Okay time for me to give an analysis of this game, and try to figure out how much of a chance we have...
Simpson will likely guard Trent. Simpson is a terrific defender, and Trent is struggling. Not a good sign for us. However; we shouldn’t be worried about Simpson scoring much himself, but he likely will end the game with 7-10 assists with many just from backcuts that lead to scores. If Trent is making his three’s, this is a solid matchup for us.
Ayo is likely to guard Poole. Both guys know how to get a bucket, but Poole has been great lately, really need Ayo to play defense like he did against NW.
AJ is going to likely get worked by Matthews. Not a good matchup for us, the kid is a great player and defender. Going to have to rotate AJ/Damonte/Kipper/Jones on Matthews/Poole tonight and hope for the best.
LOVE Georgi/Teske matchup. Think extending him out to the three point line will allow Georgi to drive by him as much as he wants, and hopefully get him in foul trouble. Michigan doesn’t have a deep frontcourt, Georgi will need to stay out of foul trouble, however; am imagining Georgi picking up soft fouls on helping protect the basket when their guards penetrate. Need AD to step up too!
Overall, don’t see us pulling this out unless both Ayo and Trent are hitting shots, and Georgi gets 10-12 touches downlow/in position to score. If Kipper plays the way he did in the second half of NW game, Adonis keeps progressing, and we get something positive on the stat sheet from AJ/Damonte/Jones/Feliz we might hang around. Also, anyone know if Livers is suiting up tonight?