2016-17 maryland

Maryland outmuscled Michigan in the first half. [Marc-Gregor Campredon]

Michigan struggled to get started against a good defensive team. On the other end of the floor, they made a mediocre offense look excellent.

Sound familiar?

Unlike Wednesday night's game against Penn State, Michigan didn't have it in them to finish off a comeback effort against Maryland. The Wolverines fell behind by as many as 11 in a first half marked by pathetic post defense and wayward outside shooting. Maryland center Damonte Dodd, filling in for injured starter Michal Cekovsky, scored 11 of his career-high 15 points in the opening half. Michigan's post players didn't fare much better on the perimeter—and, in this case, didn't get much help, either:

Melo is a great player, but this is the epitome of terrible defense. pic.twitter.com/aOwvLnKkcu

— Big Ten Geeks (@bigtengeeks) January 7, 2017

Michigan connected on just 3-of-11 three-pointers, meanwhile. A nine-point halftime deficit would've been larger if not for a strong closing effort by Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman, who scored three buckets—all in the paint—over the final five minutes and change. He'd finish with 12 points and four steal in the best game he's had in a while.

After being limited by foul trouble in the first half, Moe Wagner had a stellar offensive showing, pouring in 15 of his 17 poitns in the second stanza; he took Maryland defenders off the dribble by alternating his spin and behind-the-back moves, hit pick-and-pop threes, and worked through contact. While Wagner had gained Michigan an edge in the paint, however, they lost it on the other end with shoddy perimeter defense; the Terps went 6-for-9 from beyond the arc—several of them open looks off of dribble penetration.

The Wolverines were able to get within two points on three different occasions only for Maryland to respond. On Wednesday, Michigan won a game they should've lost. Today, they lost a game they should've lost. There are signs of promise—today, from Wagner, MAAR, and Xavier Simpson—but this team so rarely puts it all together that it's becoming harder and harder to hold out hope for a strong run through Big Ten play.

THE ESSENTIALS

Right: Melo Trimble once again leads the Maryland attack. [Paul Sherman]

THE US

Dylan dug up an illuminating stat on Zak Irvin after Wednesday night's win over Penn State:

Are mid-range jumpers good shots? The analytically inclined will tell you no, but for Irvin they aren’t bad. According to numbers from Krossover, Irvin makes 47% of his off the dribble mid-range jumpers compared to just 18% of his off the dribble three-point attempts (he makes 42% of his threes off the catch).

As late-clock shots go, Irvin's pet midrange pull-up—especially when he's coming off a screen while going to his right—is a pretty efficient look. That three-point stat, however, is alarming, and it shows why Irvin's shooting from beyond the arc has declined so much from his freshman year: he's not nearly as good creating his own three-point look as he is taking spot-up threes.

THE LINEUP CARD

Projected starters are in bold. Hover over headers for stat explanations. The "Should I Be Mad If He Hits A Three" methodology: we're mad if a guy who's not good at shooting somehow hits one. Yes, you're still allowed to be unhappy if a proven shooter is left open. It's a free country.

Pos.	#	Name	Yr.	Ht./Wt.	%Min	%Poss	ORtg	SIBMIHHAT
G	0	Anthony Cowan	Fr.	6'0, 170	74	21	109	Not really
A shorter Trimble: #1 in country in FT rate, good inside the arc, ok outside shot, turnover-prone.
G	2	Melo Trimble	Jr.	6'3, 185	80	28	111	No
Still Melo: huge usage, gets to FT line a ton, a little turnover-prone, shooting up from last year.
G	4	Kevin Huerter	Fr.	6'7, 190	67	15	110	No
Takes twice as many threes as twos, makes 38% of them. Disruptive on defense.
F	21	Justin Jackson	Fr.	6'7, 225	67	21	104	Not At All
Stretch four making 43% of threes, 46% of twos with high FT rate. Solid on offensive boards.
F	13	Ivan Bender	So.	6'9, 230	33	18	106	Very
Making 67% of his FGs and rebounding well; turnovers and foul trouble limiting his minutes.
G	1	Jaylen Brantley	Jr.	5'11, 170	41	17	103	Kinda
Just A Shooter™ type only making 40% of twos and 31% of threes. Hit 42% of threes last year.
F	10	LG Gill	Sr.	6'8, 230	33	14	90	Yes
11-for-36 from field this year. Decent offensive rebounder not adding much otherwise.
C	35	Damonte Dodd	Sr.	6'11, 250	21	21	90	Very
Very impactful rebounder and shot-blocker, but foul-prone and turns it over a ton.

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