ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan’s late-season slide continued with a 71-65 loss to No. 13 Maryland that brought Michigan State one win away from an outright Big Ten championship.
After starting 12-0 at home, the No. 17 Wolverines (22-8, 14-5) have dropped three of their last four games at the Crisler Center, the only win coming on a last-second 3-pointer to beat Rutgers. Michigan State clinched a share of the Big Ten title with the Wolverines’ loss on Wednesday, an accomplishment celebrated by a lone MSU fan who carried a Spartans flag through the stands of the Crisler Center in the closing moments.
With a win Thursday at Iowa, Michigan State could lock up the outright title and take much of the drama out of Sunday’s regular-season finale between the Spartans and Wolverines at the Breslin Center. If Iowa were to upset the Spartans, Michigan could claim a share of the conference championship with a win on Michigan State’s home floor.
Rodney Rice led the Terps with a team-high 19 points in the B1G road win over No. 17 Michigan 💪#B1GMBBall x @TerrapinHoops pic.twitter.com/VtSWa1wzLO
— Big Ten Men’s Basketball (@B1GMBBall) March 6, 2025
Michigan hasn’t looked the part of a Big Ten title contender in recent weeks, and Wednesday’s loss was more of the same. Three days removed from a 20-point loss to Illinois, the Wolverines allowed 17 second-chance points and committed 16 turnovers that led to 21 points for the Terrapins.
Rodney Rice led Maryland (23-7, 13-6) with 19 points, and Derik Queen and Selton Miguel scored 17. Danny Wolf and Vladislav Goldin had 20 points each for the Wolverines, but aside from the two 7-footers, Michigan’s offensive struggles continued. The Wolverines rallied from a double-digit deficit in the second half but couldn’t tie the game or take the lead after closing within two points on several occasions.
Michigan doesn’t have to worry about missing the NCAA Tournament, but the Wolverines’ stock continues to slip. The Wolverines are in second place in the conference standings but sit behind six other Big Ten teams at No. 27 in the NET rankings. The Wolverines don’t have a Quad 3 or Quad 4 loss but haven’t measured up against the Big Ten’s best teams during the season’s stretch run.
Maryland, on the other hand, is in position to climb. The Terrapins were a No. 5 seed in The Athletic’s latest bracket projections and improved to 7-6 in Quad 1 games. The Terrapins moved into a tie for third in the Big Ten standings and still have a shot at a double-bye in the conference tournament as a top-four seed.
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(Photo: Duane Burleson / Associated Press)
