Michigan Basketball vs Nebraska: How to watch, preview and prediction
Michigan basketball will play its third game in five days Thursday, on the road against an up-and-coming Nebraska team. Here’s how to watch and more.
There is no doubt that the Michigan basketball team is on a bit of a roll right now. The Wolverines have won four of five games in the Big Ten and just scored their two most impressive wins, at least according to RPI.
After beating Michigan State, Michigan basketball earned a No. 23 ranking in the AP Poll. The Wolverines are also projected as a No. 6 seed in the latest edition of bracketology by Joe Lunardi of ESPN.
Michigan basketball wasn’t great against Maryland. But the Wolverines found a way to win. You can re-live it here.
And after watching Michigan pull out a dramatic win over Maryland, here is a look at how to watch the game Thursday against Nebraska.
Game info:
Game 21: Michigan vs Nebraska
When: 9:00 PM EST
Where: Pinnacle Arena
TV: BTN
Streaming: BTN2Go
Radio: WWJ (950 AM) in Detroit
Preview:
Nebraska doesn’t sound like a power in the Big Ten and in basketball, the Huskers really aren’t, but they aren’t an easy win either.
In fact, Nebraska has its own tournament hopes on the line. Right now, they are beyond the bubble, but a win over Michigan would be the kind of thing that could elevate those chances. Plus, with the way the Huskers have played other top teams, especially at home, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Wolverines struggle.
The Huskers don’t have a ton of impressive wins, but they did beat Minnesota, Boston College, Wisconsin and Northwestern, on the road, which is no easy task. Nebraska also took Kansas too the wire, losing 73-72.
Michigan Wolverines Basketball
Overall, the Huskers are 13-7 overall and 4-3 in the Big Ten. They are ranked 85th according to KenPom, which is comparable to teams like Illinois, Iowa, Indiana and Wisconsin.
Yet, Nebraska is a different team at home and with the Wolverines playing a third game in five days, the second on the road.
The Huskers are an average team in terms of points and points allowed, but Nebraska excels at getting to the free throw line. They rank 16th in free throw attempts nationally and 24th in made three throws. Nebraska is also 39th in rebounds, 76th in assists, 89th in steals and seventh in blocks.
Nebraska is also solid in defensive field-goal percentage, ranking 75th against 2-pointers and 61st against 3-pointers.
In terms of individual players, James Palmer is Nebraska’s leading scorer, averaging 15.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. Isaac Copeland (12.2 PPG, 6.3 RPG) and Glynn Watson Jr. (11.8 PPG) are the other leading scorers.
Tim Miles who is 88-93 in his five years at Nebraska but he is 0-6 against Michigan, despite a few close calls. And while there are plenty of important games left, the next two could be the Huskers final chance to make an impression on the committee.
After playing Michigan Thursday, Nebraska will play Ohio State in Columbus Monday. It won’t play another game against a ranked-team for the rest of the regular season.
Prediction:
There are a lot of reasons on paper to think Michigan basketball will win. The 23rd ranked Wolverines have the best player on the floor and maybe the best two with Moe Wagner and Charles Matthews.
Isaiah Livers, Jordan Poole, Jon Teske and Xavier Simpson seem to grow by the game. Those guys along with Duncan Robinson and Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman give UM a great blend of talent and experience.
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This seems kind of like a trap game for the Wolverines, but this team seems like the real deal. Winning this game will give us another reason to believe it’s true. It won’t be easy, but Michigan wins a close one.