With just over 13 minutes remaining in the game, the FS1 broadcaster said the sentence "Maryland’s still down 32 but they have more field goals in this half (5) than they did in the whole first half (4)". That phrase, which seemed to start out as an attempt at optimism for the Maryland side, says a lot of what you need to know about Sunday afternoon's game at Crisler Center. Maryland was blown out of the barn in the opening five minutes and it never got better for the Terps, as Juwan Howard's Wolverines responded to Thursday night's embarrassment by thoroughly decimating their opposition. Michigan defended with an intensity they haven't all year, hit the glass hard, and shot it well en route to a comical blowout that was never once competitive. 

The story of this game was the opening to this game. Five minutes in, the score was 17-0 in favor of Michigan. Hunter Dickinson knocked down a jumper on the first offensive possession for Michigan, Kobe Bufkin netted a steal on Maryland's second offensive possession, and then Terrance Williams II canned a three off said Bufkin steal. Those events are a short summary of what followed for Michigan in the early going, knock down shooting and tenacious defense that was suddenly forcing turnovers. For a Michigan defense that has struggled to turn opponents over all season, it was a sudden turn of events. 

The main thing that I wrote down in my notes over these opening five minutes was the energy Michigan played with. Those turnovers were the result of a newfound defensive intensity previously absent this season as Michigan hounded the ball and inserted themselves in Maryland passing lanes. After getting killed by Central Michigan on the glass, Michigan was attacking the boards and rebounding blow for blow with Maryland. And of course it didn't hurt to be hitting shots. 

[Seth Fisher]

Maryland used a timeout to try and quiet the avalanche of points but whatever coach Kevin Willard told his players to do in those huddles, the Terps in uniform were unable to execute it. They finally got on the board with 14:12 remaining in the first half after Williams fouled Noah Batchelor shooting a three, but to add insult to injury, Batchelor went just 1/3 at the line on the ensuing free throws. The score stood at 19-1 by the time Ian Martinez scored Maryland's first field goal, which came nearly eight minutes into the ballgame. If anyone thought that score would get the Terps going, they were quickly proven wrong, as Michigan tacked eight more points on, four of which by Dickinson. 

Dickinson in particular had a magnificent performance after being dogged for lousy efforts against North Carolina and CMU in the past two weeks, reigniting the rivalry with his home-region Terps. He was 8/9 from the floor in the first half, scoring 18 points with 5 rebounds and just 2 turnovers, by far Michigan's best player in the first half. Heroes were not absent in a half where Michigan led 44-13 going into the break, as Williams, Dug McDaniel, and Bufkin all chipped in at least five points each. Bufkin's defensive presence was important to note, with three steals and a block lightning up the box score. And McDaniel played a much cleaner half, hitting a Zavier Simpson-esque hook shot as time expired in the first half that punctuated a first half where seemingly nothing could go wrong for the Maize and Blue. 

Michigan shot 66.7% in the first half, 3/7 from three, with only a disappointing 5/10 from the free throw line holding back the offensive statline. They allowed Maryland to rebound just 12% of their misses, a huge change from the ~50% number that CMU was allowed to get away with, and it should be noted that there were a lot of those misses: the Terps were 4/30 from the floor(!!). They made as many free throws as they did field goals (4). The sum of FTs and FGs (8) is the same number as the amount of times Maryland turned it over in that half(!!!). They were 1/9 from three. It was as ugly of a half as it gets. 

[Seth Fisher]

The second half doesn't figure much into my narrative of the story of the game because it was largely meaningless. So long as Michigan did not succumb to a team-wide paralysis, they were going to win the game. That they didn't let Maryland get any closer is somewhat significant. The Terps' Jahari Long hit a three out of halftime but then Michigan scored the next six points, which did a lot to blunt Maryland getting any momentum. Michigan led by 31 at the break, a lead that stretched to 38 by the midway point of the second half, as the visitors in red were still stuck in the muck. Hunter Dickinson just kept chugging and Michigan was allowed to dig into its bench, emptying it of everyone, as a total of 15 Wolverines saw the floor. The final score would be a 35 point win for Michigan.  

Michigan's offensive numbers cooled off some in the second half, the natural result of score effects, but this was a total and complete domination. In context, coming just a few days after Michigan's disastrous loss to a wretched Central Michigan team, it is one of the most surprising Michigan Basketball games I can recall. If you wanted to see the team come out furious and play with their hair on fire, this was it. Michigan's NCAA tournament hopes are in big trouble, but the team has yet to sustain a loss in B1G play. Still a lot to play for and it was good to see that the team can lock back in and try to improve. 

They've got a chance to show that improvement is real with a couple B1G games coming up this week. The Wolverines play host to PSU on Wednesday at 7:00, and then go to East Lansing to take on the rival Spartans next Saturday at 2:30 PM. Wins in those two games would do a lot to change the feel of the season. That game against PSU will be broadcast on BTN. The box score is after the jump. 

[Click the JUMP for the box score]