ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Charles Matthews scored 14 points and Canada's Iggy Brazdeikis added 13 to lift No. 6 Michigan to a 65-52 victory over No. 24 Maryland on Saturday.
The Wolverines (23-3, 12-3 Big Ten) rebounded from their loss at Penn State earlier in the week. Michigan raced out to a 14-2 advantage and led by as much as 15 in the first half. It was a struggle for the Wolverines after that, but the fast start was too much for Maryland (19-7, 10-5) to overcome.
Bruno Fernando scored all 12 of his points in the second half for the Terrapins.
Michigan led 27-18 at halftime. Maryland turned the ball over 13 times in the first half. The Terps had only three turnovers in the second, but the damage was done.
With Maryland down five, Anthony Cowan Jr. had a chance to cut further into the lead, but he missed an easy layup, and Brazdeikis, a 20-year-old from Oakville, Ont., made a three-pointer at the other end to make it 50-42.
BIG PICTURE
Maryland: The Terrapins are 6-3 when trailing at halftime this season, including 5-2 in Big Ten games. But that's a tough trend to rely on against good teams on the road. Fernando was impressive early in the second half, but that wasn't enough, and Maryland missed a bunch of three-pointers toward the end.
Michigan: This was a crucial win for the Wolverines in their chase for the Big Ten title. Michigan still has two games left against Michigan State and a rematch at Maryland. When the Wolverines defend like this, they can win in spite of poor outside shooting, but their 7-for-26 showing from three-point range Saturday leaves plenty of room for improvement.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Michigan might drop anyway because of the loss to Penn State, and Maryland may rise anyway after beating Purdue by 14 earlier in the week.
UP NEXT
Maryland: The Terrapins play at No. 21 Iowa on Tuesday night.
Michigan: The Wolverines play at Minnesota on Thursday night. Michigan beat the Gophers last month on a buzzer-beater by Matthews.
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The Associated Press
