Michigan Basketball: 5 keys to Wolverines winning Big Ten championship

Michigan needs to shot well from beyond the arc

One great thing about this Michigan basketball team is that the Wolverines rely a lot less on the 3-point shot than some of the other John Beilein coached teams.

Yet, as the season has gone along, it has become clear that for Michigan to be a really good offensive team, 3-pointers need to go down, especially with the way that Charles Matthews has struggled down the stretch. Then he got hurt.

For the season, Michigan shot 35.1 percent but in Big Ten play, that number dipped to 33.8 and ranked sixth in the league. The Wolverines defended the 3-ball better than anyone in the conference, so that helped, but if they want to be playing on Sunday, then solid perimeter shooting is going to be essential.

Ignas Brazdeikis has shot the ball well from downtown lately and he is second on the team at 41 percent. However, Jordan Poole is still the main guy and he leads the team with 2.1 3-point field goals per game. Isaiah Livers is the only guy that shoots over 40 percent and he leads the team, while Matthews, Jon Teske and Zaiver Simpson have all been streaky.

Don’t get me wrong, Michigan can win a game in the tournament without shooting well, but if it wants to win the title, then the Wolverines need to shoot a consistent 35 percent or better.