INDIANAPOLIS — It looked like Maryland men’s basketball was going to bow out of the Big Ten tournament with a low-effort performance Saturday. It trailed by as many as 15 early in the second half as Michigan dominated on the glass and in the paint.
The Terps clawed back — largely thanks to a 12-0 run spurred by freshman big man Derik Queen — but Michigan denied Maryland’s chance at its first-ever Big Ten tournament finals appearance with a last-second Tre Donaldson layup. The Terps fell, 81-80, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in the semifinals.
“We did a lot of things right to get to that spot. We just did one thing wrong,” coach Kevin Willard said. “It’s disappointing, but every time we’ve had one of these losses — and we’ve had four of them now — these guys have learned what we’ve done wrong, and we’ve actually bounced back and come back.”
Maryland’s uncharacteristically poor interior play was the story. It was outrebounded 47-to-18, its worst differential under Willard, and allowed 44 points in the paint.
Michigan big men Vladislav Goldin and Danny Wolf each turned in double-doubles, with the former recording a team-high 25 points. The one-two punch combined for 40 points and 21 rebounds in the teams’ only regular-season matchup, a 71-65 Maryland win in Ann Arbor on March 5.
The Terps (25-8, 14-6 Big Ten) owned the fourth-best rebounding differential in the Big Ten entering Saturday. They allow nine offensive boards per game, but against Illinois and Michigan (24-9), they surrendered 16 and 18, respectively — both season-highs.
[Maryland men’s basketball decimates Illinois in Big Ten tournament quarterfinals, 88-65]
Willard said his guards have to do a “much better” job rebounding, especially against teams with size like the Wolverines. Rodney Rice, Selton Miguel and Ja’Kobi Gillespie combined for four rebounds in 106 minutes.
But it wasn’t just the guards who struggled on the glass. Senior Julian Reese’s five boards led the team, while Queen — who scored a career-high 31 points — grabbed just three, his fewest since a 75-69 loss to Washington on Jan. 2.
“It really wasn’t no special thing they was doing. They just really outhustled us and they really got us on the boards,” Reese said. “We just gotta get better on that.”
Queen and Reese scored 12 of the Terps’ first 16 points, with the freshman producing nine of those. Queen’s third field goal was his third 3-pointer of the season and first in more than three months. He made another three in the second half from the top of the key.
The teams traded runs late in the first half. Michigan had a 9-0 burst and grabbed its largest lead of the game, but Maryland responded with three straight field goals to go up three. The Wolverines then closed out the period with five straight field goals, while the Terps missed their final six shots, and entered the break trailing 38-34.
Maryland’s last defensive possession of the first period was emblematic of its struggles. Michigan junior guard Roddy Gayle Jr. caught the Terps sleeping and cut for a backdoor lob, electrifying the crowd.
[Selton Miguel found himself under Amir-Abdur Rahim. His last season is in his honor.]
Willard’s group continued to slug after halftime. The Wolverines opened the second period with a quick 11-0 run — all of their makes coming in the paint — to grab a 15-point lead.
Maryland clawed back and made it a close game down the stretch — even taking the lead in the final five seconds — but Donaldson had the final answer with his buzzer-beater.
“We’ve got to prevent from the get go, from the start, not depend on the last shot of the game,” Miguel said. “We learned, we keep learning. It’s sports, things happen.”
Much has been made of Maryland’s lack of recent postseason success — former coach Mark Turgeon never made it past the semifinals of the conference tournament and reached just one Sweet 16 in 10 seasons.
Willard didn’t bring many postseason accolades with him from Seton Hall. He won the Big East tournament in 2016 and made the conference championship in 2019, but never advanced to the second weekend of the NCAA tournament. He holds a 2-6 record in March Madness.
Michigan coach Dusty May said he’d be “shocked” if Maryland didn’t make it to the second weekend of the NCAA tournament. Considering how strong they played in the regular season, it feels like the Terps’ season would be a disappointment if they didn’t.
