'Definitely problems': Michigan hands Maryland share of Big Ten title with poor defense

College Park, Md. — Michigan was aiming to crash Maryland’s charged-up party.

With the No. 9 Terrapins celebrating Senior Day and playing for a share of their first Big Ten regular-season title, the No. 25 Wolverines had a shot to ruin it all.

Instead, Michigan turned in another rough defensive performance and couldn’t stop Maryland as it fell, 83-70, in the regular-season finale Sunday at Xfinity Center.

BOX SCORE: Maryland 83, Michigan 70

The Wolverines shot 48 percent (24-for-50) from the field but allowed the Terrapins to shoot a season-high 56 percent (28-for-50). It was the highest shooting percentage by an opponent against Michigan this season.

“There were definitely problems,” said freshman wing Franz Wagner, who finished with 15 points. “I don't think we played bad defense all game, but I think we had two or three stretches where we really let them get going and that hurt us down the stretch. Going under on shooters, they made us pay for it. They also made some tough shots, especially in one-on-one (situations), but we can definitely do a better job on some of those shots."

Sophomore guard David DeJulius had a career-high 20 points off the bench and senior guard Zavier Simpson had 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists for Michigan (19-12, 10-10 Big Ten), which dropped three of four to close out the regular-season slate.

The common theme in each of those losses was, as Wagner pointed out, porous stretches of defense. Sunday marked the third time in the last four games the Wolverines let an opponent score at least 77 points and shoot better than 47 percent from the floor.

"I feel like we fought for 40 (minutes),” DeJulius said. “I feel like, of course, when you lose you can pinpoint some things defensively that you could've done better. But I feel like a lot of the shots that they hit in late-clock situations, we guarded for the full 30 seconds, got a good contest at the end and they just hit the shot.”

And it wasn’t just one player doing that for the Terrapins (24-7, 14-6). Senior guard Anthony Cowan had 20 points and eight assists. Sophomore forward Jalen Smith recorded 18 points and 11 rebounds. Sophomore guard Eric Ayala added 19 points. Sophomore guard Aaron Wiggins scored 15.

All four hit second-half shots to stymie the Wolverines when their offense heated up and they started to chip away at a 13-point halftime deficit.

After Simpson was able to get into the paint and Wagner got to the rim for a driving layup to cut it to 47-40 with 15:47 to play, Ayala knocked down a 3-pointer to push the lead back to double digits. Then after Wagner converted a three-point play and Simpson buried a 3-pointer, Maryland answered back with a layup from Smith and 3-pointer from Wiggins to regain a 10-point cushion.

Michigan’s offense continued to stay hot and the Wolverines clawed their way back into the game. Junior forward Isaiah Livers capped a 7-0 spurt with two free throws to trim it to 56-53 at the 10:21 mark.

But once again, the defense couldn’t hold when Michigan needed it to the most. Maryland countered with six straight points to create some separation before Ayala buried a step-back 3-pointer and put Michigan back in a double-digit hole, 65-55, with 6:54 remaining.

The Wolverines managed to cut the deficit to seven twice down the stretch and got up several shots that could’ve pulled them within five points. But they couldn’t get any closer as the Terrapins traded baskets before securing their share of the conference title at the free-throw line.

“You don’t hang a league championship very often,” Maryland coach Mark Turgeon said. “There was a lot on our guys and obviously it’s a big weight off of us. But we played the way we’re capable of playing. We looked like Maryland, the team that was ranked No. 9 in the country. We looked like that team today.”

Michigan didn’t initially seem fazed by the environment and got off to a solid start by generating open looks. But the Wolverines ran into early trouble as the quality of their shot attempts dipped, the misses piled up and Wagner picked up two fouls by the 11:52 mark.

The problems worsened as Michigan’s defense started to falter. Ayala bookended a 14-2 run with a pair of jumpers and Maryland pulled ahead, 18-9, with 10:13 left in the first half.

DeJulius hit a pair of 3-pointers to keep Michigan within striking distance, but the defense continued to offer little resistance. Wiggins countered with a deep ball and threw down a dunk as the Terrapins used a 7-0 spurt to extend the lead to 27-15 at the 5:50 mark.

Even when Michigan managed to cut the deficit to single digits in the final two minutes, it didn’t last long. Maryland quickly pushed it back to double digits and used a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Smith to take a 41-28 lead into the break.

“We dug ourselves a hole. We gave them a lot of easy points in the first half,” said senior center Jon Teske, who finished with eight points and three rebounds. “Second half we did a much better job. We cut it down to (three) points and we're right there. We've just got to cut down on some mistakes and we'll be OK.”

After following a five-game win streak by losing three of four, Michigan missed an opportunity to build some momentum heading into the postseason.

The Wolverines will be the No. 9 seed in the Big Ten tournament and will open against No. 8 seed Rutgers. The teams will meet at noon Thursday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

"I'm as positive as you can get. There's no reason to try to beat anyone's spirit down,” Michigan coach Juwan Howard said. “It’s all about finding solutions and how we can improve to get better. I'm always going to continue to coach that. I'm always going to continue to keep them positive, always keeping in mind that they are as competitive as I am.

“When you have possessions where things don't go your way, I never want my players to feel like they let the team down nor I want them to feel like they let themselves down. We've got to continue to keep plugging and we will forge ahead.”

Big Ten tournament schedule

At Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis; all games on BTN unless noted

Wednesday

No. 12 Minnesota vs. No. 13 Northwestern, 6

No. 11 Indiana vs. No. 14 Nebraska, 8:30

Thursday

No. 8 Rutgers vs. No. 9 Michigan, noon

No. 5 Iowa vs. Minnesota-Northwestern winner, 2:30

No. 7 Ohio State vs. No. 10 Purdue, 6:30

No. 6 Penn State vs. Indiana-Nebraska winner, 9

Friday

No. 1 Wisconsin vs. Rutgers-Michigan winner, noon

No. 4 Illinois vs. Iowa-Minnesota/Northwestern winner, 2:30

No. 2 Michigan State vs. Ohio State-Purdue winner, 6:30

No. 3 Maryland vs. Penn State-Indiana/Nebraska winner, 9

Saturday

Semifinals, 1 and 3:30 (CBS)

Sunday

Final, 3:30 (CBS)

jhawkins@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @jamesbhawkins