Field Level Media
Mar 8, 2020
Anthony Cowan scored 20 points with eight assists to lead No. 9 Maryland to an 83-70 win over No. 25 Michigan in the regular-season finale for both on Sunday at College Park, Md.
With the win, Maryland clinched a share of its first Big Ten title since joining the conference in the 2014-15 season.
The Terrapins (24-7, 14-6 Big Ten) will share the regular-season title with Wisconsin and Michigan State, which defeated Ohio State on Sunday. The Badgers earned the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament by having the best record among games involving the three teams.
Michigan (19-12, 10-10), considered by many a lock for an NCAA tournament bid, was locked into the 8-9 seeds game in the upcoming Big Ten tournament regardless of the outcome.
David DeJulius came off of the bench to score 20 points for the Wolverines.
Maryland made a move in the final eight minutes of the first half, going on a 7-0 run to take a 27-15 lead with 5:50 left in the first half.
The Terrapins eventually took a 41-28 lead into halftime thanks to a 3-pointer just before the buzzer by Jalen Smith.
Trailing 51-40 with 14:07 remaining, Michigan made a run, going on a 13-5 surge to cut Maryland's lead to 56-53 with 10:21 left.
But the Terrapins responded, answering with a 9-2 run to take a 65-55 lead with 6:54 remaining.
Michigan couldn't put a serious dent in that deficit the rest of the way and lost for the third time in the last four games.
Eric Ayala scored 19 points, Smith had 18 points and 11 rebounds and Aaron Wiggins added 15 points for Maryland, which shot 56 percent from the field (28 of 50) and outrebounded Michigan 29-22.
Maryland was coming off of losses to Michigan State and at Rutgers, but managed to earn at least a share of the conference title on its third attempt.
Franz Wagner scored 15 points and Zavier Simpson added 13 points and seven rebounds in defeat for Michigan, which shot 48 percent from the field (24 of 50).
--Field Level Media