The Michigan Wolverines’ season is about to go on a wild roller coaster ride as they prepare for three-straight matchups opposite ranked teams. Their first assignment will be against a familiar foe in the form of the No. 20 Purdue Boilermakers, who are coming off a tough 70-63 loss to Iowa. Can the Wolverines rise above this challenge and pull of the upset?
Read on below for a full breakdown of this appetizing encounter. And if you’re craving for some NBA action as well, you can check out our detailed preview of the Boston Celtics vs. Chicago Bulls game.
[sc:MarchMadness ]Michigan Wolverines vs. Purdue Boilermakers Preview
Where: Mackey Arena, West Lafayette, Indiana
When: Thursday, January 7, 2016, 7:00 PM ET
Line: Michigan Wolverines at Purdue Boilermakers– view all NCAA Basketball lines
TV Broadcast: ESPN
Betting on the Michigan Wolverines (12-3, 2-0 Big Ten)
[sc:NCAAB240banner ]So far this season, the Michigan Wolverines have only lost three out of their 15 games and two of those were against ranked opponents—No. 18 Connecticut and No. 19 SMU. During those two defeats, they were beaten by an average margin of 19 points and evidently struggled to rack up points.
Despite this, the Wolverines should still be pretty content about their current standing. They hold a respectable 12-3 overall record and are riding a six-game winning streak heading into this matchup. During that run, they’ve beaten all of their opponents by double-digits while posting 85.8 points per game as a team.
Key to that offensive success has undoubtedly been their all-around guard in Caris LeVert, who leads the team in points (17.6), rebounds (5.4) and assists (5.2). But his status for this game remains to be questionable as he is still dealing with a left leg injury that has already caused him to miss out on Michigan’s game versus Penn State last Saturday.
If ever LeVert does fail to suit up, the Wolverines will likely lean on the pair of Duncan Robinson and Derrick Walton Jr. for some major production. The two are averaging 11.9 PPG and 9.9 PPG respectively this season and will be trying to break through a Purdue defense that’s only giving up 59.1 points per contest, which is the fourth-lowest in the nation.
Meanwhile, it’ll be worth keeping a close eye on Zach Irvin as well. The sophomore shooting guard has been a bright spot for the Wolverines lately, contributing 13.3 points and 3.6 assists per game in his last three games.
Michigan is 9-1 SU and 7-2 ATS in its past 10 games.
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Betting on the Purdue Boilermakers (13-2, 1-1 Big Ten)
After an 11-0 start to their 2015-16 campaign, it seems like the Purdue Boilermakers have lost some of their momentum. They enter this bout as losers of two of their previous four games with the latest one at the hands of the Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday, 70-63.
In that game, it was their offense that ultimately caused their downfall as no starter managed to tally at least 10 points thanks to an Iowa defense which held them to just 26 points in the second half. Furthermore, the Boilermakers turned the ball over 14 times and allowed the Hawkeyes to shoot 43.1 percent from the field. This can’t be the case later if Purdue hopes to rebound against the visiting Michigan Wolverines.
Fortunately, the No. 14 Boilermakers should take comfort on the fact that they emerged victorious in their last meeting (January 3, 2015) with Michigan. Starring in that win was center A.J. Hammons, who went 6-for-11 from the field for 15 points along with a game-high of 12 rebounds. He’ll certainly be trying to replicate or even outdo this performance.
Other than Hammons, Isaac Haas (11.4 PPG and 5.3 RPG) and Caleb Swingman (10.2 PPG and 8.9 RPG) should give the Michigan defense a tough time as well. Both players are averaging double-figures thus far this season.
Defense, however, will remain to be the Boilermakers’ most lethal weapon in this contest. They hold a nation-best opponents’ field-goal percentage (34.8) and are 15th in the country in blocked shots with 5.8 per game.
Purdue is 3-2 SU and 3-2 ATS in its last five home games.
Writer’s Prediction
Purdue wins, 75-61.
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