Another big test awaits Michigan basketball on Wednesday night as the 13th-ranked Maryland Terrapins invade Crisler for a top-20 showdown.
Maryland can't win the Big Ten title. That's a two-team race between Michigan basketball and Michigan State. If the Wolverines lose tonight, the Spartans will clinch the outright championship.
The Wolverines control their own destiny for a share of the title. To win the title outright, Michigan would need Michigan State to lose to Iowa, then win in East Lansing.
Getting past Maryland, the first part of the equation, will be much easier said than done after Sunday's ugly loss against Illinois. Can Michigan rebound? Here are three keys and a prediction.
Get Area-51 going
Maryland is one of the best defensive teams in the Big Ten and are ranked fifth in the Big Ten in 2-point defense (49.6 percent).
We all know that Michigan needs to shoot the ball better from 3-point range. But Danny Wolf needs to play better than he has in the past two games.
Wolf struggled against Illinois. He just hasn't looked like himself. The way Maryland plays defense, Michigan needs to attack the rim, use its big-on-big pick-and-roll and get their best two players going inside if they are going to win.
Michigan needs to score over a point-per-possession to win the game, which means probably close to 40 combined points between Danny Wolf and Vlad Goldin.
Be competitive in the 3-point battle
Maryland has two really good bigs. Derik Queen is extremely skilled in the post and is a potential first-round pick just like Danny Wolf.
Julian Reese is another talented big man, but the Terps are third in the conference in 3-point percentage at 37 percent. Ja'Kobi Gillespie is another name Michigan fans need to know. He's a dynamic point guard and one of the best shooters in the conference at 41 percent from deep (2.4 3-point field goals per game). Rodney Rice and Selton Miguel also average 2.1 3-pointers per game.
Michigan has shot under 25 percent from 3-point range the past three games. I'm not saying the Wolverines need to shoot 40 percent, but either need to make some shots, or step up their 3-point defense because they can't get outscored by 20-25 points on 3-pointers and win.
Tre Donaldson needs to be a dude
Michigan basketball needs Tre Donaldson to get back to being an alpha. Over the past five games, Donaldson has only reached double figures once. He's averaging just over seven points per game and is shooting 21 percent on 3-point attempts (4-of-19).
Before that Donaldson had eight straight games in double figures. In seven of those eight games, Tre made at least two 3-pointers.
That's who Michigan basketball needs tonight. Donaldson is one of the Wolverines best players and he needs to show it tonight.
Prediction: Michigan 74, Maryland 70
Michigan's big three plays better, the Wolverines shoot the ball a little better, and the Wolverines set up a showdown this weekend in East Lansing.