Fresh off its first loss of the season, the Michigan basketball team will hit the road to Seattle for its trip to the Pacific Northwest.
The Wolverines play in Seattle tonight, then Eugene, Oregon, on Saturday. For Michigan basketball fans, it will be a late start, as the game is set to tip off at 10:30 PM EST.
Head coach Danny Sprinkle has the Huskies playing much better basketball than a season ago. In 2024-25, the Huskies finished outside the top 100 in the Kenpom rankings. Right now, they are ranked 48th. Michigan basketball is No. 1, with the No. 1 adjusted offense and defense.
However, the Wolverines haven't played elite basketball the past few games, especially the last two. They lost at home as a 20-point underdog and were one 3-pointer away from being on a two-game losing streak.
Washington is 10-6 overall and 2-3 in the Big Ten. The Huskies beat a ranked USC team on the road, but also dropped a road game to Seattle. In terms of stats, Washington ranks inside the top 100 in offensive rebounds, blocked shots, and fewest turnovers.
They are 171st in field-goal percentage, 209th in 2-point percentage, and 275th in 3-point shooting percentage. On defense they are ranked 136th, 124th, and 138th in the corresponding categories.
Washington isn't elite in one area of the game, but they don't necessarily have a glaring weakness either. They are a middle-of-the-pack Big Ten team, one that should realistically challenge for an NCAA tournament berth.
German freshman Hannes Streinbach has been a revelation, scoring 18.4 points per game while leading the Big Ten with 11 rebounds per game. Dynamic guard Zoom Diallo is another name to know. He's a sophomore who started 22 games as a freshman for Washington in 2024-25. Diallo is a former top-50 recruit who is scoring 15.1 points and dishing out 3.7 assists per game.
Washington also has two former USC transfers playing in their backcourt, with 6-4 guard Wesley Yayes (14.9 ppg) and 6-5 guard Desmond Claude (14.5 ppg) each scoring in double figures this season. Yates hasn't played since December, though, and isn't expected to play tonight.
For Michigan basketball, this is a chance to right the ship. The Wolverines need to get back in the win column, as they trail both Purdue and Nebraska for first place in the Big Ten. As Dusty May said, the Wolverines have played poorly for their past four games. We'll see if Saturday's loss was a wake-up call. Here are three keys and a prediction.
Don't abandon what's worked
There is an idea among fans to go away from the three-big starting lineup of Aday Mara, Morez Johnson, and Yaxel Lendeborg. Wisconsin and Penn State were able to take advantage, however, few teams can slice up Michigan in that matchup like the Badgers, who have a roster full of stretch bigs.
Washington's starting center, Franck Kepnang, a sixth-year player, averages 23 minutes a game and hasn't attempted a single 3-pointer all season. So as far as using Mara, this will be a great game for Michigan to do that.
When Washington goes small, the Wolverines will have to adjust, but other teams have to guard Mara, too. Michigan can't get away from that because of two bad games that were about more than teams taking advantage of Mara.
Energy and effort
Whether Michigan got complacent or started to read too many press clippings, the Wolverines haven't played with the same intensity the past few games, especially on defense.
In those wins over Gonzaga or Auburn, Michigan basketball played with desperation. Even when they were up 30, they were fighting like it was 0-0. You never really felt that energy against Wisconsin until it was too late.
This is the best defensive team in college basketball when it wants to be. However, the want to hasn't been there the past two games, and the results speak for themselves.
That needs to change tonight, more than anything else.
Dominate the paint
People want to point to the 15 3-point makes by Wisconsin as the reason the Wolverines lost, which played a huge factor. But the way Wisconsin went toe-to-toe with Michigan on 2-point attempts is where the game was lost.
Michigan basketball has the best 2-point shooting percentage in college basketball (64.7 percent), while having the best 2-point defense (39.5) in the country. Morez Johnson has the best field-goal percentage in the conference.
However, instead of a 24-point percentage difference (the average) or something in that range, Michigan and Wisconsin each shot 56 percent on 2-point attempts. The Wolverines really struggled to finish around the rim. Washington is a top-100 shot-blocking team. Their 2-point defense ranks better than Wisconsin's did, although they lack the frontcourt size of the Badgers.
If Michigan is going to win this game without a fight in the final minutes, it needs to dominate the paint, which includes keeping Washington, a solid offensive rebounding team, off the glass. Michigan leads college basketball in defensive rebounds, so that's very doable, but this team needs to play up to its standard or risk another close game on the road.
Prediction: Michigan 85, Washington 77