3 Predictions for Michigan Basketball against Michigan State

In the biggest game of the season to this point, Michigan basketball will host Michigan State on Saturday, and here are three predictions for the Wolverines.

It wasn’t long ago that Michigan basketball was 7-7 and seemed to be searching for answers. It turns out that the answers were on the roster all along.

It was just a matter of Hunter Dickinson getting healthy, Caleb Houstan hitting shots, and the team playing with more energy, as well as the added confidence that came with winning.

Dickinson said after the win over Maryland that Michigan basketball was going to go on a run and after starting 1-3, the defending Big Ten champs still have a shot in the Big Ten title race.

But to have a serious shot at winning the conference crown again, Michigan needs to win Saturday in East Lansing against arch-rival Michigan State.

The Wolverines are 4-3 and in seventh place. There are six teams with just losses in front of them, and Michigan State is one of them.

A win makes Michigan a contender. A loss in this game wouldn’t be unexpected and wouldn’t doom the Wolverines NCAA tournament resume. But it would be a missed opportunity to get off the bubble and to show it’s a real threat to win back-to-back titles.

Quickly, before we get to our predictions, here are some quick keys for Michigan basketball against Michigan State.

• Michigan has to keep shooting well from 3-point range. It has averaged nine per game during this three-game winning streak and if U-M can hit around eight or more, the Wolverines will be in business.
• In order for Michigan basketball to get those open 3-point looks, Hunter Dickinson has to have a big game. Michigan State probably isn’t going to double team Dickinson unless it has to and therefore, it’s up to Dickinson to be effective early, which will open up the offense for Caleb Houstan, Eli Brooks, Moussa Diabate, and Terrance Williams. If Dickinson doesn’t play well there is a very good chance Michigan State wins going away.
• Do the little things: Michigan basketball can’t beat itself against the Spartans. The Wolverines can’t make mistakes in transition like guarding the wrong guy or giving up easy buckets. Michigan also can’t throw the ball out of bounds like it did a few times against Northwestern or rack up a bunch of offensive fouls. Turnovers have been an issue all season long and Michigan needs to make sure it plays clean on Saturday.
• Avoid foul trouble especially Hunter Dickinson.

Now the predictions.