Indiana returns dwelling for a Saturday afternoon matchup towards Michigan at Simon Skjodt Meeting Corridor. The Wolverines are 17-5 and 9-2 within the Massive Ten.
Saturday’s sport will tip at 1 p.m. ET on CBS:
Amid the creating story that’s Mike Woodson’s future, there’s a sport to play this weekend in Bloomington. Michigan, led by first-year coach Dusty Might, an IU alum, arrives for a Saturday afternoon matinee towards the Hoosiers.
It is a pivotal sport for the Wolverines, who’re 17-5 total and 9-2 within the Massive Ten. Michigan has been successful shut video games currently, with three straight wins by a complete of 11 factors.
For Indiana, it’s exhausting to know what to anticipate on a game-to-game foundation and Saturday is not any completely different. After hard-fought losses towards Maryland and Purdue, the Hoosiers by no means put up a combat in Tuesday’s loss at Wisconsin.
MEET THE WOLVERINES
After final season’s disastrous 8-24 end, Michigan is again in competition beneath Might, who led Florida Atlantic to the Remaining 4 in 2023.
Michigan has probably the most balanced rosters within the Massive Ten, with 5 gamers averaging between 10.5 and 15.6 factors per sport.
The headliner is heart Vladislav Goldin, a 7-foot-1, 250-pound senior from Voronezh, Russia. Goldin leads the Wolverines in scoring at 15.6 factors per sport and shoots 64.8 p.c from the sector. He’s acquired the second-highest free throw fee (FTA/FGA) within the league at 64.7 p.c and is making 73 p.c of his makes an attempt from the stripe. Goldin can also be tied for the staff lead with 35 blocked photographs.
Becoming a member of Goldin within the frontcourt is Yale switch Danny Wolf, who could possibly be a first-round NBA draft choose this summer season. A 7-footer who can deal with the ball, Wolf averages 12.3 factors, 10 rebounds and three.6 assists in 28.8 minutes per sport. His mobility and skill to attain from the perimeter and on the rim make him one of many league’s hardest covers. Nonetheless, Wolf might be mistake-prone and his 77 turnovers are simply the best on the roster.
The 2 backcourt names off the bench to know are Will Tschetter, a holdover from the Juwan Howard period, and Sam Walters, a switch from Alabama.
Tschetter, a 6-foot-8, 230-pound senior, is capturing 73.3 p.c on 2s and 40 p.c on 3s, making him probably the most environment friendly reserves within the league. He averages seven factors and a couple of.4 rebounds in 15.2 minutes per sport.
Walters is a 6-foot-10 flooring spacer. Of his 85 discipline purpose makes an attempt this season, 70 have been 3-pointers. Walters is capturing 37.1 p.c from distance and is a profession 38.5 p.c 3-point shooter.
The Michigan backcourt is led by level guard Tre Donaldson and wings Roddy Gayle Jr. and Nimari Burnett.
The 6-foot-3 Donaldson performed the earlier two seasons at Auburn and has established himself as probably the greatest lead guards within the Massive Ten. He’s second on the staff in scoring at 12.7 factors per sport and averages 4.4 assists, a team-high. Donaldson is capturing 42.2 p.c on 3s.
Gayle Jr. is a poor 3-point shooter however a wonderful finisher. The Ohio State switch is capturing 56.8 p.c on 2s and 23.2 p.c on 3s. He does a great job attending to the free-throw line and is great at changing. In Massive Ten video games, Gayle ranks ninth in free throw fee (53.2 p.c). He shoots 82.9 p.c from the stripe in convention play.
Burnett is one other Howard-era holdover. He’s having fun with the most effective capturing yr of his profession and is benefiting from Wolf and Donaldson’s playmaking potential. This season, Burnett is 43-for-99 on 3s, good for 43.4 p.c.
The backcourt rotation additionally options Rubin Jones and Justin Pippen. Jones is a switch from North Texas who’s a poor perimeter shooter (26.1 p.c on 3s) however is a superb defender. Pippen, a freshman, is the backup level guard and can take open 3s if out there. Pippen is 8-for-23 from distance this season.
TEMPO-FREE PREVIEW
(All stats are up to date by means of Thursday’s video games and embody numbers from convention video games solely.)
The Achilles’ heel for Michigan is turnovers. The Wolverines are turning it over on practically 20 p.c of their possessions in Massive Ten play, which ranks final within the league. Michigan can also be prone to giving up offensive rebounds. Wolverine opponents in league play are grabbing 30.6 p.c of their missed photographs.
Offensively, Michigan is environment friendly from the perimeter and on the rim. When clicking on all cylinders, its offense is a pleasure to observe.
The Wolverines are capturing 35.1 p.c on 3s in Massive Ten play, which ranks sixth within the convention, and 56.3 p.c on 2s, which is second finest within the league. Michigan makes an attempt 3-pointers on the third highest fee within the league and likewise ranks third within the convention in level distribution on 3s (33.8 p.c).
WHAT IT COMES DOWN TO
The KenPom projection is Michigan by 4, with a 38 p.c likelihood of an IU victory. Bart Torvik additionally tasks a four-point Michigan win with a 36 p.c likelihood of a Hoosier upset.
Indiana has misplaced six of its final seven video games and is looking for any constructive momentum it might probably discover with simply eight regular-season video games to play. The Hoosiers have competed in a number of current video games, however their efficiency at Wisconsin was a step within the incorrect path. The Badgers punched IU early and the Hoosiers by no means acquired off the mat.
Sadly for Indiana, the present 11-game stretch of Quad 1 contests nonetheless has 4 video games to go and Michigan presents a big problem with its up tempo offense that may rating in transition, on the rim and from behind the 3-point line. After Michigan State’s 0-2 journey to the west coast, the Wolverines are actually tied for the Massive Ten lead with Purdue and the Spartans and wish a win Saturday to maintain tempo of their quest for the Massive Ten title.
(Picture credit score: Michigan Athletics)
Filed to: Michigan Wolverines
