Michigan Basketball: 3 predictions for Wolverines against South Carolina

Michigan basketball will take on South Carolina Saturday and here are three predictions for the Wolverines against the Gamecocks.

The Michigan basketball team survived a road scare Tuesday in Northwestern and now the Wolverines will get started on the rest of their non-conference schedule against South Carolina.

While a win in this game would have looked bettera couple of years ago, when the two teams last met, Michigan basketball will still get a chance to settle the score with the Gamecocks for a 61-46 loss two years ago on the road.

This is the second game of that home-and -away series and unfortunately for the Gamecocks, they aren’t exactly catching Michigan at the best time.

Since the two teams last met, the Wolverines have transformed themselves into a defensive juggernaut, but one that still has plenty of offensive firepower. This Michigan team lost some key guys from last season but with the emergence of freshman Ignas Brazdeikis and sophomore Jordan Poole, as well as Charles Matthews, Michigan might even be better than last year.

Zavier Simpson and Jon Teske may not be the greatest offensive players, but they are serviceable and their defense is extraordinary. Michigan’s 9-0 start has also earned it high praise from college hoops expert Andy Katz, who not only predicted UM to reach the Final Four Friday but placed them as a No. 1 seed in his most recent bracket projection.

South Carolina isn’t in that bracket after a 4-4 start. The Gamecocks are also outside the top-100 of the Kenpom rankings. Yet, that doesn’t mean Michigan basketball can overlook them and with that in mind, here are three predictions for Saturday morning’s game.