3 keys and a prediction for Michigan Basketball vs Michigan State

DeVante Jones has to step up too

One of the reasons Michigan basketball is still in a position to make the NCAA Tournament is point guard DeVante Jones who has really come on over the past month as broken down by Dylan Burkhardt of UM Hoops.

But Jones didn’t play very well against Michigan State in the first meeting. He scored just six points and struggled with turnovers. That won’t cut it tonight.

As Burkhardt points out, Jones has had a usage rate of 25 percent since the Wolverines Covid pause but in the MSU game, it was 20.9 and his offensive rating was 0.75 (points per possession).

That was the lowest of any starter and it’s clear that over the past month, Michigan basketball needs Jones to be effective to win. The Spartans are going to try and make him a scorer and he’s going to need to produce.

Jones has to be better on the defensive end too and do a better job of taking care of the ball. Yet, this is a home game and even in the loss against Illinois, Jones was finding ways to score, the Wolverines just need others to step up when given the opportunity.