CBB: Michigan bounces back from month-long losing streak

Michigan snapped a 3-game losing streak with an 83-64 win over unranked Maryland at the Crisler Center on Tuesday night. The Wolverines recently endured a month-long skid including losses to UCF, Rutgers and Illinois, in addition to two other games against Michigan State and Purdue postponed due to COVID-19. Juwan Howard's team was winless since blowing past Southern Utah 87-50 on December 18. Howard tied his former head coach Steve Fisher as the fastest coach in school history to reach the 50-win mark after going 50-24 in just under three years at his alma mater.

Michigan improved to 8-7 (2-3 in Big Ten), while Maryland dropped to 9-9. Howard discussed the blowout win in the postgame press conference on Tuesday: "I loved our defensive disposition, especially in the first five minutes of the ball game. Our guys were really active, getting deflections, into their man and really caused a lot of disruption. It's more than just making shots. It's about the effort and grit. We had that against Illinois but unfortunately it just didn't go our way. We had the effort and grit today and we also had some healthier bodies that were available."

Hunter Dickinson returned to the lineup after missing the loss at Illinois and finished with a team-high 21 points, six assists and six rebounds against Maryland. Moussa Diabate, Caleb Houstan and Devante Jones combined to score 42 points. Freshman guard Frankie Collins added six points and three assists off the bench, including an alley-oop from Eli Brooks to give Michigan a 59-44 lead. Eric Ayala scored a game-high 22 points in the loss. The Wolverines, who shot an impressive 58.3% from the field, will face Indiana and Northwestern next. Maryland hosts first place Illinois on Friday.

Photo Credit: Ann Arbor News.