Maryland men’s basketball’s Big Ten home opener could not bring a much tougher opponent than No. 2 Michigan. 

Michigan (9-0, 1-0 Big Ten) is currently the hottest team in the country and ranks No. 1 in KenPom and net rating along with the highest defensive rating in the country according to their metrics.

Maryland (6-4, 0-1 Big Ten) has lost by at least 30 points in its two ranked matchups this season — and by a combined 72 points. Michigan poses an even larger challenge. The Wolverines are destroying every team in their path, including a 40-point win over a Gonzaga team that beat the Terps by 39. 

The Wolverines play has proved those rankings fair. After two nail-biting wins to open the season against Wake Forest and TCU, the Wolverines have won each of their last seven games by 25 or more points — and three by 40. 

“It’s just historical how good they are thus far through ten games,” head coach Buzz Willams said. “Their size is part of it. Their talent is just as much a part of it.”

The one takeaway Maryland has to think it can compete is that none of those blowout Wolverine victories were true road games. The only road game Michigan has played was its 67-63 win over TCU, but it is undoubtedly a much better team since then. 

“I don’t know exactly where we would have an advantage,” Williams said. “If you look at any component, if there’s 12 different components to both sides of the ball, they’re almost ranked in the top ten in all of them.”

Graduate forward Yaxel Lendenborg averages 15 points per game and seven rebounds to lead the team. Three other players average in double figures, and four more average more than seven points per game. 

One of these is former five-star recruit Elliot Cadeau. The junior transferred in from North Carolina after not meeting expectations of his recruitment. Now in a different role at Michigan, he is the orchestrator of the offense, averaging 5.7 assists per game and his shooting is much improved, 39.5 percent from behind the arc. 

Morex Johnson Jr. has been the Wolverines’ most efficient player. The Illinois transfer has nearly doubled his scoring average to 13.4 per game and 68.1 percent from the field. 

Center Aday Mara is Michigan’s biggest player, and offers lots of challenges to Maryland. The 7-foot-3 junior is averaging 9.6 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.78 blocks per game — good for tenth in the nation. 

To compete with the depth and size of the Wolverines, the Terps’ now healthy front court will be crucial. 

“We were excited when we played Gonzaga’s front court,” Elijah Saunders said. “So I think it’s just another opportunity for me, Solo [Washington] and [Pharrel Payne] to compete at the highest level with some of the best players in the country.”

The biggest point of emphasis for Maryland’s offense heading into Saturday night is lowering its turnover rate — especially live ball giveaways. 

The Wolverines pose a challenge by forcing turnovers. Williams said on Friday that Michgian thrives on capitalizing from opponents’ mistakes. He mentioned that the Terps biggest issue offensively is their high turnover rate. 

Live ball turnovers are especially costly. The defense doesn’t have time to set and teams score much more easily, making defensive numbers look worse. 

After the Terps committed 18 turnovers in their loss against Iowa last Saturday, Williams said they are changing the way they attack the defense. Maryland will focus more on recognizing gap coverages, and implement what has hurt them on offense to use on defense. 

Already with three blowout losses to top competition, it’s easy for a team in Maryland’s situation to lose confidence. But the team’s objective is more about taking lessons to improve from those games. 

“The score will take care of itself, Williams said. “You need to have momentum in your processes that help you execute those lessons at a faster rate … And if we get on the roller coaster of only outcome based results, it’s going to be a bad ride.”