Maryland Battles Hard, But Turnovers and Injuries Continue to Haunt in Loss to Michigan
For 33 minutes on Saturday night, Maryland men’s basketball went toe-to-toe with the No. 2 team in the country. In front of a packed Xfinity Center, the Terps gave Michigan all it could handle-until the final stretch, when the Wolverines flipped the switch, pulled away, and handed Maryland an 18-point loss. That puts the Terps at 6-5 overall and 0-2 in Big Ten play, with plenty of questions but also some signs of progress.
Head coach Buzz Williams, coaching in his first conference game at Xfinity, didn’t sugarcoat it: turnovers were the difference. And that’s been a theme all season.
Maryland has turned the ball over at least 12 times in all but two games this year. Against Michigan, they hit that mark again-12 giveaways, eight of which came in the second half.
The Wolverines capitalized, turning those second-half miscues into 16 points. That swing was critical.
“I thought the thing that's hurt us the most thus far this season offensively has been our turnover rate,” Williams said during his weekly radio appearance. “In the first half [against Michigan], we played with the lowest turnover rate we had all season long. That gave us a chance.”
And it did. Maryland hung around with the nation’s top-ranked team in defensive efficiency by playing smarter, more deliberate basketball. When they didn’t give the ball away, they were able to get into their sets, crash the offensive glass, and draw fouls-everything they needed to do to stay in the fight.
But the second half told a different story. The turnovers came back, and Michigan made them pay-especially in transition.
“They're really good in transition, particularly after a live-ball turnover,” Williams said. “We turned it over too much in the second half, and that’s when they went on their run.”
Despite the loss, there were some positives. Maryland posted its highest offensive rebound percentage of the season, grabbing 40% of its own misses. Guard Jahmir Young (nicknamed “Diggy”) shot the ball well, and the team looked more cohesive offensively than it had in recent outings.
Defensively, Maryland limited Michigan’s second-chance points and avoided foul trouble, but they gave up too many easy looks from three-particularly off quick ball movement and in transition. That was the breaking point.
Injury Woes Continue to Mount
As if the challenge of facing elite competition wasn’t enough, Maryland’s roster continues to be thinned by injuries. The latest concern is center Pharrel Payne, who went down late in the first half.
Payne had previously been carted off in a win over Marquette but avoided major injury. His status remains uncertain.
Williams didn’t offer an update, choosing instead to protect his players’ privacy.
“I want to be some level of protection for our team,” he said. “I’m not trying to hide anything… but there’s a process.”
The Terps have been battling injuries all season. Forward Solo missed nearly two months of practice after going down in early October, and the team only recently returned to five-on-five practices. Last week was the first time since preseason that Maryland had enough healthy bodies to run full-contact drills consistently.
That time on the practice court paid off, at least in terms of execution and effort. Williams credited his team for making strides despite the adversity.
“I thought we were markedly better against Michigan, who is the gold standard this season in college basketball,” he said. “We made significant progress.”
Still, the injury list remains long. Isaiah Watts and Willy didn’t play against Michigan, and their availability going forward is unclear. Williams emphasized that sometimes the issue isn’t just who’s unavailable-it’s whether there are even enough healthy players to simulate game situations in practice.
Looking Ahead: Another Top-20 Test at Virginia
The road doesn’t get easier. Next up is a trip to Charlottesville to face a Virginia team that will be the fifth top-20 NET opponent Maryland has faced this season. It’s another Quad One game, and the Terps are still searching for their first win in that category (0-4).
Williams sees the brutal early schedule as a learning opportunity.
“Whether it was Alabama, Gonzaga, Michigan, and now Virginia-this has been good for us,” he said. “There’s so much to learn from, not just in preparing for the opponent but in understanding roster construction, pace, and style.”
Virginia plays faster than the traditional Tony Bennett-led teams of years past, and Williams knows his squad will have to be sharp-especially on offense. Maryland can’t afford to feed Virginia’s transition game with careless turnovers.
“We’re going to need our offense to help our defense,” Williams said. “We can’t give the ball to the other team. That only gives them gas to play even faster.”
There’s no question Maryland is still a work in progress. Between injuries, a roster with 15 new players, and one of the toughest early-season slates in the country, the Terps are still finding their identity. But Williams remains confident in his group’s resilience.
“Our staff has been great, and a credit to our kids-they’ve been incredibly resilient through all of this,” he said. “And I anticipate, no matter what transpires this week, they will be the same.”
The record might not show it yet, but the fight is there. Now, it’s about staying healthy, cleaning up the turnovers, and turning those hard lessons into wins.