LOVERRO: Still many questions remain despite No. 6 Maryland’s victory

ANALYSIS/OPINION:

COLLEGE PARK — Maryland kept its season from sinking like a stone Sunday by hanging on for an 86-82 win over Michigan before a sellout crowd of 17,950 that might have left Xfinity Center with more questions than answers.

Here’s one question: What if Maryland isn’t the national contender we all thought it was?

The question is no longer whether or not the Terrapins deserve a No. 1 in the NCAA tournament, as it was not too long ago. After a disappointing loss to Minnesota on the road, and struggling to defeat Michigan back on its home court, the question is, will that Maryland team ever show up?

A team that should seem to be able to beat anyone in the country on any given day now seems just as vulnerable to a loss by any team. Given the individual talent — collectively, more than most teams they will face on any given night — I don’t think that is what everyone expected.

Guard Melo Trimble, who has been in a horrific slump (7-for-38), didn’t exactly shoot his way out of it, going 3-for-10 from the floor. But he went 7-for-8 from the free throw line, including the ones that closed the win at the end — an end that was too close. It took a 14-7 run by Maryland to win this game.

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Terrapins coach Mark Turgeon felt pretty good about the win, but even he talked about how talented this team is.

“We’re a heck of a basketball team,” Turgeon said. “A lot of coaches would love to be 23-5 with the talent I have.”

All true. They just may not be who we thought they were.

What would make them that is a 6-foot-11 big man who other teams feared. Maybe Maryland fans thought they were getting that in freshman Diamond Stone, with all the preseason hype and some of his earlier performances, such as the 39 points against Penn State, the 22 points and 11 rebounds he had against Michigan the first time they played, the 16 points and eight blocks he had in Nebraska.

No one on Michigan feared Stone on Sunday, even though he had 13 points and five rebounds. Certainly not Mark Donnal, who scored 25 points in 29 minutes and outmuscled Stone much of the first half.

“His defense on Stone was good,” Michigan coach John Beilein said.

Donnal couldn’t outmuscle Stone as much in the second half because Stone didn’t see much of the court. That was in part because of the defensive spark Damonte Dodd gave Maryland, with six rebounds, three of them on offense, and two blocks in 22 minutes.

Dodd, who entered midway through the first half, immediately changed the tone of the game with a block, and Maryland took the ball down the court to score on a dunk by Robert Carter Jr., who led the Terrapins with 17 points. Maryland opened up a 21-12 lead as Dodd had another dunk and an offensive tip-in.

And Dodd’s two fouls were on Michigan drives down the lane, sending the message that those shots would be contested — a message Stone, who played just 25 minutes, eight in the second half, and was out of the game when it was on the line despite zero personal fouls, never sent. He was passive as Michigan attacked the lane.

You don’t want to single out the kid too much, especially coming off his one-game suspension for shoving the head of Wisconsin’s Vitto Brown into the floor last week. He seemed tentative from the start, complaining to the officials early in the game, and maybe he just was a little timid coming off what happened against Wisconsin. No, he definitely was timid. The only question is why?

In transition with 7:10 left, Stone, outrebounded for the ball, jogged down the court as Donnal waited under the Michigan basket for an uncontested bucket to cut the Terrapins’ lead to 72-70.

A presence like Stone could be the difference-maker in the tournament. Few teams Maryland will face will have a big man with the offensive and shot-blocking skills that the 6-foot-11 freshman has. And, if Trimble is not 100 percent, the young big man can relieve some of the pressure offensively on the point guard’s shoulders.

But he has to be more aggressive. He has to, like Beilein said of Donnal on Sunday, “get to that next gear” — unless he thinks he is saving that next gear for the NBA.

⦁ Thom Loverro is co-host of “The Sports Fix,” noon to 2 p.m. daily on ESPN 980 and espn980.com.