Michigan Basketball: 3 Predictions for Wolverines vs Illinois

Wagner and Livers deliver again

Franz Wagner has been getting a ton of credit lately and rightfully so, he’s clearly taken his game to an entirely new level down the stretch, but we can’t forget about Isaiah Livers.

It doesn’t get talked about enough but Livers is shooting 45.6 percent from 3-point range and in seven of his last nine games, the senior has made at least three shots from downtown.

Illinois is a very good defensive team. The Fighting Illini are ranked in 10th in adjusted offense according to Kenpom and 16th in adjusted defense.

But one weakness Michigan basketball should be able to exploit is the 3-point defense, which is 10th in the Big Ten (34.8 percent allowed) and 152nd nationally.

The Wolverines led by Livers, Wagner, Mike Smith, Chaundee Brown, and Eli Brooks are the second-best perimeter shooting team in the Big Ten (40 percent) and that will ultimately be the difference in the game.

Illinois is going to have trouble guarding Wagner. Cockburn on the inside could help keep him out of the paint some, yet, Wagner is growing as a distributor too and tonight, I think Livers leads the way in points.