3 keys and a prediction for Michigan Basketball against Northwestern

Michigan basketball faces another road test on Thursday night against Northwestern in a game the Wolverines need to win. Here are three keys and a prediction. 

After a disastrous showing on Sunday against Penn State, Michigan basketball has another chance to get a quality win on the road and try to turn its season around.

Michigan basketball is 11-10 overall and 5-5 in the Big Ten. The NCAA tournament is looking like a pipe dream and the NIT isn’t even a sure thing at this point.

Michigan was drubbed at Penn State by 22 points and according to Draft Kings, Michigan is a three-point underdog against Northwestern on Thursday.

The Wildcats are 15-6 overall and 6-4 in the Big Ten. They had won three straight since losing to Michigan basketball but lost to Iowa in their last outing.

Now, it’s time for an important rematch for both teams. A loss tonight and Michigan’s hopes at the postseason take another big hit. U-M needs to probably go 8-2 down the stretch which makes tonight a must-win game.

Here are three keys and a prediction.

Kobe Bufkin and Jett Howard need to shine

In the first meeting, Bufkin, Howard, and Dug McDaniel combined for 53 points and nine 3-pointers. It’s going to be hard to duplicate that kind of effort, especially from McDaniel.

Dug doesn’t need to score 15 points. He just needs to take care of the ball and be solid on defense. The scoring load needs to be carried by Bufkin and Jett.

They can both create and shoot out of ball screens and with so much attention paid to Hunter Dickinson, who only attempted eight shots in the first game, they’ll need to deliver somewhere between 30-40 points (combined) for Michigan to steal this game on the road.