The Michigan Wolverines and the Maryland Terrapins meet in college basketball action from the XFINITY Center on Thursday. Two 1-3 teams in the Big Ten play duking it out, who gets win #2? Let’s dive in and find out with our Michigan vs. Maryland Prediction.
Michigan Team Preview
The Michigan Wolverines come into this one on the heels of a 79-73 loss at the hands of Penn State last time out. Dug McDaniel leads the Wolverines in scoring and assists with 17.8 PPG along with 5.1 APG while Olivier Nkamhoua has 16.8 PPG with a team-high 7.7 RPG and 2.6 APG to lead the Wolverines on the glass this season. Terrance Williams II has 12.7 PPG with 4.3 RPG and Nimari Burnett has 10.3 PPG with 4.4 RPG to cap off the scoring in double figures for Michigan up to this point in the year. Tarris Reed Jr. also has 8.3 PPG with 6.2 RPG as well on the year. As a team, Michigan is averaging 81.7 PPG on 48.1% shooting from the field, 37.6% from three and 71.1% from the foul line this season.
Maryland Team Preview
The Maryland Terrapins come into this game looking to rebound from a 65-62 loss to Minnesota in their last matchup. Jahmir Young leads the Terrapins in scoring and assists with 19.9 PPG and 3.6 APG while Julian Reese has 13.3 PPG and a team-high 9.5 RPG to lead the Terrapins on the glass. Donta Scott has 10.1 PPG with 5.1 RPG to cap off the trio of double-digit scorers for Maryland up to this point in the year. As a team, Maryland is averaging 71.1 PPG on 40.7% shooting from the field, 27.4% from three and 69.9% from the foul line up to this point in the year.
Michigan vs. Maryland Prediction
I’m on Michigan here. Is the Wolverines’ defense a concern? Slightly, but I’m not at a point where I want to be laying points with one of the worst offensive units in the Big Ten. There’s only so much heavy lifting that Maryland’s defense can do and I just don’t trust them to hold Michigan down in a spot like this. Give me the Wolverines and the points.