The Terps got off to a hot start Thursday night, building a double-digit lead less than 10 minutes into the game, never trailing after the opening bucket of the game as they avenged a New Year's Day blowout road loss to the Wolverines by defeating Michigan at home by a score of 64-58.
Maryland (12-6, 3-4) was led once again by senior point guard Jahmir Young, who scored a game-high-25 points. Senior wing Hakim Hart also scored in double figures, finishing with 10 points.
With the win, the Terps are now 9-1 at home this season and 3-0 at home in league play. The Terps will next head back out onto the road again where they will face No. 3 Purdue on Sunday.
Here are three takeaways from the Terps' win over Michigan.
Terps dominate points in the paint
After Maryland was dominated in the paint by Michigan in the first meeting between the two teams on New Year's Day, being outscored 42-22 in the paint, the Terps flipped the script on the Wolverines Thursday night, outscoring Michigan in the paint by the exact same 42-22 margin.
So how did the Terps manage to beat the Wolverines at their own game? It started with being aggressive on the defensive end of the floor. That aggressive defense led to 12 Michigan turnovers which in turn led to nine points off turnovers for the Terps.
The Terps also dominated the glass early in the game and pushed the ball up the floor in transition to the tune of 10 first-half fastbreak points.
It was point guard Jahmir Young who did the vast majority of the damage in the paint, however. All nine of Young's made field goals came from inside the three-point line, with the majority of those buckets coming off of downhill, hesitation dribble drives where he simply blew by his defender. Ian Martinez came off the bench and also did a nice job of attacking the basket and not settling for jump shots.
Swanton-Rodger coming out party
He might have only finished with four points and three rebounds in seven minutes of action, but Thursday night's game sure felt like a coming out party for Canadian freshman 7-footer Caelum Swanton-Rodger.
He came up with a big block and his final bucket of the game was a dunk over All-Big Ten big man Hunter Dickinson. He showed good footwork and looked confident while he was on the floor. His minutes were crucial as top big man reserve Patrick Emilien missed Thursday night's game with an ankle injury. Here's guessing his play versus Dickinson and the Wolverines earns him minutes in the Terps' next game versus player of the year candidate Zach Edey and Purdue on Sunday.
Young carries the Terps. Again.
It is pretty evident at this point in the season that this is Jahmir Young's team. The Charlotte transfer has now scored 20-or-more points in three straight games, including a 30-point, 11-rebound double-double in a win over Ohio State.
With others struggling to score, Young has taken things upon himself offensively by being aggressive off the dribble, getting downhill and attacking the basket, often scoring through contact. He's attempted 29 free throws over the past three games while only attempting 14 three-point shots.
Young's aggressive on-ball defense led to three steals versus the Wolverines. And he is also arguably the Terps' best rebounder, despite standing just 6-foot-1.
The past three games have basically been a blue print of what Maryland needs to get from Young every game out the rest of the season as they look to finish the regular season strong and earn an NCAA tournament bid.
