Michigan vs. Michigan State Preview, Lineup Breakdown, Prediction & More

Michigan Wolverines basketball (19-2, 14-2 Big Ten) is set for a rematch against Michigan State (14-11, 8-11 Big Ten), after winning in blowout fashion Thursday night at Crisler Center, 69-50.

With the win in the first meeting, the Wolverines clinched the outright Big Ten title, their first since 2014. Michigan State is now even more desperate heading into this one, still in search for another signature win to boost its tournament hopes.

With Michigan locked into the No. 1 seed in next week's Big Ten Tournament and MSU locked into the No. 9 seed, the two teams may meet again in the quarterfinals Friday if the Spartans take care of business in their first-round game Thursday.

The Matchup

Michigan's defense was stifling in part one of this two-game series, with the Spartans shooting 36.4 percent from the field and 0-of-9 from three-point land. MSU relies heavily on junior forward Aaron Henry and fifth-year senior guard Joshua Langford to carry the scoring load, but both were held in check by the Maize and Blue. Henry finished just under his season average with 14 points (on 15 shots) and Langford was a dismal 2-of-10 from the field with six points.

The Spartans' offense, which ranks 13th in the Big Ten in efficiency, scored just 0.76 points per possession on Thursday and failed to make a field goal for a 10-minute stretch in the second half.

On the other end of the floor, Michigan's offense ran through sophomore wing Franz Wagner, who scored a game-high 19 points and hit four of his six attempts from beyond the arc, with the Spartans routinely going under ball screens and leaving him with space to shoot. Freshman center Hunter Dickinson overpowered the Spartans' smaller bigs, scoring 14 points and grabbing 10 boards.

The Wolverines have the third-most efficient offense in the conference and were able to register 1.05 points per possession against Tom Izzo's group that ranks eighth in the league defensively.

Below is everything you need to know ahead of the game, including notes on every significant player, key statistics, a Q&A with Michigan State beat writer Kyle Austin of MLive and more.

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Date: Sunday, March 7, 2021

Time: 4:30 p.m. ET

Venue: Jack Breslin Student Events Center

Channel: CBS (Stream: CBS All Access)

On The Call: Ian Eagle (play-by-play) & Bill Raftery (analyst)

Radio: Detroit: WWJ-Radio (950 AM) | Ann Arbor: WWWW (102.9 FM)

On The Call: Brian Boesch (play-by-play) & Terry Mills (analyst)

Line: Michigan -8

Over/Under: 135.5

KenPom Prediction: Michigan 74, Michigan State 64

Clayton Sayfie Prediction: Michigan 75, Michigan State 63

#12 - Fifth-year senior guard Mike Smith (5-11, 185) — The Columbia grad transfer is averaging 8.6 points and five assists per game (second in the Big Ten), while shooting 45.7 percent from the field and 46.2 percent from deep (10th in the country) ... His three-point shooting clip of 55 percent in league play tops the conference.

#55 - Senior guard Eli Brooks (6-1, 185) — Posting 8.9 points, three assists and 3.1 rebounds per contest ... Shoots 40.9 percent from the field and 35.4 percent from long range ... Is considered Michigan's best on-ball defender.

#21 - Sophomore guard Franz Wagner (6-9, 220) — Dropped a game-high 19 points on Thursday ... Has scored 19-or-more points in four of his last seven games ... Averaging 13 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game, while shooting 51.3 percent from the floor ... Shooting the three at 39.1 percent for the season ... His three-point percentage of 40.7 in league play ranks 15th in the Big Ten.

#2 - Senior forward Isaiah Livers (6-7, 230) — Second on the team in scoring with 13.9 points per game ... Also adds 6.2 rebounds and two assists per contest, while shooting 47.4 percent overall and 45.4 percent from three ... Draining 44.4 percent of his shots from deep during the Big Ten season, which checks in at fourth among conference players.

#1 - Freshman center Hunter Dickinson (7-1, 255) — Had 14 points and 10 rebounds in the first meeting ... Checks in at fourth on Kenpom's national player of the year rankings ... Leads the team in scoring with 14.4 points per game, and adds 7.8 rebounds (leads the squad) per night, while shooting 60.6 percent from the field ... His two-point field goal percentage of 58.7 percent during league play ranks seventh in the Big Ten ... Blocks 1.5 shots per game, which is fourth in the conference.

Key Bench Players

#15 - Senior guard Chaundee Brown (6-5, 215) — Averaging 7.5 points and three rebounds per game off the bench in 19.1 minutes ... Is connecting on 46.5 percent of his overall looks and 39.1 percent of his attempts from deep.

#23 - Junior forward Brandon Johns Jr. (6-8, 240) — The East Lansing, Mich., native plays the four and five spot off the bench ... Averages four points and two rebounds per contest in 10.1 minutes and is shooting 51.2 percent from the field.

55 - Fifth-year senior forward Austin Davis (6-10, 250) — Averaging 5.8 points and 2.9 rebounds per game in 11.7 minutes of work ... Shooting 69.6 percent from the field.