INDIANAPOLIS — No. 9 seed Michigan Wolverines basketball (19-12, 10-10 Big Ten) will take on No. 8 seed Rutgers (20-11, 10-10 Big Ten) in the Big Ten Tournament today.

U-M won both meetings between the two teams this season, one at Madison Square Garden and a game at Rutgers. The Wolverines played without junior forward Isaiah Livers for both of those contests, as he sat with injuries. Rutgers has won two-straight games, with wins coming against Maryland and at Purdue last week to solidify the Scarlet Knights' spot in the NCAA Tournament field.

The Big Ten announced Tuesday night that the remainder of the tournament will be played without spectators, only allowing players, essential staff and family members to be in attendance.

For more insight on the Scarlet Knights, we did a Q&A with Richard Schnyderite of The Knight Report.

The Basics

Date: Thursday, March 12

Time: 12:00 PM ET

Venue: Bankers Life Fieldhouse (Indianapolis, Ind.)

TV: Big Ten Network

Spread: Michigan -3

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vs. Bryant (W, 73-71)

vs. Niagra (W, 86-39)

vs. Drexel (W, 62-57)

vs. St. Bonaventure (L, 80-74)

vs. Stephen F. Austin (W, 69-57)

vs. NJIT (W, 85-58)

vs. UMass (W, 82-57)

at Pittsburgh (L, 71-60)

at Michigan State (L, 77-65)

vs. Wisconsin (W, 72-65)

vs. Seton Hall (W, 68-48)

vs. Lafayette (W, 63-44)

vs. Caldwell (W, 94-49)

at Nebraska (W, 79-62)

vs. Penn State (W, 72-61)

at Illinois (L, 54-51)

vs. Indiana (W, 59-50)

vs. Minnesota (W, 64-56)

at Iowa (L, 85-80)

vs. Nebraska (W, 75-72)

vs. Purdue (W, 70-63)

vs. Michigan (L, 69-63)

at Maryland (L, 56-51)

vs. Northwestern (W, 77-73 in OT)

at Ohio State (L, 72-66)

vs. Illinois (W, 72-57)

vs. Michigan (L, 60-52)

at Wisconsin (L, 79-71)

at Penn State (L, 65-64)

vs. Maryland (W, 78-67)

at Purdue (W, 71-68 in OT)

#23 - Sophomore guard Montez Mathis (6-4, 205) — He averages 7.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game, while shooting 38.3 percent from the field and 29.7 percent from three.

#0 - Junior guard Geo Baker (6-4, 185) — He averages 10.9 points, 3.5 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game. He shoots 39.9 percent from the field and 28.2 percent from three.

#24 - Sophomore guard / forward Ron Harper Jr. (6-6, 245) — He leads the Scarlet Knights in scoring, with 12.1 points per game. Also adds 5.8 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game. He shoots 45.2 percent from the field and 34.9 percent from three.

#1 - Senior forward Akwasi Yeboah (6-6, 230) — He averages 9.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, while shooting 43.5 percent from the field and 35.5 percent from long range.

#13 - Senior forward Shaq Carter (6-9, 250) — Carter averages 3.6 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. He shoots 57.0 percent from the field.

Off The Bench

#22 - Sophomore guard Caleb McConnell (6-7, 190) — He averages 6.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game, while shooting 41.1 percent from the field and 28.0 percent from three.

#15 - Sophomore center Myles Johnson (6-11, 255) — Johnson averages 7.8 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game, while shooting 60.2 percent from the field.

#42 - Junior guard Jacob Young (6-2, 185) — Young averages 8.5 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game in 21.2 minutes. He shoots 41.3 percent from the field and 28.1 percent from three.

#3 - Senior guard Zavier Simpson (6-0, 190) — Simpson averages 12.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. He is second in the country in assists per game, with 7.9. He shoots 47.6 percent from the field and 36.0 percent from three.

#55 - Junior guard Eli Brooks (6-1, 185) — Brooks averages 10.6 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. He shoots 41.0 percent from the field and 36.4 percent from three.

#21 - Freshman guard Franz Wagner (6-9, 205) — He averages 11.3 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game. Wagner shoots 45.2 percent from the field and 31.1 percent on three-pointers.

