Vladislav Goldin describes slow first-half, ‘careless turnovers’, more from Maryland loss

Michigan men’s basketball lost its second game in a row Wednesday night to Maryland, 71-65. For the umpteenth time this season, the Wolverines were hindered by turnovers (16) and poor shooting stretches. Just four Michigan players scored over three points, and Vladislav Goldin and Danny Wolf (20 each) were the only ones to score over ten.

Michigan center Vladislav Goldin comments on loss to Maryland

In addition to his scoring, Goldin recorded a season-high 15 rebounds Wednesday. However, the seven-footer got off to a slow start against the Terrapins, posting six points on 3-of-11 shooting from the field in the first-half. Goldin said he had to figure out how to attack Maryland’s defense.

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“I struggled in the first half because their defense plays more like a team defense than 1-on-1, so it kind of threw me off for a while,” Goldin said after the game Wednesday. “I had to take some time and understand how they play.”

Maryland’s Derik Queen and Julian Reese made it difficult for Michigan to score in the paint, as the pair combined for five steals and three blocks. It seemed like the Wolverines couldn’t complete a pass inside the three-point line without it being tipped or stolen. Goldin said the way Maryland played was a bit unorthodox.

“I think they played good team defense because there was a lot of help (and) distraction,” Goldin said. “It did work sometimes because you get scared of people behind you or something else. That’s what they do, we knew what they were going to do, and we just have to adjust a little bit better. We cannot have five minutes (of) not scoring points.”

Coming out of halftime, the Wolverines gave the ball away four times in the first four minutes. Each turnover was a pass directly into the hands of a Maryland player, and Michigan just looked sloppy.

“… Unfortunately we had too many careless turnovers when we tried one-hand passes, or we didn’t catch the ball or tried to catch one-handed,” Goldin said. “We just have to be better and control what we can control. Obviously it’s hard to win when you lose the ball 16 times and put (yourself) in a position to shoot less than the opposite team.”

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On the bright side, Michigan was able to keep it close and avoid being blown out like it was against Illinois Sunday (93-73). The Wolverines shot 35 percent from behind the arc, and it marked the first time they surpassed 30 percent since Feb. 16 (33.3% against Ohio State). Goldin said it was a positive sign to hang in the game.

“… I think we still made an adjustment. Compared to last game, we played better when things went wrong,” Goldin said. “We should’ve been better (and not) let it go that way, but I do think we responded better than we’ve done before, so it’s the right steps.”

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