The Terps will vie for a spot in the conference tournament final.
No. 2-seed Maryland men’s basketball steamrolled No. 7-seed Illinois, 88-65, in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals Friday. This set up a date with No. 3-seed Michigan Saturday, who beat its quarterfinals opponent, No. 6-seed Purdue.
Saturday’s conference semifinals game will begin at 3:30 p.m. and air on CBS.
What happened last time
Maryland and Michigan met on March 5 for a game with crucial implications, as both teams made their final push for a double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament. The Terps came out on top, but it wasn’t always pretty.
They dominated in the first half, especially on the defensive side, limiting the Wolverines to 22 points on 31.3% shooting from the field. Selton Miguel had one of his best halves of the season, shooting 3-of-4 from beyond the arc on his way to 13 first-half points, while Derik Queen notched 10 points and eight rebounds. Jordan Geronimo also saw the court for 10 of the opening 20 minutes and was a massive part of Maryland’s defensive success, while also scoring four points.
Maryland led by 11 points at the break and maintained that lead well into the second half. But then its offense went cold, and Michigan’s dynamic big men began to feast. The Terps didn’t score a field goal for the game’s final 6:02, and with Julian Reese in foul trouble, 7-foot-1 center Vladislav Goldin popped for 14 points and nine rebounds in the second half.
Chances — and success — at the free-throw line, along with clutch defensive possessions, kept Maryland on top in the end. And no matter how it got there, a ranked road win late in the season is nothing to scoff at.
What’s happened since
It’s been just nine days since the two teams’ last contest, and the needle hasn’t moved much. The Wolverines were blown out on the road by No. 7 Michigan State, 79-62, in their final regular season game of the year and fell five spots in the final Associated Press top-25 poll to No. 22.
In the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals, Maryland decimated Illinois on the back of a 26-point Rodney Rice performance, in which he drained seven threes. The Terps also committed just three turnovers — none in the first half — while the Fighting Illini had 17. Illinois big man Tomislav Ivisic, who did not play the first time the two teams squared off, was nullified Friday, scoring just four points in 16 minutes of action.
Meanwhile, Goldin and 7-foot forward Danny Wolf are still dangerous. In its quarterfinal match against Purdue, the tandem combined for 33 points. Goldin grabbed eight rebounds in the contest, while Wolf added 11 rebounds and six assists.
The Wolverines shot 51.7% from the field and won the assist battle, 25-12.
Three things to watch
1. Can Maryland contain Goldin? In the first half of the teams’ last matchup, Goldin scored six points on just 3-of-11 shooting. Whether he has a game like that, or a full game similar to his second-half production in which he notched 14 points, may determine whether the Terps come out on top.
2. Will the bench shine again? Geronimo notched 11 points and five steals Friday against Illinois; he also confidently nailed just his second three of the year. The rest of the bench contributed solid defense in their time on the court. The more effective the Terps’ bench is, the better rested and conditioned the whole team will be.
3. Can the Terps stay hot from three? While it’s unlikely that the Terps will make 11 threes Saturday as they did Friday, streaky shooting in March is something to keep an eye on. Sometimes, it’s all about who gets hot from the field, and Maryland certainly is at the moment.