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thewolverines24
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Stanford fell to Arkansas in a double overtime thriller late Wednesday night and will face Michigan around 7:30 p.m. (ESPNU) in a Thanksgiving Day showdown at the Battle 4 Atlantis (Toilet Bowl Bracket).
KEYS
Offensive rebounding: Michigan is ranked 18th in the country in offensive rebounding rate this year and should have opportunities on the offensive glass tonight against a Stanford team that has been weak on the glass. One area for growth is turning those second chances into easy points. The Wolverines only scored 15 second-chance points on 19 offensive boards last night.
Transition defense: Stopping Stanford?s transition offense is the first priority, forcing them into a half-court game and not turning the ball over to give away free points. Other than a few sloppy turnovers for touchdowns, Michigan?s transition defense was improved against Memphis, and it will have to continue to show some of that improvement.
Point guard battle: These two teams both ask their point guards to run the show. Both guards played heavy minutes on Wednesday and came up short. Michigan needs Dug McDaniel to be much closer to his A-game to win this one. If he outplays Bynum, Michigan should be in a strong position.
BOTTOM LINE
Michigan benefits from playing the earlier game and not having to play two overtime periods, but all bets are off with an evening tip on Thanksgiving. This is one that Michigan really needs to have, and a win would go a long way toward righting the ship.
KenPom pegs the Wolverines ars 80-76 favorites, with a 63% chance of advancing to the fifth-place game against either Texas Tech or Northern Iowa.
GO BLUE!
KEYS
Offensive rebounding: Michigan is ranked 18th in the country in offensive rebounding rate this year and should have opportunities on the offensive glass tonight against a Stanford team that has been weak on the glass. One area for growth is turning those second chances into easy points. The Wolverines only scored 15 second-chance points on 19 offensive boards last night.
Transition defense: Stopping Stanford?s transition offense is the first priority, forcing them into a half-court game and not turning the ball over to give away free points. Other than a few sloppy turnovers for touchdowns, Michigan?s transition defense was improved against Memphis, and it will have to continue to show some of that improvement.
Point guard battle: These two teams both ask their point guards to run the show. Both guards played heavy minutes on Wednesday and came up short. Michigan needs Dug McDaniel to be much closer to his A-game to win this one. If he outplays Bynum, Michigan should be in a strong position.
BOTTOM LINE
Michigan benefits from playing the earlier game and not having to play two overtime periods, but all bets are off with an evening tip on Thanksgiving. This is one that Michigan really needs to have, and a win would go a long way toward righting the ship.
KenPom pegs the Wolverines ars 80-76 favorites, with a 63% chance of advancing to the fifth-place game against either Texas Tech or Northern Iowa.
GO BLUE!
