Welcome to Part 3 of our 3 part Michigan Wolverines Basketball season preview. Part 1 was a breakdown of the roster, including the projected starters. Part 2 was an overview on the state of Michigan Hoops as they get ready for the new season. In this final segment Joe and I have gone over the schedule and predicted the outcome of each game. Heading into this I assumed I would end up having Michigan with at least a +3 win differential because I tend to be overly optimistic and Joe is more of a realist. However we only had a 1 win differential as I projected Michigan to go 18-15 (7-11) and Joe projected them at 17-16 (7-11). These totals do include our projections for the Big Ten Tournament. Below you will find a game-by-game breakdown on how we picked them with a quick note on each match up.
| Date | Game | Joe's Pick | Rob's Pick | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov. 13 | USC Upstate | Michigan | Michigan | I've never even heard of USC Upstate and can't imagine they will waltz into Crisler and knock off Michigan this season or any season. -Rob |
| Nov. 18 | Bowling Green | Michigan | Michigan | Michigan smoked them on the gridiron and I expect nothing less on the hardwood. The 2nd game in a nice, soft start to the schedule. -Joe |
| Nov. 21 | Gardner Webb | Michigan | Michigan | The Runnin' Bulldogs are out of the Big South conference and finished last season 8-21. They are breaking in a new coach and Michigan should be 3-0 heading out to Atlantic City. -Rob |
| Nov. 26 | Syracuse | Syracuse | Syracuse | A classic matchup of 2 of the best coaches in the business and 2 former Big East rivals. At this point, Jim Boeheim is dominating this rivalry in terms of talent on the court and the results will indicate just that. Michigan gets trounced in this one. -Joe |
| Nov. 27 | Georgia Tech or UTEP | GT or UTEP | GT or UTEP | It would be ironic if Tim Hardaway, Jr. could play his Dad’s alma mater (UTEP) in just his 5th collegiate game. Either way, I think Michigan plays the opponent tough but ends up learning valuable lessons in a disappointing loss. -Joe |
| Nov. 20 | at Clemson | Clemson | Michigan | Beilein owned Oliver Purnell who left Clemson in the offseason. The Tigers are picked to finish 7th in the ACC under new Coach Brad Brownell (Wright State). I just have a hunch Michigan gets a rare Big Ten/ACC Challenge win here. -Rob |
| Dec. 4 | Harvard | Michigan | Michigan | Beilein lost to Amaker at Harvard in his first season at Michigan. This U-M team has no remnants of Amaker and they won't lose to him again. -Rob |
| Dec. 6 | Concordia | Michigan | Michigan | They are an NAIA team that is located 5 miles from U-M. The Wolverines should pummel these guys. -Rob |
| Dec. 10 | Utah | Michigan | Michigan | Utah plays a fundamental brand of basketball but has lost some of their size from 2009-10. Novak missed this game at Utah last year. I think Michigan sticks it to Utah this time around. -Joe |
| Dec. 14 | NC Central | Michigan | Michigan | The Eagles are an independent team that was 7-22 last year against a weak schedule. This marks the first of 3 straight games Michigan should win prior to the start of the Big 10 schedule. -Joe |
| Dec. 18 | Oakland | Michigan | Michigan | Senior big man Keith Benson leads the Golden Grizzlies into this one and will give Michigan fits. Will Hudson and Blake Cushingberry will also make this a tough win for Michigan but the Wolverines will use lessons learned in Atlantic City to their advantage and pull it out late. -Joe |
| Dec. 23 | Bryant | Michigan | Michigan | The Bulldogs were 1-29 last year! So, unless Kobe Bryant found an eligibility loophole and is playing in this one, it should be a cake walk for Michigan and a great tune-up for the brutal Big 10 schedule that is on deck. -Joe |
| Dec. 28 | Purdue | Purdue | Purdue | The loss of Robbie Hummel is devastating to the talented Boilermakers team. With or without Hummel however, Michigan can’t hang with these guys. Purdue wins big. -Joe |
| Jan. 2 | Penn State | Michigan | Michigan | I have both teams holding serve on their home courts in the matchups this year. PSU is decent at home and bad on the road. Consider this Michigan’s first Big 10 win of the year. -Joe |
