Michigan Basketball: Preview, predictions for Big Ten tournament
By Adam Childs
Players to watch
Trevion Williams – Purdue
Williams is one of the best big men in the conference, but he isn’t much of a threat from the outside. But he is a great rebounder pulling in 8.8 per game and is a force down low. When he plays well there are not many guys in the Big Ten that can stop him.
Ayo Dosunmu and Kofi Cockburn – Illinois
We have heard a ton about them all year long, but even if you are sick of it they are still possibly the best duo in all of college basketball. Dosunmu is challenging Luka Garza for Big Ten player of the year as he has put up 20.9 points per game and looked good in his return from a broken nose.
Cockburn is a force inside and maybe even better than Williams from Purdue. Cockburn is averaging just over 17 points per game and just under 10 rebounds per game. He, like, Williams isn’t much a threat from the outside but he is great down low.
Luka Garza – Iowa
If you haven’t heard of Garza you have been living under a rock. Outside of what Hunter Dickinson did against him, Garza has been nearly unstoppable and is the favorite to win national player of the year.
He is one of the best finishers in the game and can step out and hit the three-ball also. If Iowa is going to make any noise in the tournament he will need to continue to play well.
EJ Liddell and Duane Washington – Ohio State
Michigan found out firsthand how good these two are. They can both finish at the rim and hit the outside shot. Combined they are scoring just over 31 points per game and both shoot about 36 percent from deep.
When they are clicking Ohio State has one of the best offenses in the conference. If they get hot they could make a run to the championship in Indianapolis.
Hunter Dickinson and Franz Wagner – Michigan
Some could say you need to watch Isaiah Livers also and I would strongly agree, but the Wolverines tend to go how Dickinson and Wagner go. When both are playing well Michigan basketball might be the best team in the country.
The problem is Wagner has had too many off games and some teams are starting to slow Dickinson. They need to play well for the Wolverines to make a run, but they are both very much capable of doing that.