ANN ARBOR — Michigan, the basketball program known for the Fab Five, is set to host the “Crab Five.”

No. 13 Maryland brings a productive and balanced starting lineup to Crisler Center on Wednesday for a high-stakes matchup with No. 17 Michigan (6:31 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network).

The Wolverines (22-7, 14-4) are a game behind Michigan State for first place in the Big Ten. They need a win to guarantee themselves a chance of at least sharing the title when they visit the Spartans on Sunday. (That could happen anyway, but only if Michigan State loses at Iowa on Thursday.)

The student section figures to be thin at Crisler because of spring break. Michigan started 12-0 at home but is 1-2 since.

Maryland (22-7, 12-6), fighting for a top-four seed in the Big Ten and a double bye in the conference tournament, could have been battling for a bigger prize with a bit more luck.

The Terrapins’ last three losses have come in the final seconds: Michigan State beat them on a buzzer-beater from beyond half court last week; Ohio State banked in a 3 with seven seconds left for a win in early February; and Northwestern, inbounding with less than a second left in overtime, scored at the buzzer in January. Their other losses have been by four, five, or six points.

Maryland is coming off a 68-64 win at Penn State on Saturday and has won five of its last six.

“Their starting five, several coaches have said it, is as good as any in our league, maybe as good as any in the country,” Michigan coach Dusty May said on the Michigan basketball radio show.

Freshman Derik Queen is the centerpiece and one of the more unique players in college basketball. The 6-foot-10, 246-pounder is averaging a team-best 15.9 points to go along with nine rebounds per game. He’s shooting 53 percent from the field.

(Queen played alongside Duke’s Cooper Flagg, the presumptive No. 1 pick in the next NBA draft, in high school. It should surprise no one that Montverde Academy, which also had Connecticut’s Liam McNeeley and Georgia’s Asa Newell, did not lose a game last season.)

“He’s got an odd game,” May said, as a compliment to Queen. “He can finish with either hand off either foot. He plays at his own pace. He’s one of the best offensive players in America.”

Queen’s pace is typically methodical. He’s not particularly athletic. He’s a good passer.

May drew some comparisons to Danny Wolf. “That’s going to be an interesting matchup,” May said. Julian Reese and Vladislav Goldin, May said, “will be a couple of rams battling down on the block.”

Reese is a senior perhaps best known these days as Angel’s younger brother. The 6-foot-9 lefty is a force in the paint as a scorer and rebounder (13.3 points, 9.4 rebounds per game). He and Queen are not 3-point threats. Maryland’s guards handle that.

Head coach Kevin Willard mined the transfer portal for outside shooting and found it with Ja’Kobi Gillespie (Belmont), Rodney Rice (Virginia Tech), and Selton Miguel (South Florida). They’ve each attempted more 3s than Michigan’s most frequent 3-point shooter (Nimari Burnett) and are hitting at a high clip.

Like Michigan, all five of Maryland’s starters — who earned their nickname because of the state’s connection to the crustaceans — average in double figures scoring and are the top scoring starting unit in college basketball according to the AP. Maryland doesn’t use its bench much.

“That probably points to the portal,” May said on his radio show. “Maybe they’re not a big-market team as far as their NIL yet.” The guys Maryland did add fit perfectly, May said. “I think their pieces really complement each other. … It’s a well-constructed roster and a well-coached team.”

Maryland was picked 10th in the preseason Big Ten poll; Michigan was ninth. After exceeding expectations, they’ll face off in game with major implications for the league standings.