After a 5-0 start in the Big Ten, Michigan basketball has lost two of three games and suddenly doesn't look like a Big Ten title contender.
A blowout loss to Purdue on Friday affirmed that. However, there is a long way to go in this conference race -- a lotta ballgame left one might say.
Michigan basketball needs to get off the mat though and get back to playing the kind of basketball that allowed the Wolverines to start 5-0. They dominated around the basket, especially with their 2-point offense and that hasn't been the case recently.
Starting with Minnesota, teams have attacked Michigan's size with physicality. Penn State will surely try to do the same thing on Monday night. The Nittany Lions are also stellar at forcing turnovers.
Michigan basketball is 18th via the Kenpom rankings. Penn State is 45th and on the NCAA tournament bubble. It's a big game for both teams and here are three keys for the Wolverines, plus a final score prediction.
Avoid turnovers
The biggest weakness for Michigan basketball this season has been turnovers. The Wolverines had 22 against Purdue on Friday and allowed 13 steals.
During Big Ten play, Penn State leads the conference in steals (8.4 per game). They are also second in the league in forcing 13.6 turnovers per game. Only Purdue has forced more turnovers during Big Ten games this season than Penn State.
Against Purdue, the Wolverines turned the ball over on over 30 percent of their possessions. Penn State has lost seven games this season. Five losses (via UMHoops.com) have come when teams turn the ball over 20 percent of the time or fewer.
That's the key for Michigan basketball tonight -- keep the turnover rate below 20 percent.