Michigan Basketball: Breaking down Wolverines path to Big Ten title

Hoisting the 2020 Big Ten tournament trophy will be like winning a national championship before March Madness and here’s Michigan basketball’s path.

On Thursday, Michigan basketball coach Juwan Howard will endure his initial taste of postseason basketball by facing off with Rutgers for the third time in over a month.

The Wolverines were in charge of both meetings and won by a combined 14 points in those two vital victories away from home. The script has flipped a bit after those previous encounters as Michigan basketball comes in losing three of four, while Rutgers arose victorious over Maryland in unquestionably its biggest road triumph of the season.

To pass the Scarlet Knights again, Michigan’s defense has to limit Rutgers to colder shooting then it experienced in its final two wins last week. On February 1st, the Scarlet Knights went 27-83 at a rate of 33 percent from the floor but outrebounded Howard’s men by 14. Later in the month, Steve Pikiell’s group netted 35 percent on 63 attempts. They only eked out 52 points which turned into their second-lowest total of the year because of said defense.

If the Wolverines can out skirmish the Knights to remain unbeaten against them all time, then the buzzsaw that is the Badgers await. In the lone matchup, Wisconsin didn’t seem to miss at all. D’Mitrik Trice had a career night as the Badgers nailed 11 three’s to just three from Michigan. Eli Brooks missed the affair and it showed noticeably. His defensive presence and a couple of some normal big shots that he can hit could have potentially put a chink in the armor of Wisconsin’s eventual eight-game win streak.

Wisconsin has been on a tear because of its schedule and its top 15 defense. Michigan was able to score the most that the Badgers had given up during this current dash of victories. Greg Gard’s gameplan worked to a charm though. He let Zavier Simpson beat his team in the paint as long as he couldn’t create for his teammates. Simpson ripped off 32, but the Badger defenders didn’t let him dish it to any open shooters beyond the arc. That paved the way for a 3-of10 shooting night from deep and not much help for Simpson otherwise.

Illinois or Iowa will most likely be waiting in the wings unless something out of the ordinary happens before Saturday.

A fully healthy Michigan basketball squad would no doubt want another showdown with the Illini. Losing at Crisler on a last-second basket without Isaiah Livers had to sting profusely, but if Michigan can survive that long, then a rematch for a berth in the title game could be an ideal set of circumstances.

The other half of the bracket includes desperate teams like Indiana and Purdue who might pull off some upsets because of their present respective bubble status. Penn State and Ohio State are both capable of making a multiple-day run as well.

Then there’s Maryland and Michigan State who are the presumable favorites of many to conquer the whole course. With all that being said, its crystal clear that whoever emerges as the champion, should become an instant final four contender.