THE ESSENTIALS
| WHAT |
Michigan (6-1) vs. NJIT (5-1) |
|---|---|
| WHERE |
Crisler Center, Ann Arbor, Michigan |
| WHEN | 12:00 pm Eastern, Saturday |
| LINE | Michigan -21 (KenPom) |
| TV | BTN |
Pictured: Technology
THE STAKES
With major preseason matchup with Oregon, Villanova, and Syracuse out of the way, and tilts with Arizona and SMU remaining, this… is a game that is in the middle of those games. It is of little value as a win. It would be of incredible schadenfreude value as a loss, not to mention an albatross around Michigan’s neck come NCAA Tournament seeding time. So that’s your only real motivation here. You just need to work hard enough not to get fired.
THE INJURIES
It sounds like Derrick Walton will return, but how much he will play is unclear, especially if the game is not competitive for the full 40 minutes. DJ Wilson remains out.
THE LINEUP CARD
Projected starters are in bold. %Min and %Poss figure are from this season now—yes, there will be a fair amount of noise in these numbers for a while. The "Should I Be Mad If He Hits A Three" methodology: we're mad if a guy who's not good at shooting somehow hits one. Yes, you're still allowed to be unhappy if a proven shooter is left open.
| Pos. | # | Name | Yr. | Ht./Wt. | %Min | %Poss | SIBMIHHAT | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | 5 | Damon Lynn | So. | 5’11, 165 | 95 | 29 | No | ||||||||||||
| Also known as “NJIT’s Offense” Volume shooter, mostly from deep. 48.3 eFG% | |||||||||||||||||||
| G | 11 | Winfield WIllis | Jr. | 6'0, 180 | 68 | 18 | Kinda | ||||||||||||
| I have no valueable insight into Mr. Willis’s game | |||||||||||||||||||
| F | 0 | Ky Howard | Jr. | 6'4, 185 | 83 | 20 | Kinda | ||||||||||||
| Splits between the three and four. three and the four. High 2pt%, good at drawing fouls. Lots of steals | |||||||||||||||||||
| F | 5 | Tim Coleman | So. | 6'5, 210 | 53 | 20 | No | ||||||||||||
| Good 3pt shooter, but unrelated to Tevin, so relax | |||||||||||||||||||
| C | 10 | Daquan Holiday | Sr. | 6'8, 205 | 45 | 18 | Very | ||||||||||||
| High block% and OR%. Coming off a battle with Christmas, this feels like a theme | |||||||||||||||||||
| G/F | 23 | Osa Izevbuwa | Jr. | 6'3, 230 | 26 | 21 | Maybe | ||||||||||||
| A guy. He plays basketball | |||||||||||||||||||
| C | 10 | Odera Nweke | Sr. | 6'5,230 | 53 | 17 | Very | ||||||||||||
| Splits minutes at the five, is 6’5. Good on the offensive boards. | |||||||||||||||||||
| F | 25 | Rob Ukawuba | So. | 6'3,210 | 42 | 17 | Probably | ||||||||||||
| Another guy splitting between the three and four | |||||||||||||||||||
THE THEM
The New Jersey Institute of Technology is the only Division I team that is not affiliated with a conference. They are best known for inventing the idea of “technology” in the late 1980’s. Just trust me.
Despite being 2-5 on the year, they are actually not as terrible as one might think when they see “New Jersey Institute of Technology.” They beat Duquesne (#156 to KenPom), Lost to Marquette (#102) by five. At the same time, their only other win was over Maine (#337) by four, and they lost to UMass Lowell.
THE TEMPO-FREE
No graphics today. Golden Retrievers aren’t as good at technology as, say, the New Jersey Institute of Technology.
THE KEYS
Take advantage of size. As you may have noticed, NJIT is very widdle. Their effective height is 346th in the country, and that runs across all five positions. Half of their center minutes go to a guy who is 6’5”. You may see some significant MAX time for the last time in a while.
Get out in transition. NJIT turns the ball over on nearly a quarter of their possessions. Michigan should be able to turn those into a lot of easy buckets.
Don’t miss everything. It’s hard to see this one being competitive, but if it does end up anywhere close to being close it will be because MIchigan just can’t make any of their many open looks.
THE SECTION WHERE I PREDICT THE SAME THING KENPOM DOES
Michigan by 21.
I tend to trust KenPom here. And everywhere. But especially here.