| Jan. 5 | at Wisconsin | Wisconsin | Wisconsin | Wisconsin just grinds teams down and at home they are very hard to beat. Michigan’s last win at the Kohl Center was in 1999 and they won’t break that streak this year. -Rob |
| Jan. 9 | Kansas | Kansas | Kansas | Um, yeah, we’re not quite there yet. Cool game though. Should be a sellout and hopefully the Crisler faithful makes it tough on the Jayhawks. -Joe |
| Jan. 12 | Ohio State | Ohio State | Michigan | I think the Buckeyes are just a better team at this point and that a win by Michigan would be a really strong one, but I don’t expect to see it. -Joe |
| Jan. 15 | at Indiana | Michigan | Indiana | The Wolverines have barely survived their last two trips to Bloomington. Indiana will be much improved this year and I expect they will hold serve on their home court. -Rob |
| Jan. 18 | at Northwestern | Northwestern | Northwestern | This could finally be the NU team that makes it to the tourney. With Shurna, Crawford, and Thompson they will be a tough team not just for Michigan, but for everybody they play. Michigan loses this one. -Rob |
| Jan. 22 | Minnesota | Michigan | Michigan | Beilein is 5-2 in his career against Minnesota and Michigan has won 4 straight in the series. They will run that streak to 5 in a home win. -Rob |
| Jan. 27 | at Michigan State | Michigan State | Michigan State | The losses to MSU continue to pile up as the Spartans are one of the nation's best teams and Michigan is one of the nation's youngest. With this one at Breslin, it could get ugly. -Rob |
| Jan. 30 | Iowa | Michigan | Michigan | Iowa is going to be bad. They continue to lose quality players and are breaking in another new coach. Michigan rolls. -Rob |
| Feb. 3 | at Ohio State | Ohio State | Ohio State | Ohio State is loaded again and they will be a tough match up for Michigan. Michigan’s 6 freshmen eligible players might be hitting the Big Ten wall at this point in the schedule and the Buckeyes will defend their home court. -Rob |
| Feb. 6 | at Penn State | Penn State | Michigan | Talor Battle can fill it up, but the rest of the PSU roster is pretty thin. At this point in the season I expect the young Wolverines will start gelling a bit and their execution will trump Battle's exploits. -Rob |
| Feb. 9 | Northwestern | Northwestern | Northwestern | Michigan just doesn’t have the moxy or the firepower to beat these guys. I am excited to see what transpires in Evanston this year, except for when they beat Michigan twice. -Joe |
| Feb. 12 | Indiana | Michigan | Michigan | As I stated earlier, Indiana will be much improved, but I don't think they come in to Crisler and finish off a season sweep. Michigan wins a tight one. -Rob |
| Feb. 16 | at Illinois | Illinois | Illinois | The Illini are loaded with talented returning players and this should be a really good season for them. Michigan only plays them once this year and it is at Champaign. Illinois rolls. -Rob |
| Feb. 19 | at Iowa | Michigan | Michigan | Thank goodness Iowa is still in the Big 10. It’s actually a road game that you can earmark as a win. A young Michigan team must take advantage of these opportunities. -Joe |
| Feb. 23 | Wisconsin | Wisconsin | Wisconsin | Maybe in a couple of years, but right now. Michigan will be on the student side of a precise lesson on how to play winning basketball. Hopefully they are paying attention. -Joe |
| Feb. 26 | at Minnesota | Michigan | Minnesota | It always feels like a weird day when Michigan plays at The Barn. Seems like the weather at home is always funky, the arena looks so dark, the raised floor, etc. Regardless, Michigan beats them for the 3rd time in a row in their own gym. -Joe |
| March 5 | Michigan State | Michigan State | Michigan State | A win here would sure be a nice way to end the season. The prospects of getting that against a State team that always plays their best basketball down the stretch is almost non-existent. -Joe |
| March 10-13 | Big Ten Tournament | 1-1 | 1-1 | John Beilein coached teams usually starting firing on all cylinders as post-season play begins. This young team should be starting to get it and I expect they will win their opening round match up before falling in the second round. If things unfold as Joe and I think they will, Michigan will be NIT bound. -Rob |
Let us know what you think by voting in the poll.
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