Michigan led by 30 at halftime, sparked by Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman’s 28 points. The Wolverines finished the regular season 24-7.
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Michigan put together its best half in a long time and never looked back.
As a result, the Wolverines will enter next week’s Big Ten tournament with momentum at their backs.
Michigan received a career-high 28 points from Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman, 22 of which came in an explosive first half, as the Wolverines blew by Maryland on Saturday, 85-61, at the Xfinity Center in College Park.
• Box score
With its fifth straight win, Michigan closes the regular season at 24-7,13-5 in Big Ten play. The Wolverines have their most regular season wins since the 2012-13 Final Four team racked up 25.
The Wolverines will await the result of Sunday’s game between Penn State and Nebraska. If Nebraska wins, Michigan will be the No. 5 seed in next week’s Big Ten tournament, playing Thursday at Madison Square Garden in New York.
If Nebraska loses, Michigan will earn the No. 4 seed and a double bye into Friday’s quarterfinals.
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Michigan put this game away shortly after it started, delivering an onslaught of 3-pointers, and using its swarming defense to create easy looks in transition.
Abdur-Rahkman, who played with protective goggles after getting poked in the eye earlier this week, and Zavier Simpson capped a 13-4 run with a 3-pointer and a layup to make it 36-18, Michigan with four minutes to go in the half. The Wolverines closed the frame on an 18-6 spurt.
The final shot, another triple from Abdur-Rahkman at the buzzer, sent the Maryland crowd into a chorus of boos and Michigan into the locker room with a 54-24 lead, after its most efficient half of the Big Ten season.
The Wolverines went 11-for-19 from 3-point range in the first 20 minutes, collected five steals and made 17-for-28 shots.
The Wolverines were mortal in the second half, shooting 12-for-29.
Jordan Poole finished with 12 points, Charles Matthews added 11 points and five rebounds.
Abdur-Rahkman’s first three makes of the game were from beyond-the-arc, sparking an explosion by Michigan’s offense through the first 20 minutes.
The Wolverines moved the ball well on nearly every possession, scoring on 11 of their first 20 possessions.
In the first half, Michigan outscored Maryland 11-0 in fast break points and 22-2 in bench points. Abdur-Rahkman had six 3’s in the first half and Poole had three. Jaaron Simmons and Duncan Robinson had the other two makes from long range.
Abdur-Rahkman’s entire floor game was on display Saturday, as he added eight rebounds and seven assists to his 28 points.
Maryland entered Saturday at No. 59 in RPI. If the Terrapins stay inside the top 75, this win will go in the books as a Quadrant 1 victory for the Wolverines.
Quadrant 1 wins are defined by defeating a team with an RPI ranking of 1-30 at home, 1-50 on a neutral floor or 1-75 on the road.
Michigan currently has four of those wins: at Texas, at Michigan State, vs. Ohio State and at Maryland.
If Michigan can follow up its strong close to the regular season with a positive performance in next week’s conference tournament, its NCAA tournament seed will likely continue to rise.
Both ESPN and CBS projected Michigan as a No. 6 seed earlier this week, and USA TODAY had them as a No. 7 .
Michigan continued the process of getting more time for Poole on the floor in multiple different lineups. With Matthews still struggling offensively, Poole has taken advantage as coach John Beilein has allowed him to play with Simpson and Abdur-Rahkman and alone in the backcourt with Abdur-Rahkman at the point.
Matthews still earned the start Saturday and played better in the second half, scoring all 11 of his points after the break.
Yet Poole is cutting into Matthews’ minutes. Whether or not Poole is starting isn’t the point. Michigan continues to carve out more time for him each game.
Michigan big man Moritz Wagner gave the Michigan bench a brief scare after he appeared to knock knees with a Maryland player under the basket midway through the second half.
Wagner left the game and had his knee briefly examined on the Michigan bench, but was ultimately fine.
He re-entered the game minutes later and finished with eight points and rebounds rebounds.
Contact Nick Baumgardner: nbaumgardn@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @NickBaumgardner.
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