ANN ARBOR – What do you think of this for a recovery performance? Michigan, after losing his first game of the season, responded with an 87-63 victory over Maryland on Tuesday.
The Wolverines protected the ball, caught fire in 3 and gave the defensive tone. They looked like the team that dominated three consecutive ranked opponents earlier this month, not the one that fell in Minnesota on Saturday.
Isaiah Livers led all scorers with 20, his biggest production since the third game of the season, and Franz Wagner added 15.
The Wolverines led by at least 17 in the second half. They improved to 12-1 and became the first Big Ten team to achieve seven league wins.
Eli Brooks returned after losing Saturday’s game with a right foot injury. The senior guard started and played 22 minutes.
Michigan shot 12 out of 24 from the city center, while keeping Maryland at 4 out of 19. The livers made four trebles; Smith had three, all in the first four minutes.
Terrapins, like 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 in half increased to 42-25 in the interval. Six of Michigan’s top ten wins were double digits.
This includes an 84-73 in Maryland on December 31. Michigan freshman center Hunter Dickinson scored 26 points that night, missing only one chance. On Tuesday, Dickinson doubled up as soon as he touched the ball and scored just three points. Unlike a few times against Minnesota, he showed patience to find the right teammate.
Michigan committed 20 turnovers against the Gophers and lost by 18. Michigan had only 10 turnovers against Maryland, which dropped to 8-7 (2-6).
Smith, who went without goals against Minnesota for the first time in his college career, scored 11, all in the first half, with six assists, the team record. Brandon Johns Jr. scored 11 points, the best of the season, in 13 minutes off the bench.
Freshman guard Zeb Jackson started work on the rotation. He played six minutes before Juwan Howard hit the bench for the final 2:45. Austin Davis scored nine points in 10 minutes off the bench in place of Dickinson.
With 16:22 remaining, three technical fouls were committed after Darryl Morsell of Maryland scored by contact. Morsell received one for demanding a false decision, as did Maryland coach Mark Turgeon. The Michigan bank also received one for some reason. Michigan, thanks to Livers’ free-kick, won three points in the ordeal and rose 55-34. Brooks’ basket in possession increased the lead to 23.
The margin was 18, with just over seven minutes left for the Michigan race to slam the door forever. Johns had a personal 4-0 spurt, so Wagner did the same to make 80-56 with 5:22 remaining.
Smith hit three starting 3s, while Michigan advanced 11-3. Livers caught fire then, draining two in a 30-second interval to make 17-3 with 14:16 remaining in the middle. Maryland, at that point, was 1-to-5 on the field with four turns.
Johns hit a corner 3 that put the Wolverines at 22-7. Sea turtles chipped. Hakim Hart, starting as point guard in place of Eric Ayala, hit a 3 to make 28-19 with 5:35 to the end of the break.
Smith’s impressive acceleration and transition finish and Wagner’s 3 in the final seconds increased to 42-25 in Michigan at halftime. The Wolverines shot 8 of 14 in the first half.
Brooks opened the second half with a triple of a well-planned play and Wagner’s feed, and the Wolverines never looked back.
Luke Wilson, a senior bodyguard making his first appearance of the season, pulled a load in the final minutes that caused the entire Michigan bank, including Howard, to stand and applaud.
Michigan visits Purdue on Friday.