ANN ARBOR – What about a refusal? Michigan, after dropping its first game of the season, responded 87-63 over Maryland on Tuesday.
The Wolverines protected the ball, caught from 3 flames and defended the tone. They looked like the team that dominated three rankings of opponents earlier this month, not the one that collapsed in Minnesota on Saturday.
Isaiah Livers led all scorers with 20, his biggest output since the third game of the season, and Franz Wagner added 15.
The Wolverines led the entire second half with at least 17. They improved to 12-1 and became the first Big Ten team to score seven league games.
Eli Brooks returned after missing Saturday’s game with a strained right foot. The senior wait starts and plays 22 minutes.
Michigan shot 12-of-24 from downtown while holding Maryland to a 4-for-19 point. Livers scored four tries; Smith had three, all in the first four minutes.
The Terrapins, true to their name, started slowly. Michigan led 8-0 and 17-3. Maryland cut the margin to single digits for a moment, but a strong end to the half made the halftime score 42-25. Six of Michigan’s Big Ten wins were by double digits.
That includes an 84-73 in Maryland on Dec. 31. Hunter Michigan first-year center Hunter Dickinson had 26 points that night and missed just one shot. On Tuesday, Dickinson was doubles as soon as he touched the ball and scored just three points. Unlike sometimes against Minnesota, he showed patience to find the right teammate.
Michigan committed 20 turnovers against the Gophers and lost by 18. Michigan had just ten turnovers against Maryland, which dropped to 8-7 (2-6).
Smith, who kept pointless against Minnesota for the first time in his college career, scored 11, all in the first half, to succeed along with six assistants on team. Brandon Johns Jr. achieved a season high of 11 points in 13 minutes from the bench.
First-year guard Zeb Jackson started working in the rotation. He played six minutes before Juwan Howard went deep into his bench for the final 2:45. Austin Davis added nine points in ten minutes from the bench in place of Dickinson.
With 16:22 left, three technical fouls were issued after Darryl Morsell, Maryland, passed through contact. Morsell got one because he demanded a dirty call, just like Maryland coach Mark Turgeon. Michigan’s bank also received one for some reason. Michigan, thanks to Livers’ free throw shooting, scored three points from the ordeal and rose 55-34. Brooks’ basket in subsequent possession boosted the lead to 23.
The margin was 18 with just over seven minutes left before Michigan’s run slammed the door shut. Johns had a personal 4-0 speed, and Wagner did the same to leave it 80-56 with 5:22 left.
Smith hit three early tries as Michigan led 11-3. Livers took next flame and drained two in a span of 30 seconds to be 17-3 with 14:16 in the half. Maryland was 1-for-5 off the field at that point with four turnovers.
Johns hit a corner 3 that gave the Wolverines a 22-7 lead. The Terrapins hacked away. Hakim Hart, who started at point guard in place of Eric Ayala, hit a 3 and made it 28-19 with 5:35 left in the half.
Smith’s impressive acceleration and finishing in the transition and Wagner’s 3 in the final seconds made half of Michigan 42-25. The Wolverines shot 8-of-14 from deep in the first half.
Brooks opened the second half with a triplet of a well-designed play and feed from Wagner, and the Wolverines never looked back.
Luke Wilson, a senior attacker who made his first appearance for the season, made a last-minute complaint on which the entire Michigan bench, including Howard, stood and cheered.
Michigan visits Purdue on Friday.