Welcome to Part 3 of our 3 part Michigan Basketball season preview. In Part 1, Joe gave a general overview on the upcoming season. In Part 2 I took an in depth look at Michigan’s roster and Part 3 is our game-by-game predictions for the 2012-13 season.
Michigan enters the 2012-13 season ranked #5 in both preseason polls and they have an exciting schedule to navigate. The fun begins with the 2012 NIT Season Tip-Off in which the Wolverines are the #1 seed. A mere 4 days after returning from New York, Michigan will host NC State, the Wolfpack are ranked #6 in both preseason polls.
The Wolverines will also play in Brooklyn against West Virginia and host Arkansas. The 4 Big Ten teams that Michigan will only play once are Iowa and Nebraska at home, Minnesota and Wisconsin on the road.
Every year Joe and I break down Michigan’s schedule and give you our game-by-game predictions.
Here is Michigan’s actual record from the past few seasons with our preseason predictions below. It should be noted that our predictions do not include the NCAA Tournament. We forecast Michigan’s record through the Big Ten Tournament.
2011-12
Michigan’s record as they headed into the NCAA Tournament: 24-9 (13-5)
Rob: 29-5 (15-3)
Joe: 26-8 (14-4)
Here is the link to the game-by-game breakdown for those predictions: 2011-12
2010-11
Michigan’s record as they headed into the NCAA Tournamentl: 20-13 (9-10)
Rob: 18-15 (7-11)
Joe: 17-16 (7-11)
Here is the link to the game-by-game breakdown for those predictions: 2010-11
This is what Joe and I are predicting for the Wolverines this year
Rob: 28-6 (13-5)
Joe: 25-8 (11-7)
Here is the game-by-game breakdown:
| Opponent | Joe’s Pick | Rob’s Pick | Notes |
| Slippery Rock | Win | Win | Michigan opens the season against Slippery Rock, who is famous for their connection to the football team. Michigan romps - Rob White |
| IUPUI | Win | Win | The Jaguars went 14-18 last year and play an up-tempo style. This should be a fun NIT tourney opener for Michigan as Hardaway, Robinson, and Morgan throw down some highlight reel jams. - Joe White |
| Cleveland State or Bowling Green |
Win | Win | Game 2 for Michigan in the preseason NIT is against the winner of Cleveland State and Bowling Green. The opponent won’t matter as Michigan will roll past either team. - Rob White |
| NIT Final Rounds | 2 Wins | 2 Wins | The Wolverines are the #1 seed in the preseason NIT. Barring an upset it will be Michigan vs Pittsburgh in one semi-final with Kansas State and Virginia in the other. I like U-M’s chances to win this tournament. - Rob White |
| NC State | Win | Win | Michigan and NC State will be one of the marquee match ups in this year’s Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The Wolfpack is loaded with talent, but Michigan takes advantage of the home court advantage. They were 15-1 at Crisler last year. – Rob White |
| at Bradley | Win | Win | The Braves were just 7-25 last year and a rugged 2-16 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Look for Michigan to bury them. - Joe White |
| Western Michigan | Win | Win | WMU struggled a season ago with a 6-10 record in the MAC (14-20 overall). They should pose no threat to Michigan. - Joe White |
| Arkansas | Win | Win | Michigan got ambushed early at Arkansas last year, fought back and lost when Trey Burke’s buzzer beater rimmed out. Mike Anderson’s teams play a frenetic style, but Michigan will handle them this year. – Rob White |
| Binghamton | Win | Win | Michigan schduled a cupcake game after Arkansas. Binghamton didn’t win a game until February 21st last year. They were 2-29. Ouch. – Joe White |
| West Virginia | Win | Win | This game will be played in Brooklyn at the newly minted Barclays Center. Look for Beilein to get the win against his old employer. – Joe White |
| Eastern Michigan | Win | Win | I’ll never understand the decision to change from Hurons to Eagles. Regardless of what EMU is calling themselves, Michigan will steamroll their neighbors from Ypsilanti. - Rob White |
