Michigan vs #22 ranked Xavier 8:30pm est FS1. Line: Michigan -2
Xavier comes into this game undefeated and on a 6 game win streak. Notable wins include Wake Forest and South Carolina.
Xavier is border-line elite at taking care of the basketball. Their assist to turnover ratio is 2.052, ranking them #5 in the country for this metric. They have a total of only 58 turnovers through 6 games while forcing their opponents to 82 turnovers. The Musketeers assist on 71% of their made field goals, ranking them #4 in the nation in this category. This is an unselfish, disciplined basketball team we are going up against tonight. They had 5 players in double digits vs South Carolina and another player with 9pts. Where we have an advantage is depth. Xavier essentially has a 7-man rotation. They had 4 players log 30+ minutes vs South Carolina. No one on Michigan's roster averages more than 29min a game. We have 9 players averaging double digit minutes in addition to Pippen at 7.8min. Only Gayle and Donaldson have logged 30min games this season.
We win this game if we win the turnover battle. Plain and simple. We have turned the ball over 97 times this season. That puts us ranked #347th out of 364 teams in Division one. Not Good. On the flip side, we have forced 101 turnovers, an average of 17 forced turnovers a game this season, which puts us ranked 17th in this category. Xavier's identity is taking care of the basketball. Something is going to give tonight.
If we aren't going to take advantage of the size mismatch on the block, I would scrap the 2 big lineup relatively early. Wolf is going to have his hands full defensively at the 4 and Xavier will feast on those one handed telegraphed passes.
If I had to predict how this game flows: It's tight throughout the first 30 minutes of the game. Our depth is the deciding factor down the stretch. Xavier runs out of gas. We win 82-77. Walters and Tre lead the way. We start the week 1-0 vs teams located in Ohio and never look back!
Here's highlights of Xavier vs our common Opponent Wake Forest:
Xavier comes into this game undefeated and on a 6 game win streak. Notable wins include Wake Forest and South Carolina.
Xavier is border-line elite at taking care of the basketball. Their assist to turnover ratio is 2.052, ranking them #5 in the country for this metric. They have a total of only 58 turnovers through 6 games while forcing their opponents to 82 turnovers. The Musketeers assist on 71% of their made field goals, ranking them #4 in the nation in this category. This is an unselfish, disciplined basketball team we are going up against tonight. They had 5 players in double digits vs South Carolina and another player with 9pts. Where we have an advantage is depth. Xavier essentially has a 7-man rotation. They had 4 players log 30+ minutes vs South Carolina. No one on Michigan's roster averages more than 29min a game. We have 9 players averaging double digit minutes in addition to Pippen at 7.8min. Only Gayle and Donaldson have logged 30min games this season.
- Ryan Conwell is a problem. The 6ft 4in Junior guard is averaging 17.3 pts a game. Shoots it 48% from deep. He doesn't do much else on the floor besides score, but he's capable of single handedly winning a game. He has logo range.
- Zach Freemantle is their junkyard dog. The 6ft 9in Senior averages 15.7ppg and 7.5reb. His motor never shuts off. He's also a 40% three pt shooter, so we have to be aware of their pick and pop action as well as Zach trailing the break. He's not a volume 3pt shooter. Takes roughly 2 a game, but he can hit them.
- Dayvion McKnight runs the point. 6ft 190lbs. He's strong and he's consistent, however, IMO, he's who we can make miserable by throwing bodies at all game. There's a considerable drop off in the flow of Xavier's offense when McKnight is on the bench. In his last three games he's logged, 34min 30min and 34min.
We win this game if we win the turnover battle. Plain and simple. We have turned the ball over 97 times this season. That puts us ranked #347th out of 364 teams in Division one. Not Good. On the flip side, we have forced 101 turnovers, an average of 17 forced turnovers a game this season, which puts us ranked 17th in this category. Xavier's identity is taking care of the basketball. Something is going to give tonight.
If we aren't going to take advantage of the size mismatch on the block, I would scrap the 2 big lineup relatively early. Wolf is going to have his hands full defensively at the 4 and Xavier will feast on those one handed telegraphed passes.
If I had to predict how this game flows: It's tight throughout the first 30 minutes of the game. Our depth is the deciding factor down the stretch. Xavier runs out of gas. We win 82-77. Walters and Tre lead the way. We start the week 1-0 vs teams located in Ohio and never look back!
Here's highlights of Xavier vs our common Opponent Wake Forest:
