The Michigan Wolverines are 3-0 and ranked in the Top-10, yet the first two weeks of the new season have brought plenty of questions (and concerns). Narrow wins over Wake Forest and TCU have slowed down some of the Final Four ticket purchases, but no early hiccups should be too surprising from a transfer-heavy team, nor are they too alarming.
Next week’s Players Era Festival is really going to ratchet up the intensity, but before then is a final tune-up against the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders. MTSU
looks better than Oakland, though is still around 150th per Kenpom, meaning a close game would not be acceptable in this one. Michigan could use a stress-free win after last week, but asking for that is always a recipe for disaster.
Middle Tennessee (3-0) at No. 7 Michigan (3-0)
Date & Time: Wednesday, Nov. 19, 6:30 p.m. ET
Location: Crisler Center, Ann Arbor, MI
TV/Streaming: BTN
Not really any history between these programs this century, but still a couple fun memories related to Middle Tennessee. The first is the 2019 football season opener, which featured Shea Patterson throwing for 203 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 40-21 win. On the hardwood, No. 15 seed MTSU took down a No. 2-seeded Michigan State squad in the First Round that had the second-best odds of winning the entire 2016 NCAA Tournament — whoops!
Two Stats to Watch
MTSU 2-Point Shooting: 65.7% (5th)
Like TCU, the Raiders come into this one with quality two-point shooting, but also like the Frogs, this number is largely (weak) competition-based and is likely to plummet following a date with the Michigan defense. Two of MTSU’s three games came against non-Division I opponents, and the win over Evansville is not really anything impressive either. However, we have to find something to highlight and elite two-point shooting is it!
Michigan was really good limiting damage inside the arc against Wake and TCU (under 40% combined), and Oakland was not much better. This might cause MTSU to lean on the three ball, where 42.6% of its shot attempts have originated so far. Without any dominant center, scoring in the paint is going to be tough; I would expect the defense to make life very difficult for the visitors every single possession in the half court.
Backcourt Scoring: 22.8 PPG*
Outside of Trey McKenney, who has exploded onto the scene, and Roddy Gayle, who has differing responsibilities, the trio of Elliot Cadeau, Nimari Burnett, and L.J. Cason has struggled to contribute on the scoreboard. While Cadeau is not here to put up 20 points a game and the latter two will see fewer minutes than their peers, Michigan needs more scoring from these three as the season rolls on.
Wednesday should be a chance for some of these players to get above-average opportunities, both in terms of number of minutes and defensive deterrence. The Raiders have been good against the three, which is where Burnett and Cason have liked to live, but there should be open looks given the gravity the Michigan bigs are sure to draw near the basket. The schedule is about to heat up quickly so getting some of these guards on track is imperative.
