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thewolverines24
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11:30 AM ET on BTN.
KEYS
Leverage matchup advantages: Indiana?s roster is a natural matchup for Michigan. The Hoosiers don?t have the big athletic wings that have given U-M problems, don?t run a lot of ball screens, and don?t have a perimeter-oriented big. Those are all things that should work in Michigan?s favor and provide some mix-and-match ability for the Wolverines on defense between both Moussa Diabate and Hunter Dickinson.
Win the 3-point gap: IU is ranked 13th in 3-point volume on offense and 13th in 3-point volume on defense. Michigan outscored IU 33-15 from 3-point range in the first meeting and making more threes than the Hoosiers is probably a prerequisite to winning on Thursday afternoon. Most of Michigan?s 3-point attempts in this game are going to come off of ball screen actions which means they will be kick-out passes to Caleb Houstan, Terrance Williams, and others or pick-and-pop looks for Hunter Dickinson. Making some threes early would, as always, go a long way toward winning in a key spot.
Hunter Dickinson at his best: This is a good matchup for Hunter Dickinson because there?s a place to hide him defensively and he?s bigger than the Indiana players who will be guarding him. The spots where he?s struggled this year have generally come against bigger players who can keep him from getting to his spots (Kofi Cockburn, for example). Dickinson returned to practice on Wednesday and will be ?monitored? per Howard, but the Wolverines need their man in the middle to dominate this game. They?ll likely go as far as he takes them in Indianapolis.
KEYS
Leverage matchup advantages: Indiana?s roster is a natural matchup for Michigan. The Hoosiers don?t have the big athletic wings that have given U-M problems, don?t run a lot of ball screens, and don?t have a perimeter-oriented big. Those are all things that should work in Michigan?s favor and provide some mix-and-match ability for the Wolverines on defense between both Moussa Diabate and Hunter Dickinson.
Win the 3-point gap: IU is ranked 13th in 3-point volume on offense and 13th in 3-point volume on defense. Michigan outscored IU 33-15 from 3-point range in the first meeting and making more threes than the Hoosiers is probably a prerequisite to winning on Thursday afternoon. Most of Michigan?s 3-point attempts in this game are going to come off of ball screen actions which means they will be kick-out passes to Caleb Houstan, Terrance Williams, and others or pick-and-pop looks for Hunter Dickinson. Making some threes early would, as always, go a long way toward winning in a key spot.
Hunter Dickinson at his best: This is a good matchup for Hunter Dickinson because there?s a place to hide him defensively and he?s bigger than the Indiana players who will be guarding him. The spots where he?s struggled this year have generally come against bigger players who can keep him from getting to his spots (Kofi Cockburn, for example). Dickinson returned to practice on Wednesday and will be ?monitored? per Howard, but the Wolverines need their man in the middle to dominate this game. They?ll likely go as far as he takes them in Indianapolis.
