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thewolverines24
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Michigan heads to Lincoln this weekend (Saturday, 6:30 p.m., BTN) to face a Nebraska team that is significantly better at home than on the road. The Huskers are 14-1 (6-0 Big Ten) at home, compared to just 2-7 (0-7 Big Ten) at road and neutral venues. At home, they are the 43rd-best home team in the country, per Bart Torvik, and the 86th-best road team.
That spells bad news for a Michigan team that can only play its starting point guard in home games.
Nebraska is on track to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014, and this is the best team that Fred Hoiberg has put together during his five seasons in Lincoln. The game is sold out, and Pinnacle Bank Arena, one of the most underrated venues in the conference, should be rocking for an early evening tip.
KEYS
Win the 3-point line: Nebraska lives and dies by the three, and Michigan is going to need to pull an upset in that department to have a chance. The Wolverines have to take away good 3-point attempts while also making more than they have on any sort of consistent basis. Michigan has only made double-digit threes once since Jan. 1 and will likely need to come close to that to have a chance.
Create second chances: Nebraska’s frontcourt isn’t particularly big and struggles on the glass. Michigan’s rebounding numbers aren’t great, but there’s more size there and potentially some opportunities to crash the glass and establish something on the block.
Build off of bench success: Michigan’s extended run without Dug McDaniel and Olivier Nkamhoua on Wednesday actually provides a bit of upside on Saturday, simply because there’s some level of success to build off of with Jaelin Llewellyn running the show. It is far from perfect, but there’s more there than back in early January when the Wolverines first went on the road without McDaniel.
BOTTOM LINE
KenPom projects an 80-73 Nebraska home victory, giving Michigan a 25% chance at the road upset. Add in Dug McDaniel’s absence and Nebraska’s strong home splits, and it is tough to see the Wolverines pulling out a road upset.
Go Blue!
That spells bad news for a Michigan team that can only play its starting point guard in home games.
Nebraska is on track to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014, and this is the best team that Fred Hoiberg has put together during his five seasons in Lincoln. The game is sold out, and Pinnacle Bank Arena, one of the most underrated venues in the conference, should be rocking for an early evening tip.
KEYS
Win the 3-point line: Nebraska lives and dies by the three, and Michigan is going to need to pull an upset in that department to have a chance. The Wolverines have to take away good 3-point attempts while also making more than they have on any sort of consistent basis. Michigan has only made double-digit threes once since Jan. 1 and will likely need to come close to that to have a chance.
Create second chances: Nebraska’s frontcourt isn’t particularly big and struggles on the glass. Michigan’s rebounding numbers aren’t great, but there’s more size there and potentially some opportunities to crash the glass and establish something on the block.
Build off of bench success: Michigan’s extended run without Dug McDaniel and Olivier Nkamhoua on Wednesday actually provides a bit of upside on Saturday, simply because there’s some level of success to build off of with Jaelin Llewellyn running the show. It is far from perfect, but there’s more there than back in early January when the Wolverines first went on the road without McDaniel.
BOTTOM LINE
KenPom projects an 80-73 Nebraska home victory, giving Michigan a 25% chance at the road upset. Add in Dug McDaniel’s absence and Nebraska’s strong home splits, and it is tough to see the Wolverines pulling out a road upset.
Go Blue!
