For Michigan basketball, the matchup against Duke turned into more of a nightmare as the Wolverines were bothered by Duke's size.
The Blue Devils did get a friendly whistle, which helped keep some of Michigan's size, namely Aday Mara, on the bench more than expected, but Duke was the more physical team, too.
Duke dominated on the offensive glass. The Blue Devils rebounded 40.9 percent of their missed shots, compared to just 21.9 percent for Michigan basketball.
Usually, the Wolverines are the team with around a 40 percent offensive rebounding rate. Michigan also shot just 53.3 percent on 2-point attempts. Duke was at 52.8. The Wolverines usually dominate that category by an average of 20-percentage points, so that was another key factor in defeat.
It's not all gloom and doom, though. UCLA did Michigan a huge favor with a win over Illinois this weekend, giving the Fighting Illini four losses. That means the Wolverines have a three-game lead with four games to go.
A win on Tuesday against Minnesota would mean clinching a share of the Big Ten championship. The magic number for the outright title is two.
Minnesota is dream matchup for Michigan basketball
The Wolverines only finished with 24 points against Duke. That was 16 points below the season average of 40.1. Minnesota is allowing teams to shoot 73.8 percent at the rim, and in the past five games, they have allowed over 50 percent in the paint in five straight games.
That's where Michigan thrives. The Gophers are allowing teams to shoot 50.8 percent on 2s (178th), which should allow the Wolverines, who shoot 62.3 percent on 2-pointers (4th), to dominate down low.
In other words, this game should be the exact opposite of the Duke game, and Michigan should walk away as the Big Ten regular season champion.