Michigan Basketball: 3 Predictions for Wolverines against Purdue

Michigan basketball hits the road to take on a very strong Purdue team and here are three predictions for the Wolverines. 

Following an impressive win over Maryland earlier this week, Michigan basketball is back on the road for a critical game against Purdue.

The Wolverines are alone right now atop the Big Ten standings after Iowa lost to Indiana last night as Michigan is 7-1. But a slew of teams are right there with two losses and Purdue isn’t that far behind at 6-4. A win tonight and the Boilers are just two back in the loss column.

As far as the Kenpom rankings, Purdue is ranked 26th overall compared to Michigan basketball being fourth but this is still a stiff test, on the road.

Michigan’s only loss of the year came last Saturday at Minnesota and even though there aren’t tons of screaming fans, it’s still hard to win on the road and here’s a look ahead with three predictions:

Hunter Dickinson will be held in check again

Unlike most teams, Purdue has two bigs at 6-foot-10 or taller in starter Trevion Williams who scores 15 a game along with nine rebounds. Freshman Zach Edey is 7-foot-4. He’s started a couple games but usually is effective coming off the bench.

Purdue is solid defensively and pretty much always is under Matt Painter but as far as Hunter Dickinson is concerned, I just don’t think he will get a ton of shot attempts. He will probably get more than the three he had against Maryland, but he will be more impactful as a presence inside and passer.

Dickinson should be able to score inside against Williams and Edey, but Purdue really forces to teams to shoot the ball outside.

Michigan funnels teams inside and tries to limit 3-point attempts, so the Wolverines force teams to take 40 2-point field goals per game. Purdue’s opponents take just 31. Opponents also attempt nearly 26 3’s a game, compared to U-M which allows only 21 3-point shots.

As far as field-goal percentage defense, Michigan still ranks first in the Big Ten and Williams will see why tonight. Purdue is sixth defending 2-point field goals and Michigan basketball will get it inside, but like the Maryland game, it will take hitting some shots first.

Dickinson plays solid and maybe has a line of 10 points and six boards, but the biggest offensive impact will come elsewhere.