Michigan Basketball: 3 Predictions for Wolverines against Northwestern

Michigan basketball is set to host Northwestern in a huge Big Ten matchup Sunday night and here are three predictions for the Wolverines.

Few people probably expected first place in the Big Ten to be on the line when Michigan basketball and Northwestern meet Sunday, but that’s exactly what we’ll have at Crisler Center.

The Wolverines will be back on their home floor after back-to-back road wins and they will host a Northwestern team that’s 3-1 in the league, with its only loss coming to Iowa and is 6-2 overall.

Miller Kopp has been a dangerous shooter for the Wildcats and is scoring 14.6 points per game while shooting 57 percent on 4.1 3-point attempts per game. Boo Buie also shoots better than 40 percent from deep as does Pete Nance and Ty Berry.

As a team, Northwestern is shooting a ridiculous 42 percent on 3-point shots which is currently the fourth-best mark in the country. Even in four Big Ten games, Northwestern is shooting 42 percent from deep and its defense could pose some problems for U-M, which is where we start with our predictions.

Northwestern shoots well and scores over 70

Michigan basketball has been pretty stout on the defensive end so far this season and has allowed just three teams to score 70 points or more. However, that could change Sunday and it’s because the Wolverines are allowing teams to make 37 percent from beyond the arc.

In conference play, the Wolverines are allowing teams to shoot 44 percent and that’s a number that ranks last in the Big Ten.

Throughout this young season, teams who can shoot the ball from deep have given the Wolverines problems and Northwestern will be no different, although the Wildcats slower pace will keep them in the low 70s.