Preview, how to watch No. 13 Maryland basketball's road finale at No. 17 Michigan
The Terps look to inch closer to double-bye status in the Big Ten Tournament.
The Maryland men's basketball team will play its final road game of the season and its penultimate game of the regular season Wednesday night.
The No. 13 Terps (22-7, 12-6 Big Ten) take on No. 17 Michigan (22-7, 14-4 Big Ten) in a game with major Big Ten implications. A Maryland win in Ann Arbor and against Northwestern at home on Saturday would all but wrap up a double bye in the Big Ten Tournament. The Wolverines, a game back of Michigan State, which they close the season against, are still looking for a share of the conference's regular-season title.
Michigan is coming off a 93-73 home loss to Illinois last Sunday. It barely escaped Rutgers last Thursday, when Nimari Burnett played the hero with a deep buzzer-beating three in an 84-82 win.
If the Terps win, they would close the season 5-5 on the road in Big Ten play, which would be their best mark since the 2019-20 season. Michigan leads the all-time series over Maryland, 13-9, though the Terps have won each of the past two meetings between the teams.
Here's everything you need to know about how to watch, follow and listen to the matchup.
Tipoff: 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 5 at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan
TV: Big Ten Network – Kevin Kugler, LaPhonso Ellis, Andy Katz
Streaming: FOX Sports
Radio: Maryland Sports Radio Network, 105.7FM (Baltimore), 980AM (D.C.) – Johnny Holliday (play-by-play), Chris Knoche (analyst), Claude Jennings, Jr. (engineer)
Live Stats: Link
KenPom Line: Michigan -1
Wednesday is a Quadrant 1 game for both teams. Maryland looks for its seventh Quad 1 win of the season, and Michigan looks for its ninth. The Wolverines are 25th in the NET, 29th at KenPom, 27th at BartTorvik and 32nd in the ESPN Basketball Power Index. Michigan's resume-based metrics are more favorable, as it ranks eighth in KPI, 13th in wins above bubble and 15th in strength of record.
Dusty May, who took FAU to the 2023 Final Four, is in his first season as Michigan's head coach.
Michigan has had a penchant for playing in close games during Big Ten play, and it has been exceptional doing so. It is 11-1 in conference games decided by four points or fewer.
The Wolverines rank 40th in adjusted offensive efficiency and 22nd in adjusted defensive efficiency, per KenPom. They have shot just 31.6% from three during Big Ten play, the 16th-best mark in the conference, but 56.3% from two. Michigan leads the Big Ten with 14.3 turnovers per game. It is 15th in the Big Ten with 5.7 steals per game.
Michigan has a fabulous frontcourt duo of Danny Wolf and Vladislav Goldin, which should create a fascinating matchup against Derik Queen and Julian Reese.
The 7-foot-1 Goldin, Michigan's leading scorer and an FAU transfer, averages 16.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.4 blocks per game. He shoots 64.8% from the field, 70.6% from the free-throw line and 37.5% from three. During Big Ten play, Goldin ranks first in the conference in both effective field goal percentage and true shooting percentage. The 7-foot Wolf, more of a point center and a legitimate NBA prospect, averages 12.4 points, 9.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.4 blocks per game. He shoots 50% from the field, 61.4% from the free-throw line and 33.7% from three. The Yale transfer ranks third in the Big Ten with a 25.6% defensive rebounding percentage in conference play.
Maryland has the "Crab Five," but all five Michigan starters average double figures as well.
Point guard Tre Donaldson, an Auburn transfer, averages 11.9 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game while shooting 45.1% from the field, 68.1% from the free-throw line and 38.9% from three. Roddy Gayle Jr., an Ohio State transfer, averages 10.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game, and he shoots 42.7% from the field, 78.4% from the line and 20% from three (13-for-65). Burnett, in his second year at Michigan after transferring from Alabama, is averaging 10.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game, and he shoots 49.2% from the field, 76.4% from the charity stripe and 41.4% from three.
Will Tschetter, LJ Cason and Rubin Jones have all played significant minutes off the bench for the Wolverines lately.
Tschetter, a 6-foot-8 redshirt freshman forward, averages 7.1 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. He shoots 39% from three and is 29-for-34 from the free-throw line this season. Cason, a 6-foot-2 freshman guard, has seen his minutes increase with Alabama transfer Sam Walters (five points per game) out with an injury. He is averaging 4.1 points per game and is a 25% three-point shooter (11-for-44). Jones, a North Texas transfer who missed two games due to injury but returned this past Sunday, averages 3.4 points and shoots only 34.5% from the field and 25.9% from deep. Freshman guard Justin Pippen, who averages 1.6 points per game, has played spot minutes.
Maryland showed resolve in bouncing back from last Wednesday's heartbreaking Michigan State loss with a road win at Penn State this past Saturday. The predictive metrics view Maryland as a better team than Michigan, but the latter is rightfully a favorite at home with a ton on the line. A Terps win would continue to add fuel to the narrative that they are a legitimate March contender.
