Michigan
8-0,3-0Big Ten
Maryland
6-4,1-3Big Ten
Season Highs from Dickinson, Smith Propel Michigan Past Maryland
12/31/2020 11:02:00 PM | Men's Basketball
» Michigan shot 58.8 percent from the floor in its 84-73 win at Maryland.
» Hunter Dickinson recorded his third career double-double with a career-high 26 points and team-best 11 rebounds.
» Mike Smith tied his season best with 16 points, and Franz Wagner added 19 points.
Site: College Park, Md. (Xfinity Center)
Score: #16 Michigan 84, Maryland 73
Records: Michigan (8-0, 3-0 B1G), Maryland (6-4, 1-3 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Jan. 3 -- vs. Northwestern (Crisler Center), 7:30 p.m. (TV: Big Ten Network)
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 16-ranked University of Michigan men's basketball team closed out 2020 with an 84-73 road victory over Maryland Thursday night (Dec. 31) at Xfinity Center to remain undefeated in the 2020-21 season.
The Wolverines (8-0, 3-0 B1G) shot 58.8 percent from the floor (30-for-51) and 59.3 percent (16-for-27) in the second half of play in the New Year's Eve victory.
Freshman Hunter Dickinson continued to be a force on both ends of the court, scoring a career-best 26 points and pulling down a team-high 11 rebounds for his third career double-double and second in as many games. Dickinson went 10-for-11 from the floor and 6-for-7 from the charity stripe in his offensive performance against Maryland.
Sophomore Franz Wagner notched a 19-point performance for the Maize and Blue as he made three from beyond the arc and had a team-high three steals while dishing out four assists. Also recording double digits and a season best in points was graduate student Mike Smith, who netted 16 and had six assists and six rebounds for the Wolverines.
Finally, senior Eli Brooks had 10 points, four assists and two steals, and senior Isaiah Livers ended the night with seven points, three rebounds and one block.
Both teams had a slow offensive start before Wagner hit back-to-back triples for the Maize and Blue to double up the Terrapins, 14-7, at the under-16:00 media break in the first half.
A 6-0 run from Maryland with just over nine minutes to play in the half allowed the Terrapins to come within four, 26-22, before Dickinson made a pair of free throws to put the Wolverines up by eight with eight minutes to play in the opening half in College Park.
Michigan made six of its last eight shot attempts in the first half to take a slight 46-44 advantage into the halftime break. Dickinson scored a team-best 11 points, while Wagner hit two triples and scored 10 points in the opening frame. As a team, the Maize and Blue shot 58.3 percent (14-for-24) from the floor in the first 20 minutes of play.
Maryland took its first lead of the game early in the second half before the Wolverines went on an 8-0 run with four straight makes to take a 58-54 advantage on a Dickinson and-one play with just over 13 minutes remaining in the contest.
Michigan put together a 9-0 run capped off with a steal and dunk for Wagner to take a 10-point lead, 69-59, and force a Terps timeout with 8:39 left.
The Wolverines continued on their run, extending it to 22-4 over 6:24 as they made seven of their nine shots and took an 82-63 advantage into the under-4:00 media timeout.
Maryland put together one final offensive surge but got no closer than the final margin.
The Wolverines return to Ann Arbor for their first game of 2021, on Sunday (Jan. 3) when they will take on Northwestern at 7:30 p.m. inside Crisler Center. The game is set to be featured on Big Ten Network.
