Michigan Basketball: 3 Predictions for Wolverines vs Iowa

Michigan basketball is back at home Thursday night against Iowa and here are three predictions for the Wolverines and Hawkeyes.

If you like high-scoring basketball games, then you are going to like watching Iowa take on Michigan basketball on Thursday night.

Not only will we get to see two of the best offensive teams in the country duke it out, but two of the best teams in the nation.

Michigan basketball enters Thursday as the No. 3 team according to Kenpom, while Iowa checks in at No. 4. Iowa has the No. 1 offense efficiency-wise according to Kenpom with Michigan right behind at No. 6.

The Wolverines defense dropped down to No. 12 after the Ohio State, but it’s still much better than Iowa, which ranks 75th in defensive efficiency. That’s the biggest difference between the two teams. Michigan is elite at both ends of the floor and Iowa just isn’t.

Both teams have dominant interior big men in Hunter Dickinson and Luka Garza and shooters to surround both of them. Iowa leads the Big Ten in 3-point percentage (41.9) and 3-point makes (10 per game) during conference play.

On the flip side though, Michigan allows just 6.5 3-point makes (2nd in the Big Ten) during conference play while holding teams to 32.9 percent (4th in the Big Ten).

Guarding Iowa isn’t easy, yet the Wolverines have some built-in advantages that few others have had and we’ll start with the Dickinson-Garza matchup as our first prediction relates to Iowa’s offense.