Previewing Michigan's Huge Showdown Against Duke

The 25-1 Michigan Wolverines will play in a huge showdown against the 24-2 Duke Blue Devils. It will pit the 1st ranked Wolverines against the 3rd ranked Blue Devils in what will be Michigan's biggest non-conference game in many years. Normally huge non-conference games like this aren't played this late in the season but this one will be an obvious exception. Michigan is coming off a huge conference win over Purdue at Mackey Arena this past Tuesday and Duke will be coming off a blowout win over ACC foe Syracuse.

This game will pit two of the top teams in the country against one another, with a projected 1st overall seed in the NCAA Tournament on the line between these two teams. Right now, both teams are projected as #1 seeds but who ends up being the #1 overall seed might be decided by the winner of this game barring something crazy from each team down the stretch of their conference seasons. It could also very well serve as a Final Four preview between two of the top teams projected to make it that far. While this game won't count in the Big Ten conference race, there's plenty to play for here for both teams. Let's dive more into this matchup below.

Duke Blue Devils

On offense, duke is 37th nationally in points scored per game, 14th nationally in shooting percentage per game, 125th nationally in 3-point shooting percentage per game, 70th nationally in offensive rebounds per game, 34th nationally in assists per game, and 94th nationally in turnovers per game. It's a very good offense for Duke but not quite an elite offense, at least statistically. the obvious big deficiencies for Duke are the 3-point shooting percentage, offensive rebounding, and turnovers. If Michigan can limit their shooting percentage on defense, I like their chances of keeping Duke's offense in check.

On defense is where Duke really shines, they are 3rd nationally in points allowed per game, 6th nationally in opponent shooting percentage per game, 40th nationally in opponent 3-point shooting percentage per game, 10th in defensive rebounding, 84th in turnovers forced per game and 156th in blocks per game. Duke is an elite defensive team, with the biggest weaknesses that Michigan might be able to exploit being the lack of a true rim protector. If Michigan can get their big guys going in the deep post, that should help to spread out the rest of Duke's defense and allow them to score more easily on this team.

Individually, they're led by All-American candidate Cameron Boozer in scoring at 22.8 points per game, followed by Isaiah Evans at 14.7, and Patrick Ngongba II at 10.6. As far as individual scoring goes for Duke, it's mainly Boozer and everybody else. They only have three players averaging over 10 points per game so slowing down Cameron Boozer (far easier said than done) will go a long ways in limiting Duke's scoring in this game.

Michigan Wolverines

On offense, Michigan is 2nd nationally in points per game, 4th nationally in shooting percentage per game, 65th nationally in 3-point shooting percentage per game, 89th nationally in offensive rebounds per game, 2nd nationally in assists per game, and 240th nationally in turnovers per game. Obviously taking care of the basketball on offense is Michigan's biggest weakness, and it'll be especially important against this elite defensive team in Duke.

On defense, Michigan is 45th nationally in opponent scoring per game, 1st nationally in opponent shooting percentage allowed per game, 7th nationally in opponent 3-point shooting percentage allowed per game, 4th nationally in defensive rebounds per game, 142nd nationally in opponent turnovers forced per game, and 3rd nationally in blocks per game. Like Duke, this is an elite defense from Michigan that should at the very least keep them right in this game against the 3rd ranked Duke Blue Devils.

Individually, Michigan is led in scoring by Yaxel Lendeborg at 14.4 points per game, followed by Morez Johnson Jr. at 13.5, Aday Mara at 11.2, Elliot Cadeau at 10.1, and Trey McKenney at 10.0. It's a very well balanced offense for Michigan, and that's a big part of what's made them so tough to stop. On any given night, one of about 6-7 different Wolverines could lead them in scoring.

Overall, this should be a great college basketball team between two of the top 3 ranked teams in the country. After looking at the stats, I actually like Michigan's chances of winning this game better than I would've thought going into it. Michigan and Duke both have elite defenses but Michigan's offense, at least on paper, is better than Duke's. I think they'll be able to get their post guys going down low and it'll force duke to try to keep pace and I don't think they'll be able to do it. I like Michigan's chances of being able to go get another huge win, this time in the non-conference as they look to finish the regular season strong.

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