Michigan Basketball: 3 predictions for Wolverines against Maryland

Teske and the Wolverines will finally slow Fernando

One of the big keys for Maryland during their Terps 10-3 stretch has been the dominant play on both ends of the floor of Bruno Fernando, who has registered a double-double in 12 of his last 14 games and against Purdue the other night, Fernando scored 12 points and pulled down 12 rebounds.

Obviously, slowing down Fernando is going to be key and the guy that should be able to do a better job than most is the 7-foot-2 Jon Teske, who has been one of the most improved players in the Big Ten this season.

If Teske can stay out of foul trouble, he should be able to keep Fernando in front of him and force him to shoot jumpers. At the very least, Teske and Michigan need to limit Fernando’s ability to find open shooters outside.

Ignas Brazdeikis is another option to defend the super-athletic Fernando. If the big man ends up getting another double-double, it won’t be the end of the world, but if they can limit him to under 50 percent shooting for just the fifth time this season, which is possible with one of the top defenses in the country, UM would find a much easier path to victory.