Previewing Michigan basketball's next game against Washington

On Wednesday, the 14-1 Michigan Wolverines will travel to the west coast to take on the 10-6 Washington Huskies on the road. The Wolverines will be coming off their first loss of the season to take on the talented but inconsistent Huskies team. At 10-6, the Huskies have some work to do if they want to contend in the Big Ten this year, and even to put themselves in position to make the NCAA Tournament this season. They'll be highly motivated to take on this Michigan team who would be a big boost to their resume if they can pull off the upset.

Michigan has shown that it's mortal in recent games after rolling through their non-conference slate with the close to at PSU and then the loss at home to Wisconsin. The Wolverines, like the Huskies, should be highly motivated to go out and win this game on the road and hopefully can get back to being that dominant team they were for a portion of this early basketball season. Let's dive into more on this matchup below.

Washington Huskies

So far this year, Washington is 8th in the Big Ten in points per game at 81.7. On defense, they're 12th in the Big Ten, allowing an average of 73.1 points per game. They rank 14th in shooting in the Big Ten as well, so they're not a particularly potent offensive team. They do rebound the ball well on both offense and defense, as they rank 6th in the Big Ten in offensive rebounds, and 9th in defense rebounds. That will be something Michigan needs to be aware of if they hope to come out with a win against this team.

Individually, they are led by Hannes Steinbach who scores 18.4 points per game and also averages 11 rebounds per game. He's a very talented 6' 11" power forward from Germany. He's by far Washington's best player, and he's one of the best power forwards in all of college basketball. It'll be a very interesting matchup between him and Michigan's lengthy front court. The Huskies have three other players who average double figures in Zoom Diallo at 15.1, Wesley Yates III at 14.9, and Desmond Claude at 14.5. They're fairly balanced in scoring but they do lean heavily on Steinbach to get them going.

Michigan Wolverines

Michigan on the other hand ranks first in the Big Ten in scoring at 94.6 points per game, and only allow 68.5 points per game, which is 8th in the Big Ten. They are also still first in shooting in the Big Ten at 52.3%, and are also first in opponent shooting percentage allowed at 35.5%. They rebound the ball well defensively, as they rank first in the Big Ten in that area, but are only 9th in offensive rebounding. Michigan so far this year has been a dominant team statistically even still after the loss, as a lot of the college basketball power ratings also have them at 1st in the entire country.

Individually, Michigan is still led by Yaxel Lendeborg at 14.7 points per game, while Morez Johnson Jr. is at 14.2, Trey McKenney is at 10.6, Elliot Cadeau at 10.2, Roddy Gayle Jr. at 10.1, and Aday Mara at 10.1. They're a very balanced team offensively, with 6 different Wolverines averaging double figures. On almost any given night, anybody can lead this team in scoring, and that makes them very hard to defend.

Michigan will look to bounce back from the Wisconsin loss, and they better come out with more effort and energy to get a win with this game being on the road. The most interesting aspect of this game for me will be how Hannes Steinbach performs against Michigan's extremely tall and talented fount court. That matchup down low will likely determine who wins this game. If Steinbach can get what he wants inside, Michigan might be in trouble here. If Michigan is able to corral him then they should have no problem coming out with a win in this one. Like we saw against Wisconsin though, you can never take any opponent for granted in the Big Ten.

— Sign up for the Michigan Daily Digest newsletter for more free coverage fromMichigan Wolverines on SI —

Michigan basketball drops in latest AP Poll

Takeaways from Michigan's stunning home loss to Wisconsin