Maryland men’s lacrosse coach John Tillman referenced the NFL to illustrate the competitiveness of the budding Big Ten. He imagines the conference to be like the NFC East or AFC North, where rivals battle out close games regardless of their place in the standings.

So, the coach expects “a dog fight” when the No. 9 Terps play against No. 19 Michigan on Saturday. While Maryland has dominated the Big Ten in the past, all six conference teams are ranked this year, so Tillman’s team is focused on consistency as it begins its conference slate.

“As a Giants fan, it doesn’t really matter what the records are when the Redskins, the Cowboys or the Eagles [are in town] because they know each other so well,” Tillman said. “[You can] throw out the records … You expect conference games to be tight because you’re so familiar.”

The increased competition in the Big Ten has fired up the Terps, but so has avoiding the emotions from their consecutive losses earlier this season.

In the locker room following defeats to Notre Dame and Villanova, many Maryland players looked down in disappointment. Tillman admitted it was difficult watching the starters, who led the squad to a 4-0 start.

After a bounce back 15-7 win at North Carolina last weekend, though, the coach witnessed smiles on the Terps’ faces. The positive scene is something he wants to replicate after the tilt with Michigan.

“When you see the long faces after a game, it hits you,” Tillman said. “We love our kids and it means a lot to them. There’s just an appreciation of seeing the people you spend so much time with having a little better disposition.”

Since arriving in the Big Ten two years ago, Maryland has enjoyed more joyous post-game locker room atmospheres than any other member of the league. The Terps are 9-1 in regular season conference games during that span, with their lone defeat coming against Johns Hopkins in 2015.

This year, Maryland is one of six ranked conference teams, a testament to the league’s growth. Even Michigan, which didn’t have a Division I lacrosse program until 2012 and entered this season with a 15-55 all-time record, is 8-1 this year. The Wolverines beat then-No. 10 Penn on March 11 for their first-ever win over a ranked opponent.

Tillman attributed the Big Ten’s improvement to stellar recruiting and an increased emphasis on lacrosse from newer programs. While he’s happy the conference is doing well, he said the progress is unsurprising given the behind-the-scenes work from rival coaches over the past few years.

After the Terps (5-2) spent two years getting used to their new conference, goalkeeper Dan Morris said the team is starting to feel familiar with opponents.

“Michigan was a new program when I first started here,” Morris said. “They’re kind of coming into their own now, so we’re pretty excited to play them.”