The Maryland men’s basketball team defeated Michigan, 64-58, on Jan. 19 in a rematch of a New Year’s Day showdown that the Wolverines won in blowout fashion, 81-46.
The Terps moved to 12-6 overall and 3-4 in the Big Ten behind a big performance from senior guard Jahmir Young, who finished with 26 points on 9-of-19 shooting.
“We’re all competitors at the end of the day and they got us by about 35 up there,” Young said. “We knew it was kind of like a homecoming for a couple of [Michigan’s players], so they were going to bring it. We just had to make sure we came out and threw the first punch.”
This marks the third consecutive game Young has finished with 20-plus points.
“I think the biggest thing we’ve talked about with Jahmir and I’ve talked about with Jahmir was being patient and learning the league,” head coach Kevin Willard said. “I think he’s playing as good as any player in the country right now, and I think he’s gotten comfortable with the length and size he has to go against every night.”
“All the credit is to my teammates for getting me open and setting good screens,” Young said. “Just treating practices like games and just working hard.”
After an abysmal start in the first matchup against the Wolverines, the Terps came out swinging while the fans cheered them on.
Maryland shot 4-for-30 (13 percent) in the first half of its New Year’s Day matchup and could only watch as Michigan exploded for a 44-13 halftime lead. This time, the Terps were shooting 50 percent (13-for-26) at halftime.
“I told the team if we get five points in the first five minutes we would win the game,” Willard said.
Maryland quickly took the lead against Michigan after beginning the game 0-for-3 from the field, with a 3-pointer by graduate transfer guard Don Carey getting Maryland started. But most of the Terps’ points came from the paint; they scored 24 of their 34 first-half points in the paint.
“It’s something we talk about a lot as a team,” Willard said of attacking the paint. “I’d still like to take more than 15 threes, but I think understanding that we’ve got to be a little bit more aggressive getting the ball into the paint.”
“I think it starts with Jahmir,” Willard added. “He’s been so aggressive … and it’s opening up driving lanes for other guys, and I thought Ian [Martinez] was really good at just being aggressive today and not trying to complicate the game.”
Maryland finished the game by outscoring Michigan, 44-22, in the paint. Coincidentally, the Wolverines outscored the Terps in the paint by the same margin in the previous matchup.
Maryland led for the entirety of the game aside from a 2-0 Michigan lead. (The Terps didn’t lead at all in the first game.) However, the Wolverines did not go away easily and were able to cut Maryland’s largest first-half lead of 13 down to two at the end of the stanza. Michigan eventually tied the game at 42 with 12:01 remaining in regulation.
Ultimately, the Terps were able to keep the Wolverines at bay, but before Maryland was in the clear, senior guard Hakim Hart halted Michigan’s momentum with a 3-pointer to give Maryland a 47-44 lead. The Terps controlled play the rest of the way.
Hart finished with 10 points in 40 minutes. Young played 37 minutes. Donta Scott played 38 minutes. Julian Reese played 33 minutes.
“We’ve just got to recover,” Young said of how to get ready for Sunday. “… We really didn’t feel it. We just wanted to win the game, so the number of minutes we played wasn’t in the back of our heads. We were just going out competing and trying to get the win.”
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