Michigan Basketball: 5 keys to a deep run in Big Ten tournament

Simpson has to be at his best

Having a point guard like Zavier Simpson is one reason why Michigan basketball fans can have confidence going into the Big Ten tournament and the postseason in general. Simpson is a proven winner and over the past three years, he’s been part of 10 Big Ten tournament wins, as well as nine wins in the NCAA tournament.

That experience isn’t going to overcome talent, but it does matter and if Simpson can play at a high level in Indianapolis, it will make the Wolverines a really dangerous team, especially if he can avoid trying to score too much.

Teams have sort of discovered that if they force Simpson to take a lot of shots, as Wisconsin did then it can limit some 3-point shooters and that has been the strategy lately.

Michigan hasn’t gotten as many open looks from deep and it has shown. Simpson scoring 20 or even 32 points as he did against Wisconsin just isn’t a winning formula for the Wolverines. But him having around 12 points, eight assists and six rebounds or so, that’s exactly what he needs to do, starting with Rutgers Thursday.