Michigan Basketball: 3 Bold predictions for Wolverines vs Rutgers

Rutgers struggles to reach 60

Michigan’s size could really cause some problems in this matchup and not just with Hunter Dickinson inside. Outside of big man Myles Johnson (6-foot-11), Rutgers starts four guards and only one is 6-foot-6, which is Ron Harper, the leading scorer. Geo Baker is another key name at 6-foot-4, but those guys will have to contend with Michigan’s length.

You don’t know how exactly Michigan basketball will match up, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Franz Wagner checking Harper and Eli Brooks on Geo Baker as much as possible.

While Wagner has come on strong on the offensive end, where’s he’s averaging 12.1 points and is making 59 percent of his 2-point attempts, his defense has been something to watch.

Wagner averages 1.4 steals and 1.2 blocks per game, but his impact goes way beyond that. He’s athletic enough to keep wings in front of him and his length is just hard to deal with.

At this point, it will be an absolute travesty if Wagner isn’t First-Team All-Big Ten defense. And on Thursday night, his defense, along with the length and athleticism of everyone else makes it really hard for Rutgers to hit 60.

Wisconsin got 59 on Sunday and last season, in two losses last season to U-M, Rutgers averaged 57.5, and trying to live on 2-point attempts against Michigan will make it hard to get more than 60.