Rodney Rice scored 19 points to lead No. 13 Maryland to a 71-65 Big Ten win over No. 17 Michigan Wednesday night in Ann Arbor, Mich.
With Michigan’s loss, league-leading Michigan State clinched a share of the conference title. The Spartans can claim the Big Ten all for themselves with a win Thursday at Iowa.
Derik Queen had 17 points and 12 rebounds and Selton Miguel added 17 points for Maryland (23-7, 13-6), which won its fifth road game of the season and stayed in the hunt for a double-bye in next week’s Big Ten tournament.
Vladislav Goldin had 20 points and 15 rebounds and Danny Wolf scored 20 points with eight rebounds for Michigan (22-8, 14-5), which dropped its second straight home game. The Wolverines finish the regular season Sunday at Michigan State.
Michigan shot 43.5 percent from field, which eclipsed Maryland’s 38.1 percent showing, but the Wolverines handicapped themselves with 16 turnovers compared to the Terps’ eight. Wolf committed a game-high five during his 29 minutes.
Leading 59-57 with 6:51 left in the game, Maryland scored six straight to take a 65-57 lead with 2:33 remaining on a pair of Julian Reese free throws.
Michigan cut its deficit to 65-60 on Nimari Burnett’s 3-pointer with 1:29 to go. Maryland restored a 68-62 lead with 48 seconds remaining after a Rice free throw, then Wolf missed a 3-pointer on Michigan’s next possession.
The Wolverines got as close as 69-65 on Tre Donaldson’s 3-pointer with 17.5 seconds left, but Ja’Kobi Gillespie sank two free throws with 16.8 seconds remaining to give Maryland a 71-65 lead.
Maryland, which took a 33-22 lead into halftime, held a 50-39 lead with 12:14 remaining in the game, but Michigan responded with a 13-4 run to cut its deficit to 54-52 with 9:03 left as Wolf, Burnett and Roddy Gayle Jr. exploded for dunks that brought the home crowd alive.
–Field Level Media
