The Michigan Wolverines go back on the road on Friday night for their first road game since their loss nearly a week ago. Wisconsin got the better of them in that game. On Friday, the Indiana Hoosiers will try to do the same, hosting the Wolverines in Bloomington.
The Hoosiers aren’t as good of a team as Wisconsin so Michigan will have a good matchup to get back on its feet on the road. Indiana is a top-heavy team with a couple big stars and a lack of support around them. Can those stars shine bright on Friday and carry the team to a win despite playing one of college hoops’ best defenses?
Despite hitting the road, Michigan will be favored in this game and should be able to come away with the victory, but the team’s a bit more vulnerable now that it was less than a week ago.
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Michigan Wolverines vs. Indiana Hoosiers
Date and Time: Friday, January 25, 2019, 6:30 p.m. ET
Location: Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Indiana
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Wolverines vs. Hoosiers TV Coverage: FS1
Michigan suffered its first loss of the season last week, falling to Wisconsin 54-64 as the Wolverines scored their fewest number of points on the season.
The team is still 17-1 going into Tuesday, but the loss has eaten into some of the team’s confidence.
Even with the loss, Michigan is a top-5 team in the AP and ranks No.6 in both the Coaches Poll and KenPom ratings.
Defense is the name of the game for the Wolverines. They rank third in KenPom’s defensive efficiency rating. They’ve allowed just 57.1 PPG this season though that number is up to 64.3 over the last three games after allowing 64 in the loss to the Badgers.
In that loss, the Wolverines beat the Badgers on the boards and doubled them up in blocks, but Michigan struggled to keep Ethan Happ at bay as he shot 12-for-22 from the floor inside and helped open up the perimeter as Wisconsin sank a few key shots on the outside.
Offensively, Michigan really struggled in the game. The team did get double-digit points from three different players, but only six players managed to sink a single basket. The team shot 40.7-percent from the floor and was just 5-for-18 outside. They were a dismal 5-for-11 from the free throw line as well.
Overall, the Wolverines aren’t a prolific offensive team, but they usually are rather efficient despite a slower pace of play. The team can shoot outside with Jordan Poole sinking a couple deep shots a game and Ignas Brazdeikis and Charles Matthews contributing from the perimeter as well. Isaiah Livers is a nice deep threat on occasion, too.
Brazdeikis and Livers also help inside where Jon Teske is the leading blocker and rebounder on the team. The 7’1” center is also starting to see his offense come around in addition to the strong defensive presence inside. He’s scored at least 13 in three straight games now, averaging 15 PPG in that span. He’s taken at last 10 shots in the last two games and has five three-pointers in those two contests as—despite his height—he’s able to spread the court, proving a viable threat inside and out.
Speaking of the outside, on the perimeter along with Matthews and Poole, Zavier Simpson leads the way in assists with 5.9 per contest. This team is a defensive force, but they handle the ball well, can slow the game down when needed and can shoot reasonably well, too.
As for the Hoosiers, Indiana has struggled to get any consistent production outside of its two big starts: Juwan Morgan and Romeo Langford.
Langford and Morgan have 17.9 and 16.4 PPG respectively, but the next highest scorer on the team is Justin Smith with 8.7 PPG. Morgan is the better outside shot of the two, but the team needs someone to step up as a true, consistent outside threat. The team could also use some help on the boards. Morgan has 7.7 RPG and 1.5 BPG, but nobody else on the team comes close to those numbers. Langford has 5.4 RPG.
Heading into Tuesday, the Hoosiers have lost four in a row, scoring a combined 106 in their two most recent contests. Their four game losing streak as the team sitting at 3-4 in conference and started with a 63-74 loss to Michigan back in early January.
Live Betting
The venue is different from the last time these two teams met, but the results could look very similar.
Morgan and Langford scored 42 of Indiana’s 63 points in the loss with Morgan leading the team in scoring with 25-points, going 9-for-22 shooting. The duo took 60-percent of the team’s shots. Watch this one early to see if anyone else can emerge as a threat. If Devonte Green, Aljami Durham or Smith can get hot early, that could open things up for Indiana.
Otherwise, look for Michigan to mount a big early lead and cruise to victory like they did back in January when the Wolverines found themselves just 44-29 at the half.
As the game progresses, be sure to take advantage of the plethora of live betting opportunities at BookMaker.eu.
Key Player
The key player is any Hoosier other than Langford and Morgan stepping up. The Wolverines have a much more balanced attack offensively along with a very good group of defenders that’ll make it that much harder for Indiana.
Brazdeikis, Matthews, Poole, Simpson, Teske, and Livers all provide scoring threats and good defense. That’s a lot more depth than the Hoosiers.
Smith is coming off a 15-point performance in his last game. He shot 7-for-8 from the floor, sinking his only shot on the outside, too. With six rebounds, he played well, but Indiana lost by 15, scoring just 55 as Langford shot 2-for-10 for just four points.
Indiana needs both Morgan and Langford to be on their games and if they are—along with Smith—this team just got a bit deeper and harder to defend.
Wolverines vs. Hoosiers Live Betting
The Hoosiers terrible streak started with a loss to Michigan over a month ago. While Indiana will have home court advantage this time around, that isn’t enough to get the upset.
Morgan and Langford are good, but they’re not enough, particularly against a stout defense like Michigan’s. Look for the Wolverines to replicate their success from their last showdown with solid shooting by Michigan in a game they’re successfully able to slow down.
The Wolverines will focus on Morgan and Langford limiting what they can do while the rest of the team—including Smith—fails to provide enough support to allow the stars the openings they need to carry the team on their shoulders.
Look for a lower scoring game—again—and whenever that happens, that plays into Michigan’s wheelhouse.
Check out all of the live betting at BookMaker.eu for Friday’s college basketball action.
NCAA Basketball Score Prediction: Michigan 69, Indiana 58
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