Michigan Basketball: 3 predictions for the Wolverines against Louisville

Who wins?

This is a really interesting matchup because both teams are very similar. Louisville is very deep and that is one of their strengths. Yet, Michigan has looked pretty deep too, especially with guys like DeJulius averaging nine points off the bench.

Both teams shoot the ball very well. Michigan is in the top 10 in overall shooting percentage, 2-point percentage and 3-point percentage, while Louisville ranks in the top 15 in all three as well.

Both teams also defend very well. Louisville has done a better job limiting opponents’ field-goal percentages, but they also haven’t played a top-100 team. Michigan basketball has played four, including both North Carolina and Gonzaga.

Both teams want to play with a faster tempo and shoot a lot of 3-pointers, although Michigan will also try to feed the ball inside to Teske, who basically has a size advantage every single night.

At the end of the day, the Wolverines need Teske, Simpson and Livers to avoid foul trouble and it will need others such as Brooks, Wagner and DeJulius to come up with big shots. If one of those guys can go off, along with a solid night from the big three, Michigan should have a good shot.

Something tells me these guys will still want to prove a point. Beating three top-10 teams in a week, including the No. 1 team on the road is a lot. I’m not sure UM will pull it off, but if they go down, they will go down swinging in a close one.

Final score: Louisville 79, Michigan 76