Michigan Basketball He was determined to recover after his first loss this season.
And Wolverines did it decisively.
UM beat Maryland with relative ease Tuesday night, 87-63, Just days after suffering his first loss in Minnesota on Saturday.
Michigan led by 17 points in the first half thanks to an impressive three-point shot. The Wolverines made the first of five duos – three from point guard Mike Smith and two from forward Isaiah Leavers – and shot 8 of 14 in the first half alone. They finished 12 out of 23 from a 3-point range.
Livers scored, the game’s highest level, 20 points for 5 of 8 shots. Franz Wagner added 15 points for a 5-9.
Shooting wins the day
Wolverines led the way entirely thanks to shooting outside. They hit five capture and shoot 3s in the first 5:44, unlocking a 17-3 lead on Terrapins, and later adding 3s from Chaundee Brown, Brandon Johns and Wagner before halftime ended. The UM crime wasn’t able to generate so many open looks near the edge – Wolverines shot only 6 of 15 in 2s in the first half, well below the season average – but the three easily made up for it.
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Meanwhile, Maryland missed a set of Open 3s, especially during a spanning period when Michigan played a squad that featured only one start. Terrapins 2 made out of 10 3s in the first half and only 5 from 10 free throws; Crucially, they lost the front-end for chances 1 and 1 near the end of the first half. They will only finish the game 4 out of 19 out of 3 points range.
Dickinson sees more doubles
The Michigan Freshman Center Hunter Dickinson will see more double teams as the season continues. The teams seem determined not to let him hit them. Dickinson scored 28 points in his career against Minnesota on January 6. After 10 days, the Gopher sent in powerful double teams, carrying him nine points and forcing five resignations. Dickinson scored 26 points on 10 of 11 shots against Maryland in Michigan’s New Year’s Eve win, and on Tuesday night, Terrapin responded by sending an assist whenever Dickinson received the ball into the post.
How did the new student center respond? Even though it only scored three points, it was a noticeably cleaner performance. The first 3 indicators for UM came from Smith due to a double-team pass from Dickinson. For the most part, Wolverines managed to get quality footage when the Maryland double teamed up with Dickinson. He also had only one turn in the first half, when he and Livers seemed to have a misunderstanding: Dickinson passed the ball back to the leavers with a 3-point streak as Livers began to chop the paint, which resulted in a spin. Therefore, while Dickinson wasn’t scoring goals as easily as in the first game against Maryland, he was still having a positive effect on attack.
It was pretty much the same on the other end of the court. Dickinson is forced to cross the edge upon Maryland’s first possession of the game, after which a pair of property blocks a shot to force it to violate the shot clock. He blocked three shots in the first half and provided adequate edge protection.
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Smith finds the touch of scoring
The Michigan point keeper carried a heavy load against Minnesota, with Eli Brooks missing that match with a tense right foot. Smith played 37 minutes, and did not leave the field until the end of the second half when the match was too far fetched, and scored 10 assists in three turns – but scored zero points.
Never lose again against Maryland. Smith finished with 11 points and added six assists for just one turnover. He was assertive in attack and did not miss open shots, running an early three seconds to help Michigan prove her early lead, and also scored on the transfer. The Grad move has been a key component of Wolverines’ attack this season and stripped the right balance of scoring and passing in Tuesday’s win.
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