| Central Michigan | Win | Win | Michigan rounds out their Michigan-based MAC school invites against a bad Central team that lost their best player, Trey Zeigler, to transfer. This will serve as a nice final tune-up to Big 10 play. - Joe White |
| at Northwestern | Win | Win | The Wolverines open Big Ten play on the court that has more purple than any other venue in America. The Wildcats are a tough match up and Drew Crawford always plays well against U-M. I think the Wolverines will hold them off in a tight one. - Rob White |
| Iowa | Win | Win | The Hawkeyes are on the brink of becoming a threat in the conference. They’ll be tough to beat this year, but I don’t think they can get this one at Crisler. Michigan has too much firepower. - Rob White |
| Nebraska | Win | Win | The Huskers have a long way to go before they will be competitive in Big Ten Basketball. This will be the only game between the two teams. The Wolverines should cruise to an easy win. - Rob White |
| at Ohio State | Loss | Loss | Rob and I both have Michigan at 16-0 entering this game. The hype meter for this matchup will be on tilt. Much like Michigan does, the Buckeyes dominate on their home floor. – Joe White |
| at Minnesota | Loss | Win | This is one of the few games that Rob and I differ on. Minnesota seems to cause Michigan trouble in their own building and I think Michigan struggles to get back up after the OSU loss. - Joe White |
| Purdue | Win | Win | Purdue spoiled Michigan’s perfect home record last year in the final home game of the season. The Wolverines will handle them at Crisler this year. . - Rob White |
| at Illinois | Win | Win | John Groce is the new coach at Illinois. Last year he ended Michigan’s season as his Ohio Bobcats knocked the Wolverines out of the NCAA Tournament. He has talent to work with here, but I think the Wolverines get the win.- Rob White |
| Northwestern | Win | Win | The ‘Cats struggle on the road in Big 10 play. Last year they went just 3-6 with wins over Illinois, PSU, and Iowa. - Joe White |
| at Indiana | Loss | Loss | In the last 25 years, Michigan has won twice at Indiana (2009, 1995). The Hoosiers are the preseason #1 team and they just don’t lose at home. - Rob White |
| Ohio State | Win | Win | This game comes during a brutal stretch on the schedule, sandwiched between road games at Indiana and at Wisconsin. Trey Burke and Aaron Craft will engage in an epic battle that U-M should prevail in on their home court. - Rob White |
| at Wisconsin | Loss | Loss | Michigan hasn’t won at Wisconsin since 1999. The Badgers will grind one out against the Wolverines. – Rob White |
| at Michigan State | Loss | Loss | Michigan has split the last 2 in East Lansing. Tom Izzo will have his team and his building in overdrive as they get a nail-biting win. - Joe White |
| Penn State | Win | Win | Coming off back-to-back road games at Wisconsin and Michigan State, the Wolverines will be glad to return home. - Rob White |
| Illinois | Win | Win | The Wolverines will sweep the Illini this year. Getting wins against middle-tier teams at home has become the expectation. - Joe White |
| at Penn State | Win | Win | Penn State will win some game this year that they aren’t supposed to. This won’t be one of them.. - Rob White |
| Michigan State | Win | Win | An unfortunate scheduling quirk here. The Michigan students will be on spring break and that takes a little madness out of the Crisler Center crowd for this rivalry game. - Rob White |
| at Purdue | Loss | Loss | Matt Painter should have his team in good shape at this point in the season as they pull of an upset win to boost their tournament resume. - Joe White |
| Indiana | Loss | Win | John Beilein usually has Michigan rolling as they head into the postseason. A big win over Indiana will give them some momentum heading into the Big Ten Tournament. -Rob White |
| Big Ten Tourney | 1 Win | 2 Wins | It’s hard to project what will happen in this tourney. Joe and I both think Michigan is capable of winning it, but we’re not sure they actually will. Either way, they’ll be heading into the NCAA Tournament as a high seed and capable of making a deep run. -Rob White |
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