Michigan Basketball: 3 predictions for Wolverines against Michigan State

Winning at the 3-point line means winning the game

Without Langford and Ward, Michigan State is going to need Winston to be special and that means making some shots from beyond the arc. He and Matt McQuaid combine to average nearly five 3-point makes per game and if the Spartans are going to win, those two may need to exceed that.

When it comes to defensive efficiency, both teams rank very high. The Wolverines are second according to Kenpom and Michigan State is seventh. The Spartans, however, are 24th nationally in 3-point percentage but are also fifth in Big Ten play, while also ranking first in the league in 3-point defense as opponents are making just 29 percent from deep.

Michigan basketball doesn’t shoot the deep ball as well as it used too, yet it still has four guys, Jordan Poole, Ignas Brazdeikis, Isaiah Livers and Charles Matthews who all average at least one 3-point make a game. Poole hits more than twice per game and when he gets going, the Wolverines seem to do well from beyond the arc.

The Wolverines connected on 13-of-28 3-pointers the other night at Minnesota and if UM can just go toe-to-toe with the Spartans in 3-point scoring, that will be huge. Without a big edge on triples, it’s hard to see MSU leaving Ann Arbor with a win.