Third-Ranked Maryland Upset By Michigan 70-67

An offensive rebound and a time out rarely shape an entire basketball game, but those two actions led to a massive upset on Tuesday night as the Michigan Wolverines upset the third-ranked Maryland Terrapins 70-67.

The rebound and time out came in the game’s final seconds with Michigan defending a two point lead. After a Maryland miss, Michigan’s Mark Donnal pulled down an offensive rebound and quickly heard a whistle as he was swarmed by defenders. One of his teammates had called a time out, preventing what looked to be a sure turnover. “It’s a little bit of a relief,” Donnal said.

The timeout was called by Derrick Walton, who noticed Donnal was in trouble. “He was in a really tight spot … he was like, on the baseline,” Walton said. “I was just thinking a play ahead. Either way, if we can get the timeout, we still have the ball.”

After the whistle, Michigan inbounded the ball to Donnal, who hit one free throw at the other end of the floor. Rasheed Sulaimon quickly attempted a game-tying three, but it fell short.

After the game, Maryland was knew the outcome could have been different, if not for one heads up play. “We got a good look. We really did,” Maryland coach Mark Turgeon said. “Think about, if we just would have come up with the rebound before that and didn’t have to foul him. But we didn’t.”

For Michigan, Zak Irvin led the way with 22 points, while Walton pitched in 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Photo: Michigan’s Zak Irvin by TonyTheTiger, via Wikimedia Commons

Article by Joe Kozlowski