Wolverines Set to Host No. 24 Maryland in Key B1G Battle

Saturday, February 16

Ann Arbor, Mich.

Noon

Michigan

Maryland

Wolverines Set to Host No. 24 Maryland in Key B1G Battle

2/15/2019 10:55:00 AM | Men's Basketball

By: Tom Wywrot

» No. 6 Michigan and No. 24 Maryland meet for the first of two late-season matchups.
» It is first time in 13 all-time series games both teams were ranked among the top 25.
» The all-time series is tied, 6-6, and the Wolverines have won the last two contests.
» Saturday's game is the 13th straight home sellout.
» Wolverine players will wear special pink colored Jordan shoes to help in bring awareness for breast cancer, as well as to honor all the survivors.

NEXT GAME
Saturday, Feb. 16 -- vs. #24 Maryland (Crisler Center), Noon

• Watch: Coach Beilein Media Roundtable

The sixth-ranked University of Michigan men's basketball team (22-3, 11-3) will look to rebound from a loss at Penn State earlier in the week as it hosts No. 24 Maryland (19-6, 10-4) in a key Big Ten battle at a sold-out Crisler Center on Saturday (Feb. 16). In a FOX broadcast, tipoff is scheduled for noon, with Tim Brando and Jimmy Jackson on the call.

A Little Bit About Maryland

• Maryland comes to Ann Arbor with a 19-6 overall record, including a 10-4 mark in Big Ten Conference play. The Terrapins are coming off a 70-56 home victory over Purdue on Tuesday night (Feb. 12).
• Maryland is led by 16.0 points per game from junior guard Anthony Cowan Jr. He adds a team-best 113 assists (4.5 apg) and is tied for the team lead with 49 3-pointers.
• In addition to Cowan's 49 triples, Maryland has three players with 40-plus three-pointers. Freshman Aaron Wiggins adds 49 of his own, while fellow freshman Eric Ayala has made 43 and is the Big Ten's top three-point shooter at 47.3 percent.
• Adding to the outside shooting, sophomore big man Bruno Fernando averages a double-double with 14.6 points and 10.7 rebounds per contest. He leads the Big Ten in field goal percentage, shooting 66.8 percent from the floor and is second in blocks (48, 1.9 bpg).
• Freshman forward Jalen Smith adds 12.0 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.
• Maryland leads the Big Ten in rebounding margin, outrebounding its opponents by +10.0 rebounds per game (40.0 to 30.0). The Terrapins also lead the conference in rebounding margin in league games at +8.3.
• Mark Turgeon is in his eighth season as head coach at Maryland, having guided the Terps to three NCAA Tournament appearances during his tenure. Turgeon also led Wichita State to the NCAA Tournament (2006) and took Texas A&M to the NCAA Tournament four times (2008, '09, '10, '11).

The Series with the Terrapins

• Saturday's game marks the 13th all-time meeting between Michigan and Maryland.
• U-M and Maryland are tied 6-6 in the all-time series; however, the Wolverines are currently riding a two-game winning streak after losing five of the previous six.
• Saturday's game is the first of the regular season. The Wolverines will have a return game in College Park, Maryland, at the Xfinity Center on March 3.
• The Maize and Blue is 3-1 all-time in games played at Crisler Center against the Terrapins.
• There has never been an overtime game in the series.
• Saturday's game will mark the first time that Michigan and Maryland have faced each other when both programs were among the nation's top 25.
• Two games have been decided by three points or fewer, with U-M leading, 2-0. The last time a game was decided by fewer than three points was last season's dramatic 68-67 home victory for U-M on Jan. 15, 2018. After Maryland's Kevin Huerter drained a three-pointer with three seconds remaining, the Terrapins had a 67-66 lead. Isaiah Livers then made a half-court pass, which was caught by Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman, who drove to the basket and was fouled, sending him to the free throw line. Draining both free throws, U-M won the game, 68-67, and Abdur-Rahkman scored his 1,000th career point.
• U-M head coach John Beilein is 4-4 all-time against Maryland.

The Pink Game is Here

The Wolverines will be wearing special pink colored Jordan shoes to help bring awareness for breast cancer, as well as to honor all survivors from the deadly disease.

A Little Maize and Blue

• In his last two games, Charles Matthews has averaged 21.0 points, shot 17-for-26 from the field (65.8%) and 3-for-6 (50.0%) from long range. It started with scoring 16 of his 18 points in the win over Wisconsin and followed with his fifth 20-plus point game at Penn State (24).
• With six games left, U-M plays three home and three away contests. The Wolverines play a home-and-home series with Maryland and Michigan State -- two contenders for the Big Ten title.
• Jordan Poole has scored in double-figures in five straight games. Poole (94) needs six more three-pointers to become the 27th Wolverine to make 100-plus in a career.
• The Wolverines 20-plus wins (22) is the ninth time under John Beilein and the 30th in program history.
• In fact, Beilein owns two of U-M's four 30-plus win seasons in program history, including the program record of 33 set last season.
• U-M's 10-plus Big Ten wins gives Beilein his fourth straight season of 10 or more. He has reached double-digit wins in seven of the last eight seasons. Those seven seasons are the most of any U-M coach in program history -- passing Steve Fisher (6), Bill Frieder (6) and Johnny Orr (6).
• Already the all-time winningest coach at U-M with 270 wins, Beilein became U-M's all-time Big Ten leader -- passing Johnny Orr (120) -- with a 77-65 victory at Rutgers (Feb. 5). Beilein, who has 122 conference victories, is one of 21 Big Ten coaches to win 100 or more in a career.
• Since going 5-for-11 (45.4%) at the free throw line at Wisconsin (Jan. 19), Michigan has shot 76.0 percent (76-for-100) over its last seven games. For the season, U-M shoots 68.9 percent.
• Jon Teske leads the Big Ten in blocked shots (2.2). He has had at least one block in 24 games and in his last 20 straight.
• After going 1-for-7 at Indiana (Jan. 25), Isaiah Livers has gone 12-for-20 (60.0%) from the field in his last five games, including a 7-for-13 (53.8%) from long range.

Wolverines Closing in on Cool Notes

• Zavier Simpson has not missed a game in three seasons -- a streak of 104 straight.
• Charles Matthews and Jon Teske have not missed a game in two seasons -- a streak of 66 straight.
• Simpson (334) needs 21 assists to move into 13th place on U-M's all-time list -- Jimmy King (354).
• Simpson (107) became the 23rd Wolverine to reach 100 steals in a career. He needs 28 more to reach the top 10 all-time at U-M -- Thad Garner (1979-82) and Dion Harris (2004-07) are 10th at 135.
• Matthews (861) needs 139 more points to become the 55th Wolverine to score 1,000 career points.
• Averaging a Big Ten Best 2.2 per game, Jon Teske (55) needs five blocks to become the first Wolverine to reach 60 in a season since Ekpe Udoh had 92 (2007-08).
• Michigan has made 193 three-pointers this season. The Wolverines need seven more to make 200-plus in all 12 of John Beilein's seasons at U-M.

Up Next

Thursday, Feb. 21 -- at Minnesota (Minneapolis, Minn.), 6 p.m. CST (TV: ESPN)