Michigan Basketball: 3 predictions for the Wolverines against Louisville

Franz won’t be so rusty

We all know that Moritz Wagner did a number on Louisville the last time the two teams met back in the 2017 NCAA tournament. But Tuesday night, it will be his younger brother Franz Wagner that the Cardinals need to worry about.

After missing the first few games of the season, Wagner made his debut in the Battle 4 Atlantis and had some obvious rust. Yet, he still did some positive things and played 27 minutes per game.

Wagner made two triples in his first outing and managed to connect on just one after as he shot 33 percent from deep and 36 percent overall. On the positive side though, he averaged four rebounds a game and made a solid impact on defense.

It might just be his size, however, he’s also an intelligent team defender, but his defensive plus/minus is No. 2 on the team right now behind only Jon Teske.

That being said, I expect Franz to be much more on point Tuesday. He’s still working his way into game shape and getting your legs is a huge part of shooting. He will be motivated to perform better and I believe he will against the Cardinals, despite the fact that Louisville is allowing opponents to make just 27 percent from behind the line.

Wagner will get open looks and tonight, he will make two or three and reach double figures.