens and used leverage to his advantage. 

Coit finished with a game-high 31 points to go along with six rebounds and three assists. In the second half, he added an and-one and some crafty dribbling inside the arc to his already prolific shooting night.

But Coit’s performance was also an indictment of Maryland’s guard play at large. Myles Rice has been disappointing at times this season, but Saturday was arguably his best night in a Maryland uniform. He finished with 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting. 

But what was most impressive about the Terps’ guard group were their lack of turnovers. Against Iowa, the team racked up 18 — seven from its guards. But Maryland was more careful and intentional with how it ran its sets Saturday night, finishing with 12 giveaways — just four came in the first half.

“I thought tonight there was evidence that playing with a lower turnover rate helped our offensive rebound percentage,” Williams said.

Second half finish fell Michigan’s way

The Terps held valiantly against the nation’s No. 2 program for 30 minutes. But, in some ways, Maryland simply ran out of steam. On top of four rotation players being unavailable at that point, the Terps had exhausted most of their energy chasing defensive switches, fighting for rebounds and pushing the ball quickly up court.

But when those hallmarks of its solid performance dissipated, so did Maryland’s chances at winning. Patterns that were prevalent against Iowa and Alabama — being late to switch on quick ball movement and contesting deep shooters — reared their ugly heads once more.

Make no mistake, Michigan’s 12-of-19 showing from 3-point range was uncharacteristically good, even for a team of its caliber. But Maryland leaving good shooters open only let them get hot — L.J. Cason hit two rhythm threes in a span of 1:30 to extend Michigan’s lead to nine with under 10 minutes to play.

On offense, the lack of an inside presence eventually caught up to the Terps. Though the team’s guards had been the catalyst for much of their offense through the first half, Payne’s presence made that easier, dragging defenders into the paint with him, spreading the floor and setting physical screens.

Without that inside threat, those guard isolations on the perimeter sometimes turned into double-teams. Coit and Rice found themselves dribbling out large portions of the shot clock looking to escape traps and pressure. This led to some errant looks and a shot clock violation.

“When [Payne] went out and [Washington] went out…we are reliant at that moment in time, throughout those moments, on Diggy,” Williams said.

Ultimately, the fact that Maryland played Michigan so close for a good chunk of the game and the Wolverines still won by 18 ultimately speaks to just how great Michigan is.