After a resounding win over UCLA that captured the attention of national pundits, the Michigan basketball team returns home to the Crisler Center for a matchup with the struggling Washington Huskies.
The Huskies are in their first season in the Big Ten and also their first season under head coach Danny Sprinkle. Two years ago, he was coaching at Montana State before he took Utah State to the NCAA tournament last season.
Washington is 10-7 in his first season and just got drubbed by Michigan State on the road. The Huskies are 1-4 in the Big Ten and ranked 93rd according to the Kenpom rankings. Michigan basketball is ranked 10th.
Michigan basketball is a 14-point favorite according to DraftKings and here are three keys and a prediction.
Take advantage inside
Washington does have a solid big in Great Osobor, but he's not a rim protector. The Huskies don't have a single 7-footer on the roster and their 2-point defense is 246th in college basketball (51.5 percent).
Michigan basketball is probably licking its chops. Vlad Goldin just torched a top-10 Kenpom defense to the tune of 36 points. Danny Wolf has been dominant in the two-man game. To that end, Michigan shoots 63 percent on 2-pointers, second in all of college basketball, and taking advantage of that wil be a huge key for the Wolverines.
Watch the fouls and turnovers
One thing that can mitigate Michigan basketball's advantage is foul trouble. We saw that for a stretches against UCLA as Vlad Goldin and Danny Wolf were each on the bench due to fouls.
That's one path to Washington making this a game. Get Vlad Goldin or Danny Wolf into foul trouble. This Michigan basketball team is entirely different, as you'd expect, without Wolf and Goldin on the court -- on both ends of the floor.
So avoid foul trouble and keep the turnovers under control—Washington forces 13.5 per game which is just outside the top 100. Considering Michigan's turnover woes, keeping that number reasonably low will be another key to avoiding an upset.
Ignore the headlines
Michigan should win this game easily. The Huskies struggle to score and shoot the ball from deep. They defend well from the 3-point line, but we'll see if that holds up. With Goldin down low, you'd think we'd see some doubles or hedges that led to open looks. The Huskies allow just 29 percent from 3-point range, which will be another key for them.
If they can force turnovers and maybe some foul trouble, plus win the 3-point battle, there might be some hope. But if the Wolverines can handle success and haven't bought into the hype, they should improve to 5-0 in the Big Ten without too much trouble.
Prediction: Michigan 85, Washington 69