Michigan basketball is getting its first introduction to West Coast Big Ten basketball on Saturday night as the Wolverines will take on the USC Trojans in the restart of Big Ten play for both teams.
USC is 9-4 overall and 1-1 in the league. Michigan is 2-0 in conference play and 10-3 overall with all three losses coming by two points or less.
Michigan is ranked 11th in the NET rankings. USC is 91st, so this won't even be a quadrant-1 victory for the Wolverines. In the first season under Eric Musselman, the Trojans have been sort of mid, ranking 159th in scoring and 109th in scoring defense.
USC ranks in the top 100 in just four offensive categories and three of them have to do with free throw shooting, which has been a strength. The defense is good at limiting 3-pointers but statisically at least, USC is average across the board.
Desmond Claude is a 6-foot-5 guard and USC's leading scorer (14.3 ppg). He also averages 3.4 assists per game. Saint Thomas is another name to know. The 6-foot-7 wing scores just under 10 points per game but dishes out 4.1 assists. Chibuzo Agbo is the Trojans best shooter and connects on 2.5 3-pointers per game.
The Wolverines are listed as a 4.5-point favorite for tonight's game (8 PM EST, Fox) and here are three keys for Michigan basketball, plus a score prediction.
Take care of the 2-point battle
According to UMHoops.com, USC is 7-0 this season when it makes 54 percent of its 2-point attempts and 2-4 when it doesn't reach that number. Michigan ranks 27th in 2-point field goal percentage allowing (44 percent) and has only allowed two teams to shoot above 50 percent.
On the other end, Michigan basketball is 4th in college basketball in 2-point field goal percentage (62.7), while the Trojans rank 173rd in 2-point defense. USC also doesn't have a 7-footer on the roster and matching up with Vlad Goldin could be a nightmare.
If U-M is able to win that 2-point battle, and win it handily, they should win the game.