3 keys and a prediction for Michigan basketball vs No. 1 Purdue

Slow Zach Edey

Zach Edey has basically been impossible to stop this season. He’s scoring 21.8 points per game and making 64 percent of his shots from the field. The 7-foot-4 big man doesn’t have a single game where he hasn’t reached double figures and has scored 20 points in 13 of 20 games.

Yet, going back to Nebraska, the Huskers, thanks to the defense of Derrick Walker limited Edey to 17 shot attempts in two games and just 23 points. In the first game in Lincoln, Nebraska held Edey to 11 points on just 5-of-7 shooting in an overtime win for the Boilermakers.

In the win by Rutgers at Purdue, which was a one-point loss, Edey scored 19. The bottom line is that it’s going to be hard for Michigan to win this game if Edey scores 20-25 points.

Dickinson will need to play well defensively, without fouling. Tarris Reed should also get 15-20 minutes in this matchup and I wouldn’t mind seeing him take that matchup a few times.

Edey is going to score, but the more you can limit his attempts, the better chance you have of winning and that should be a huge focus for tonight.