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

No. 7 Michigan Wolverines basketball (12-1, 7-1 Big Ten) will take on the Purdue Boilermakers (11-5, 6-3 Big Ten) Friday night in West Lafayette.

The Wolverines bounced back from a loss at Minnesota with a win over Maryland this week and have sole possession of first place in the league following a Thursday night Iowa loss, while the Boilermakers, winners of four straight, are playing as good of basketball as anybody in the conference.

40.3 percent of Purdue's attempts come from beyond the arc, but the Boilermakers shoot just 35.1 percent from deep. Redshirt junior guard Sasha Stefanovic is the team's top shooter, and is connecting on 45.6 percent of his threes on the season.

Within an offense that ranks 38th nationally in efficiency, per Kenpom, Purdue posts up 18.7 percent of its offensive possessions. That attack is led by junior forward Trevion Williams, one of the premier big men in the conference. He averages a team-leading 15.4 points and 9.5 boards per game.

Defensively, Williams will have a challenge in going up against Michigan freshman center Hunter Dickinson, who is averaging 15.7 points per game and shooting 70.3 percent on the year. Purdue freshman center Zach Edey, who allows post-up opponents to score only 0.538 points per possession, will also have a crack at Dickinson, though he only plays 14.7 minutes per game.

While facing constant double-teams against Maryland, Dickinson notched just three points but made good decisions getting the ball back out and allowing it to move ... and that's where Michigan's shooters come in.

Senior forward Isaiah Livers is shooting 43.5 percent from three-point land, while fifth-year senior point guard Mike Smith is leading the Big Ten in three-point field goal percentage (61.9 percent) in league play.

Purdue has tightened up on the defensive end during its latest winning streak, holding three of its last four opponents to 39 percent or worse from the field.

Below is everything you need to know ahead of the game, including a breakdown of each team's lineup, Q&A with Brian Neubert of Gold And Black, predictions and more.

Date: Friday, Jan. 22

Time: 7:00 p.m. ET

Venue: Mackey Arena (West Lafayette, Ind.)

Channel: Fox Sports 1 (Stream: Fox Sports App)

On The Call: Kevin Kugler (play-by-play) & Stephen Bardo (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 -3.5

Over/Under: 137

KenPom Prediction: Michigan 70, Purdue 67

Clayton Sayfie Prediction: Michigan 71, Purdue 66

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#12 - Fifth-year senior guard Mike Smith (5-11, 185) — The Columbia grad transfer is averaging 8.6 points and 5.8 assists per game, while shooting 47 percent overall and 45.5 percent from long range ... He is shooting 61.9 percent from three in conference play (best in the league).

#55 - Senior guard Eli Brooks (6-1, 185) — Returned from a strained foot last game and played 22 minutes ... Averaging 8.6 points, 3.8 assists and 2.8 rebounds per contest ... Shoots 42.4 percent from the field and 37 percent from long range.

#21 - Sophomore guard Franz Wagner (6-9, 220) — Averaging 12.3 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game, while shooting 52.2 percent from the floor and 34.1 percent from three.

#2 - Senior forward Isaiah Livers (6-7, 230) — Is second on the team in scoring with 14.1 points per game, while also adding 5.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists ... Shoots 48.8 percent overall and 43.5 percent from long range.

#1 - Freshman center Hunter Dickinson (7-1, 255) — Leads the team in scoring (15.7 points per game) and rebounding (7.5), while shooting 70.3 percent from the field.

Key Bench Players

#15 - Senior guard Chaundee Brown (6-5, 215) — Averaging 9.2 points and 3.2 rebounds per game ... Is connecting on 47.9 percent of his overall looks and 39.2 percent of his attempts from deep.

#23 - Junior forward Brandon Johns Jr. (6-8, 240) — Plays the four and five spot off the bench ... Averages 4.7 points and 2.6 rebounds per contest and is shooting 65.7 percent from the field (5 of 8 from three).

#51 - Fifth-year senior forward Austin Davis (6-10, 250) — Missed five games with a foot injury but returned Jan. 12 against Wisconsin ... Averages 6.1 points and three rebounds per game, while shooting 70 percent from the field.

#2 - Junior guard Eric Hunter Jr. (6-4, 170) — Averaging 10.5 points, 3.3 assists and 2.8 boards per game, while shooting 35.3 percent from the field and 31.4 percent from deep.

#55 - Redshirt junior guard Sasha Stefanovic (6-5, 200) — Posts 11.1 points, 2.4 assists and 3.2 rebounds per tilt, while shooting 46 percent overall and 45.6 percent from beyond the arc.

#5 - Redshirt freshman guard Brandon Newman (6-5, 195) — Averaging 9.1 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.7 helpers per game, while shooting 42.6 percent from the field and 38.3 percent from long range.

#0 - Redshirt freshman forward Mason Gillis (6-6, 230) — Notches 5.1 points, 3.1 boards and 1.1 assists per night, while shooting 46.7 percent from the field and 30.6 percent from beyond the arc.

#50 - Junior forward Trevion Williams (6-10, 265) — Leads the team in scoring with 15.4 points per game and rebounding with 9.5 boards, while also adding 2.2 assists ... Shoots 54 percent from the field.

Key Bench Players

#11 - Sophomore guard Isaiah Thompson (6-1, 160) — Scores 4.9 points and adds 1.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists per contest as the backup point guard ... Shoots 43.6 percent from the field and 40.5 percent from deep.

#23 Freshman guard Jaden Ivey (6-4, 200) — Contributes 7.2 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game, while shooting 39.5 percent overall and a dismal 21.2 percent from three.

#1 - Redshirt junior forward Aaron Wheeler (6-9, 205) — Registers 3.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game as the backup four ... Shoots 38.7 percent from the field and is 3-of-5 from long range on the year.

#15 - Freshman center Zach Edey (7-4, 285) — Sees action in just 14.7 minutes per game but averages 8.1 points and 3.9 rebounds per contest ... Shoots 57.8 percent from the field.

The Wolverine: What do you expect to see from the battle between Michigan's bigs and Purdue's forwards and centers?

Neubert: It'll be a great matchup, as long as Trevion Williams can stay out of foul trouble. Williams is playing really well right and Zach Edey been a revelation for Purdue this season and just played his best game of the Big Tens season thus far. Both teams will attack the other's big men and run offense through the post.

Purdue will double the post, so I don't know how much this is really going to be a one-on-one kind of deal, but the bigs may decide this game, and both sides have to really worry about keeping the other off the offensive glass.

The Wolverine: Finish this sentence: Purdue wins if ________.

Neubert: They play one of their best defensive games of the season, keep Trevion Williams out of foul trouble and make shots. This is gonna be a handful for Purdue defensively, because they're up and down against ball screens, they are gonna have a hard time matching with Isaiah Livers and are gonna have to help on Dickinson and not get burned too often.

The Wolverine: How do you see the game playing out?

Neubert: I don't know if I whole-heartedly expect Purdue to win, but I picked them to win just because they keep finding ways to, they're usually good at home, even if this year is different in that sense and I wonder if Michigan may be more vulnerable away from Crisler. But as I said, Purdue's gonna have to play one of its best defensive games of the year and make a bunch of threes probably.

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