3 keys and a prediction for Michigan Basketball vs Michigan State

Michigan basketball travels to East Lansing to renew its rivalry with Michigan State and here are three keys for the Wolverines, as well as a prediction. 

When it comes to Michigan basketball, there is no question about who the No. 1 rival is — Michigan State and Saturday in East Lansing, the Wolverines, and Spartans renew their rivalry in a key game for both teams.

After the loss to Central Michigan dropped Michigan basketball to 7-5 overall, the Wolverines bounced back with home wins over Penn State and Maryland to start 3-0 in the Big Ten.

Michigan’s NCAA tournament climb is still steep and it needs to start notching some quadrant-1 wins which Saturday at Michigan State would be.

The last two games have shown that Michigan can still make a run in the Big Ten, but only if they can be consistent and that starts on Saturday with a huge road test.

Here are three keys and a prediction.

Hunter Dickinson needs to dominate

Hunter Dickinson has been a lot more active in the past two games but on Saturday, he’s going to need to score the ball. Michigan State probably won’t single him as much as it did a year ago when Hunter scored 33 points in a tournament-clinching win for the Wolverines.

However, he’s going to get opportunities and he needs to take advantage. Dickinson is averaging 22 points per game against the Spartans in his career but he’s 0-2 in East Lansing.

When Dickinson dominates, the Michigan offense is one of the best in college basketball. Guys are going to need to hit shots too but without 20 points or so from Dickinson, it’s hard to see Michigan basketball winning the game.