After briefly sitting on Maryland men’s basketball’s bench to let off some steam, forward Bruno Fernando stood back up and yelled, “Shit!” as part of a string of expletives directed at no one in particular.
He had trudged off the court with about four minutes left in the first half against Michigan, following yet another frustrating possession on offense.
Fernando attempted to back Wolverines center Jon Teske into the paint, but forward Ignas Brazdeikis came to help and cut off the path to the basket. That forced Fernando to pick up his dribble and look for a pass out. His feed to Anthony Cowan was picked off, leading to two Michigan foul shots and time on the bench for the sophomore.
Fernando got 13 shots up during Sunday’s loss, and he believes they were high-quality looks. But only five of those fell, as Teske limited Fernando for the second time this season. The 6-foot-10 forward couldn’t put together the type of second-half surge he’s embarked on recently to push the Terps over the hump in tight games.
“He’s a heck of a player. He’s a great defensive presence for them in the paint,” Fernando said. “I still think that I got the shots that I wanted. They just weren’t falling.”
[Read more: Behind Ignas Brazdeikis, No. 9 Michigan tops No. 17 Maryland men’s basketball, 69-62]
In the Wolverines’ 65-52 win Feb. 16 over Maryland, Teske held Fernando scoreless in the first half on 0-for-4 shooting. And while Fernando was 5-for-6 with 12 points in the final 20 minutes, Michigan had already put the Terps away for good.
That was part of a five-game stretch when Fernando never scored more than three points before halftime, averaging 1.4 points.
On Sunday, the sophomore used three dunks to score six points in the opening period, but he missed two chances down the stretch that would’ve narrowed Maryland’s deficit.
“He’s going to get his [points],” Teske said. “But I’m going to make him earn it.”
[Read more: Maryland men’s basketball falls to No. 24 in latest AP poll after 0-2 week]
With Teske taking a breather toward the end of the first half, Fernando went to work against forward Colin Castleton. His spin move drew a foul, and Teske returned to the floor before the ensuing inbound. After catching a pass and working into the paint, Fernando couldn’t finish over the 7-foot-1 defender.
Two minutes later, Fernando was wide open down low. But instead of going straight up after receiving Cowan’s pass, Fernando double-pumped. Teske, Brazdeikis and forward Isaiah Livers all converged, complicating the lay-in attempt and leaving Fernando on the floor as his shot bounced out.
“I know I got my height on him. I use my length, make it difficult,” Teske said. “Make him shoot over me, really try to alter the shots.”
While Fernando again reached double figures — just as he has during the trend of first-half struggles — he shot just 2-for-7 Sunday after intermission, finishing with 12 points.
Teske blocked Fernando’s layup in the first minute of the second half, and it took Fernando until the 11:23 mark to convert a basket.
When asked about Teske’s defense on Fernando, Michigan coach John Beilein went on a tangent about the Medina, Ohio, native’s love for his hometown, the Browns and listening to Indians game on the radio — “What kind of young kid listens to baseball games anymore?”
Despite all that, Beilein said, Teske gave up his summer back home in Medina to stay and work out in Ann Arbor, improving his vertical leap and strength in the post to become an even better defender.
The junior’s progress was on display in both matchups against Maryland this season. He held Fernando to a .385 shooting percentage Sunday — his second-worst this year — playing a pivotal role in Michigan’s 69-62 win, even if the Terps felt Fernando should’ve had a couple more shots fall.
“Bruno probably missed about four layups right at the rim that maybe could have gotten us going, maybe could have gotten us the lead in the second half,” coach Mark Turgeon said. “It was just one of those days for him.”
