Pharrel Payne goes down as Maryland men's basketball loses Big Ten home opener to No. 2 Michigan

Chase King
1 hour ago
3 min read

Maryland (6-5, 0-1) hosted No. 2 Michigan (10-0, 2-0) in its conference home opener, where the game would slip past them, losing 101-83, after a Pharrel Payne injury.

For the first time this season, freshman guard Darius Adams and senior forward Elijah Saunders were absent from the starting lineup.

Maryland started with redshirt-freshman guard Andre Mills, senior Diggy Coit, redshirt-freshman George Turkson Jr., senior Solomon Washington, and senior Pharrel Payne.

Payne would play the first fifteen minutes of the game before leaving with a lower-leg injury. He exited the game with seven points, four rebounds, including two offensive rebounds, and three blocks.

Turkson Jr. made his first start of his career after his first week back from injury. “He has earned the start through the five days of work that we've had this week, there were no objections by anybody within the program,” said Head Coach Buzz Williams.

This was the first time Maryland has hosted a top-2 team since 2024, when it lost to No. 1 Purdue 67-53.

The last time Maryland played Michigan was in the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament, where the Terps lost 81-80 after Michigan scored a last-second layup to win.

Maryland entered the game having lost three of its last four games, all by 19 points or more.

Michigan entered the game winning its last four games, all against power five teams, by over 20 points each game.

Diggy Coit opened up the game for the Terps, scoring nine of their first 10 points. He put on a show in the first half, ending with 22 points on 7-for-13 shooting from the field and 6-for-9 shooting from behind the arc.

Maryland’s offense was also flowing around Coit for the first half. Junior guard Myles Rice had 12 first-half points, and as a team, the Terps shot 10-for-18 from behind the arc.

Despite that, Michigan's offense kept up with Maryland’s production, shooting 50% from the field and 60% from three.

Maryland’s three-point defense has been a problem all season. The Terps have allowed teams to shoot 36.5% from three entering the game, which was 292nd in the country.

Michigan was led by senior forward Yaxel Lendeborg and junior center Aday Mara, who combined for 23 first-half points.

Maryland’s offense once again came out of the half firing threes. The Terps would lead by nine points following three-point shots by Coit and Saunders.

The Terps went into the second half without Payne and would later lose their second starting forward, with Solomon Washington getting ejected after a second technical foul.

“We lost two major guys on our team, one being the heart of our team, one being one of the best players in the country,” said Coit, “it’s just a lot of guys that are playing together that haven’t done it, playing out of position.”

After Washington’s ejection, Maryland was unable to stop Michigan’s paint offense. Michigan ended the second half with 56 points, 24 of them coming in the paint.

Lendeborg would play a big part in Michigan's success in the second half. He scored 16 second-half points, going 4-for-4 from the field, including 3-for-3 from three, and would go 5-for-5 from the free-throw line.

He would also start picking up Coit on defense, guarding him full court, trying to stop him from getting the ball.

“He was pretty much a one-man army throughout the whole game, once Pharrel got injured, said Lendeborg. “Honestly, my whole game plan was not letting him touch the ball at all. He’s their only offense in my opinion.”

Coit finished the second half with nine points, bringing his finals stats to 31 points, six rebounds, and a steal while shooting 10-for-20 from the field and 8-for-12 from three.

“I really don't think my shots come from just me. It comes from everybody [on] this offense, everybody knowing what they’re doing, and everybody being on the same page,” said Coit on his success in the game.

With 9:31 left in the game, Michigan would get an eight-point lead, and from there, they would start to run away with the game as the Terps had no answer to their paint offense and outside shooting.

Michigan ended the second half shooting 18-for-24 from the field and 6-for-9 from three.

The Terps improved in the turnover margin, finishing the game with 12 turnovers against the number one-ranked defense on KenPom.

“I thought tonight there was evidence that playing with a low turnover rate helped our offensive rebound percentage,” said Williams. “Playing with a low turnover rate was very, very, very helpful.”

Maryland will once again have a week-long break before going on the road to No. 23 Virginia.

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