Michigan Basketball: 3 predictions, odds for Wolverines against Purdue

It will be a defensive battle

There have been a number of different factors, which have contributed to the winning ways of Michigan basketball lately, but the defense is the biggest reason U-M has won six of seven.

Ever since Howard called out the Wolverines against Penn State, things have dramatically improved. The Wolverines have now gone eight straight games without allowing an opponent to reach 70 points and they have been among the best defenses in the country during that time.

It’s hard to say exactly what happened. The return of Isaiah Livers, when he was back in the lineup certainly helped, but the problems defending inside have been fixed by Jon Teske and Brandon Johns, while the pick-and-roll defense has been top-notch.

The strategy has been to force teams into tough 2-pointers and that should be the objective again Saturday. Purdue isn’t a great 3-point shooting team and the Boilermakers don’t shoot a ton, so if the Wolverines can force Purdue to live on tough jump shots, they will stand a good chance.