Michigan Basketball on the brink of elimination from Big Ten title contention after loss to Maryland

Michigan Basketball suffered a second straight loss, falling to Maryland on Wednesday in the home finale. Dusty May’s team is on the brink of being eliminated from the Big Ten regular season title race:

The Michigan Wolverines suffered a second consecutive loss, falling to the Maryland Terrapins, 71-65, in the home finale. Dusty May’s team is on the brink of being eliminated from the Big Ten regular season title race, slipping to 22-8 overall and 14-5 in conference play.

After a blowout loss to Illinois on Senior Day, the Wolverines hoped to get back on track against Maryland. But Michigan was far too sloppy again, committing 16 turnovers with Maryland scoring 21 points off those turnovers.

Vlad Goldin led the Wolverines in the losing effort, recording 20 points and 15 rebounds. Danny Wolf also had 20 points, eight rebounds and four assists.

FIRST HALF

Both teams got off to slow offensive starts in the opening minutes but the Wolverines finally started to find a rhythm with a 10-0 run. That gave them a 14-7 lead as Nimari Burnett and Wolf hit consecutive three-pointers to get the crowd going.

Maryland responded with a 9-0 spurt of its own to regain momentum, as Michigan went more than three minutes without a bucket before Goldin sank a hook shot to halt the run. The Wolverines trailed 19-16 at the under-eight timeout.

Michigan went through another scoreless stretch as the Terrapins extended the lead to 28-18 with 3:54 in the half. It was another ugly first-half performance for the Wolverines, shooting just 10-of-32 from the field to go with seven turnovers.

The Terrapins took a 33-22 lead into halftime after racking up a 23-19 rebounding advantage and an 11-0 edge in points off turnovers. Selton Miguel and Derik Queen led Maryland by combining for 23 points in the first half.

SECOND HALF

Michigan was hoping to create momentum coming out of halftime, but three straight turnovers from Wolf allowed the Terrapins to open up a 40-29 lead. The Wolverines were in desperate need of a run, and they did so with Wolf on the bench.

Goldin scored on four straight possessions to cut the deficit to single digits. LJ Cason then got a fast-break layup to get Michigan within 44-39 and force a timeout. But after the timeout, Maryland made a pair of three-pointers to regain control.

The Wolverines continued to fight back, going on a 7-0 spurt to trim the deficit to 50-46 with 10:08 to go. Tre Donaldson came up with a steal and a three-pointer on the other end, then Wolf threw down a thunderous dunk .

It appeared Michigan might come all the way back and steal a win, but Maryland was able to hold on. Rodney Rice and Ja’Kobi Gillespie came up with a series of clutch shots down the stretch to help the Terrapins secure the win.

UP NEXT

The Wolverines will be eliminated from the Big Ten title race if Michigan State beats Iowa on Thursday. Michigan will head to East Lansing to face the Spartans on Sunday at noon before competing in the Big Ten Tournament .