Michigan basketball blasts Maryland to kick off 2023

Michigan basketball’s (8-5, 2-0 B1G) New Year’s resolution was to play with greater effort and communication and it was executed almost flawlessly on the first day of 2023, blasting Maryland 81-46 in Ann Arbor.

Junior center Hunter Dickinson continued his dominance of the Terrapins, finishing with 32 points and 12 rebounds. Fellow captain and classmate Terrance Williams II had 11 points on the evening.

Michigan’s defensive effort was outstanding, holding Maryland to 13 first-half points, a program record. Desperation was on display after the team’s devastating loss to Central Michigan on Thursday night.

Here is the recap of how the blowout went in Ann Arbor on Sunday afternoon.

First half

Michigan won the opening tip and got the scoring started at the 19:34 mark on a jumper from Dickinson. It would spark one of the best runs of basketball we have seen in the Howard era, using a 17-0 run to kick off the game and hitting their first 7 shots from the floor. Dickinson was a major factor in that with 8 points, 2 rebounds and an assist before being subbed out for freshman Tarris Reed Jr. The Terps got their first points at the 14:15 mark with Noah Batchelor hitting 1-for-3 attempts from the free throw line. This narrowed the Michigan deficit to 17-1 before a Reed bucket at the other end of the floor. Michigan led 19-1 with 14 minutes left in the half.

It took Maryland until the 12-minute mark to get its first field goal of the game, a 3-pointer from Ian Martinez. Dickinson answered with a basket on the next possession, stretching the lead to 21-4 at the under-12 media timeout (11:11). They would go the next 3.5 minutes without a field goal before a Dickinson dunk and Kobe Bufkin fast break layup extended the lead to 25-4 at the under-8 timeout. Maryland finally hit its first 2-point field goal with 6:28 left on a layup and free throw made by Hakim Hart. This narrowed Michigan’s lead to 27-7. A nifty Dug McDaniel jumper and Williams layup extended the lead to 31-7 with 4:55 to go after a Maryland timeout. Dickinson would hit a pair of free throws at the 4:29 mark to put the score at 33-7.

Maryland’s Batchelor made a pair of free throws on the other end after an offensive foul by Dickinson, trimming the lead to 33-9 with 3:52 remaining. Hart added a layup on the next trip down, giving Maryland its first scoring run of the game and putting the deficit at 33-11. Bufkin found Dickinson on a dunk before Maryland’s Julian Reese grabbed a bucket, which put the score at 35-13 in favor of the Wolverines. Freshman wing Jett Howard grabbed his first 2 points of the game on a pair of free throws, ballooning Michigan’s lead to 37-13 with 2:06 left. Graduate wing Joey Baker hit his first triple of the night at the 1:40 mark, giving his team a 40-13 lead. Dickinson added another basket with 37 seconds to go, helping Michigan to a 42-13 advantage. McDaniel took the ball coast-to-coast with 6.6 seconds remaining for a dazzling layup at the buzzer, sending Michigan to the locker room up 44-13.

Second half

Maryland grabbed the first basket of the half thanks to a 3-pointer from Jahari Long before a 6-point run from Dickinson, extending Michigan’s lead to 50-16 with 18:04 left in the game. A 7-2 Maryland run followed before head coach Juwan Howard called timeout with just over 15 minutes remaining and the score sitting at 52-23. Williams split a pair of free throws and Jett Howard made a pair of his own, extending the Wolverine lead to 55-23 with 14:15 to play.

McDaniel hit a pair of free throws to bolster the lead to 57-23 with 14:10 to go. Terrapin guard Long got down the floor for a layup at the 13:24 mark before a Jett Howard jumper and Dickinson layup helped Michigan’s lead grow to 61-25 at the under-12 media timeout. Baker hit a pair of free throws at 10:38 to grow the lead to 63-25 with 10:38 remaining.

The teams would trade scores over the next few minutes with Michigan started to empty its bench with around 5 minutes go to leading 75-38 after a dunk from sophomore guard Isaiah Barnes and and-1 free throw made. The Wolverines would lead at the final media timeout.

Michigan would play the final 3 minutes with walk-ons Ian Burns, Jackson Selvala and Cooper Smith to close it out with scholarship freshmen Youssef Khayat and Gregg Glenn III. Glenn hit a pair of free throws with under a minute to go to give Michigan an 81-44 lead.

With both teams giving their younger guys some run, the game would end with Michigan dribbling out the clock in an 81-46 victory.

The Wolverines are in action next on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. ET against Penn State on Big Ten Network.

Michigan basketball vs. Maryland: Full box score and stats