Michigan Basketball: 3 predictions for Wolverines against Wisconsin
Wolverines will have a sluggish start after the layoff
As I said, Michigan will be fresh off a six-day break when the Wolverines take on Wisconsin Saturday, which could be a good thing. It might mean fresh legs and during the Big Ten conference season, thatās never a bad thing.
However, the Wolverines didnāt necessarily respond well to long layoffs earlier this season. Michigan basketball had a week off leading up to games against Western Michigan, Air Force and Binghamton and in those games, UM wasnāt exactly sharp.
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Michigan beat Western Michigan by only eight points and remains its closest victory. Michigan also trailed Binghamton and Air Force deeper into the game than one might expect. While you can see not getting up for those teams, Michigan canāt do that again.
It canāt afford a sleepy start becauseĀ Wisconsin (11-6, 3-3) is a well-coached team that will be playing with plenty of emotion. This is a big opportunity for the Badgers and on top of that, these teams have a healthy rivalry in both football and basketball.
On top of all that, Wisconsin ranks 14th in defensive efficiency according to Kenpom, which is one of the tougher units the Wolverines have faced this season. This generally ends up being more of a low-scoring game and a slow start offensively by Michigan will be part of that.