Michigan Basketball: What to Expect From Caris LeVert vs. Ohio State
Michigan basketball travels to Ohio State on Tuesday night to play the Buckeyes. Now that Caris LeVert is back, what can we expect from him?
For the first time since the Dec. 30 game against Illinois, Caris LeVert is not on the Michigan Wolverines‘ injury report.
Related Story: Preview: Wolverines take on Ohio State
A nagging, somewhat mysterious lower leg injury kept him off the court longer than anyone anticipated before he made a soft return in the Wolverines’ win over Purdue on Saturday. The program has been pretty tight-lipped about the exact nature of the injury, but none of that matters now; he’s back just in time for the home stretch of the season, which could determine whether Michigan ends up as a No. 5 or 6 seed or a No. 8 or 9 seed in the tournament.
It’s clear that LeVert will have to work himself back into game shape, though. He only played 11 minutes against Purdue and looked every bit the part of someone who hasn’t played competitive basketball in a month and a half. He looked lost at times, running into teammates and missing screens on offense and losing his man on defense. That’s all to be expected, especially considering the fact that he had only played in the opening Big Ten game before being thrust into a high pressure situation against a top 20 team.
He did dish out an assist and snag five rebounds, and even though he wasn’t effective on the offensive end, you could tell that just having him on the floor opened up the offense because Purdue had to account for him. There may be no correlation with LeVert’s return, but the team also looked more confident and mentally tough than it has all season.
So what can we expect from him tonight?
Coach Beilein has basically said that LeVert’s minutes will be determined by him as much as they will be by the coaching staff, which makes it seem like his injury isn’t going to heal completely anytime soon. But it also suggests the pain can be managed enough for him to play effectively. I’d be shocked if he played more than 20 or so minutes tonight, but I’m confident he’ll play more than 11.
Ohio State is a young, athletic team with size. That poses a problem for a semi-hobbled LeVert: he gets to the rim more effectively and consistently than anyone else on the team (evidenced by all of the five-plus-minute scoring droughts over the last six weeks), but between Ohio State’s Mark Loving, Keita Bates-Diop, and Daniel Giddens, the paint is going to be well protected. Not to mention that he’ll probably be matched up with a bigger, quicker player on the perimeter.
Even if he isn’t able to get to the rim and still has to shake some rust off his jumper, LeVert will at least be able to draw defenders towards him on the perimeter and in the paint, which is going to be key against the springy, rangy Buckeyes. Just having him out there will open up the court for the rest of the team. Hopefully that’ll be enough to get the painfully struggling Duncan Robinson some open looks and unclog the lane for Zak Irvin and Derrick Walton Jr.
The fact of the matter is, even on the road, Michigan is currently a better team than Ohio State (the line is a pick’em) and shouldn’t need LeVert for this game to be competitive.
LeVert got all of his run in the first half against Purdue, probably to probe how comfortable he would feel back on the court. Something tells me that won’t be the case today; LeVert will be deployed more like a weapon than he was on Saturday, so look for him to be more aggressive and for the offense to tilt towards him at times.
I’d guess he’ll get five to eight minutes in the first half and eight to ten in the second if it’s a close contest.
More wolverines: Harbaugh takes another shot at the SEC
Final prediction: 18 minutes, 7 points, 4 boards, 2 assists, 2 turnovers.