3 predictions for Michigan Basketball against Purdue Fort Wayne
Michigan basketball opens the 2022-23 season on Monday night against Purdue Fort Wayne and here are three predictions and a preview for the Wolverines.
Michigan basketball returns tonight. Yes, the Wolverines played an exhibition game on Friday night but they are back for real tonight against Purdue Fort Wayne.
The matchup is set for Crisler Arena at 6:30 PM EST and will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network. However, it’s not going to be a cakewalk.
Purdue Fort Wayne is a pretty good team out of the Horizon League. The Mastodons tied for first in the conference and were invited to the College Basketball Invitational. It’s also an experienced team that returns a pair of super-seniors and three of its four leading scorers from last season.
In contrast, Michigan basketball has one starter returning from last season in Hunter Dickinson. Terrance Williams was a rotational player but he’s the only other one coming back.
Jaelin Llewellyn will take over the point guard position, while Kobe Bufkin and Jett Howard, who were each spectacular in the exhibition game, will start at the two and three respectively.
Hopefully, you are as excited for the return of Michigan basketball as I am, and here are three predictions and a score prediction for Michigan vs Purdue Fort Wayne.
Hunter Dickinson will dominate
Looking at the Purdue Fort Wayne roster, you won’t see anyone taller than 6-foot-9, and while Ra Kpedi is a veteran player, he’s going to have a hard time matching up with Dickinson.
Obviously, the Mastodons are going to have to double-team or zone or do something because playing Dickinson one-on-one is basically a death sentence. He’ll get 25 without breaking a sweat.
What’s great about Dickinson is his playmaking ability. When teams double him and he’s surrounded by shooters, Michigan basketball is nearly impossible to stop.
Jett Howard sure looked good shooting the ball last week and he’ll get plenty of chances on Monday night as well as Llewellyn, Bufkin, Williams, and Joey Baker off the bench.
Purdue Fort Wayne ranked 311th in 2-point field-goal percentage defense last season and 279h in terms of 3-point percentage defense. That tells me that Dickinson should have a good night scoring and assisting others.
My prediction is that he picks up his first double-double (something like 18 and 10) of the year but also has 3-4 assists as the defense pays him the most attention, as they should.