#2 - Junior forward Isaiah Livers (6-9, 235) — Livers averages 12.9 points per game. He also adds 4.0 rebounds and 1.1 assists per contest, while shooting 44.7 percent from the field and 40.2 percent from three.

#15 - Senior center Jon Teske (7-1, 265) — Teske averages 11.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists per contest. He shoots 47.8 percent from the field and 24.6 percent from three.

Off The Bench

#0 - Sophomore guard David DeJulius (6-0, 190) — He averages 7.0 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game in 20.9 minutes. He shoots 41. I 7 percent from the field and 36.1 percent on three-pointers.

#23 - Sophomore forward Brandon Johns (6-8, 235) — Johns averages 6.0 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. He shoots 49.2 percent from the field and 34.5 percent from three.

#51 - Redshirt junior forward Austin Davis (6-10, 250) — Davis averages 4.9 points and 2.6 rebounds per game in 10.7 minutes. He shoots 69.3 percent from the field.

Baker and Brooks will likely be matched up on each other for most of the game. Brooks has staked his claim as one of the better guard defenders in the Big Ten. Baker, on the other hand, is one of the league's best shot-makers, especially in the clutch.

Kenpom has predicted Michigan to win, 69-67, and gives the Wolverines a 56 percent chance to win.

Q: Do you think Michigan is just a bad matchup for Rutgers at this point, or were the two games just isolated circumstances?

RS: It depends how you look at it. Michigan has multiple bigs that can play both inside and out and that showed in game one. At MSG, it was the pick and rolls that gave Rutgers fits, along with Michigan shooting lights out from deep. In game two, the Scarlet Knights started out hot, but faltered late. The Wolverines defense held Rutgers to just 28% from the field in the second half in their eight point win.

Q: What is your sense on how Rutgers feels heading into Indy?

RS: Rutgers fans are pumped, they feel like the Big Ten is wide open and honestly I tend to think they are right. Any team can go on a run and win the Big Ten Tournament this year.

Do they feel they need another win? Absolutely not and nor should they. Beating No. 9 Maryland at home and at Purdue, locked it up for the Scarlet Knights. Looking at the NCAA resume they are 100% in, it’s just a matter of playing for seeding now.

Q: What do you think wins over Maryland and at Purdue last week did for the Scarlet Knights' confidence heading into the postseason?

It helped an insane amount. This past week has Rutgers basketball buzzing again, just in time for the postseason. This past week also showed that Rutgers does indeed have a decent offense, especially when they take their time to make sure they have good shots. It also once again showed that Geo Baker is just about as clutch as anyone else in the entire country.

Q: Can you speak to the job Steve Pikiell has done this season?

RS: Pike is a great coach when it comes to finding under recruited players and developing them. He’s helped turn two unknowns in Geo Baker and Myles Johnson into two pretty good Big Ten contributors.

When it comes to coaching, Pike has always preached about how important rebounding and defense are to a team’s success. Just about everywhere he goes, you’ll notice his team’s buying into those two philosophies in particular. Just taking a quick glance at his past six seasons as head coach at both Stony Brook and Rutgers, his teams ranked in the top 50 for rebounds five different times. Most notably this season, where the team is ranked 20th in the country for rebounds and 19th overall in opposing points per game. These two factors are a big reason for this season’s success.

Q: Finish this sentence - Rutgers wins if ...

RS: They can limit the Michigan offense. I know the Wolverines didn’t play all that well against Maryland early on, but they did end up putting up 42 points in the second half. Luckily for Maryland they matched that 42 with 42 of their own to win the game by 13, Rutgers on the other hand might not be as lucky. So if they want to win this game, they are going to need to play some really good defense and limit the easy buckets for the Wolverines.

Q: Prediction and why?

RS: The is a tough one because Rutgers was lucky enough to not have to face Livers in either of the two games the two teams have met, this time around they won’t be as lucky. Livers has the potential to go off at any time and could create problems for Rutgers.

With that being said, I think it’s incredibly hard to beat any team three times in a single season. Yes I know it’s been done before, but Rutgers coming into this game after two big wins and Michigan coming in off a lost, I think the Scarlet Knights will be ready for this tough test. If I had to put a prediction on the game, I’d say Rutgers wins, but it will come down to the final two possessions.

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