Charles Matthews will miss his second straight game today at the Maryland Terrapins with a right ankle sprain, reports Maize N’ Brew.
The redshirt junior wing for Michigan hurt his ankle in the second half last Sunday against in-state rival Michigan State. He has been seen wearing a boot since earlier this week in the win over Nebraska.
The former 5-star and Kentucky Wildcat has notched 12.8 points and 5.1 rebounds per game this season for the Wolverines. He is also one of the best defenders on the nation’s third-most efficient defense per Ken Pomeroy. He appears on several draft boards, including at the No. 76 spot on Aran Smith’s NBA Draftnet Top-100 prospects.
Matthews led Michigan with 14 points in a 65-52 home victory over the Terrapins on Feb. 16.
Here’s what to expect out of the Michigan roster today at College Park.
Michigan Roster Outlook at Maryland
The 6-foot-6, 205-pounder is the second-highest usage offensive player for Michigan, so there will be a lot of possessions to spread across the lineup. John Beilein started forward Isaiah Livers on Thursday in the 29-point rout over Nebraska. The sophomore recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 boards.
Jay Sarkar of The Wolverine Lounge projects Livers in the starting lineup for the forseeable future.
If Matthews is indeed out for MSU, this marks the beginning of what could be a vital month for sophomore Isaiah Livers. He filled in for Matthews well on Thursday with a double-double. Will look to keep it going today at Maryland.
Beilein has led his team to a 25-4 record despite a thin rotation. Only 7 players account for at least 30 percent of minutes, with everyone else on the roster below 10 percent. Matthews is top-500 in the nation in percentage of minutes played at 77.3 percent.
This forced Michigan to disperse the scoring against the Cornhuskers. A pair of Wolverines reached 20 points in freshman wing Ignas Brazdeikis (20) and junior center Jon Teske (22). Freshman center Colin Castleton also chipped in 11 points in the winning effort for his first points of conference play.
What Livers provides that Matthews doesn’t is excellent 3-point touch. While Matthews produces a pedestrian 32.1 percent mark from behind the arc, Livers is No. 57 in the country with a 44.3 percent rate.
With Livers playing either the 3 or 4, this reverberates to the Wolverine frontcourt. The 6-foot-7 forward served as Beilein’s small-ball 5, meaning more time for the freshman Castleton. It remains to be seen how the frosh will respond in a hostile environment in College Park.
The early returns, though, have been encouraging.
〽️🏀 Finally…a Colin Castleton sighting!!
I think that’s what they used to call an ol’ timey “post move”??
17-7 #Wolverines, 12min mark.
Ken Pomeroy predicts a 1-point Michigan win with just a 54 percent probability.
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Charles Matthews Injury: Michigan Roster Outlook Today vs. Maryland