Quick scout: UNC vs. Michigan. Here’s everything you need to know about the Wolverines
For the first time all season, a player other than freshman guard Cole Anthony led North Carolina in scoring.
Garrison Brooks matched a career-high 20 points on Wednesday against Alabama in the first game of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament. Anthony had 13 points, and freshman Armando Bacot had 12 points and a season-high 15 rebounds.
Senior guard Brandon Robinson, who made his season debut after missing the first four games with an ankle sprain, scored a career-high 12 points.
In all, four players scored in double figures for the Tar Heels. That’s a good sign for the sixth-ranked Tar Heels, who had struggled in their first four games to find scoring outside of Anthony.
UNC (5-0) will next play Michigan Thursday afternoon.
Here is a quick scout of Michigan:
Michigan’s KenPom rankings: 25
UNC head-to-head with Michigan: 4-3
Michigan’s record: 5-0
Last game: W 83-76 vs. Iowa St. on Nov. 27
Head coach: Juwan Howard
Weaknesses
▪ The Wolverines are not a particularly deep team. They have an eight-man rotation, and three players average 31 minutes or more.
▪ The Wolverines have also been among the country’s worst teams at forcing turnovers. Michigan forces turnovers on 16.1 percent of its opponents’ possessions. The Tar Heels are even worse, though. They force turnovers on 13.6 percent of their opponents’ possessions.
Strengths
▪ Michigan has shot the ball well this year. The Wolverines are second in the country with a 61.3 percent effective field goal percentage. They are shooting 61.7 percent on two-point field goals and 40.5 percent from behind the 3-point line.
▪ Experience. The Wolverines start two seniors, two juniors and a freshman. The elder players have been tested and they won’t be afraid of the moment.
Player to watch
Zavier Simpson.
Isaiah Livers may lead Michigan in scoring, but Simpson makes Michigan go.
The 6-foot, 190-pound senior guard averages 13.2 points per game and 9.8 assists, which is No. 1 in the country. He is also shooting better than 55 percent from the floor this season.
Prediction
This should be UNC’s toughest game of the season so far, and I think it’ll come down to the final few minutes.
Michigan takes smart shots. The Wolverines can shoot the 3. They do have a tendency to commit turnovers, but not at an alarming rate.
With Simpson and Livers (17.2 ppg), their backcourt may be among the best in the Big Ten.
Having Robinson back certainly helped the Tar Heels against Alabama. His 3-point shooting was something UNC had missed this season. He was 3 of 6 on Wednesday and would be a benefit against Michigan.
Armando Bacot has come on strong recently. His rebounding has been crucial to UNC’s success. He recorded his third double-double of the season. And Garrison Brooks looked more confident than I’ve ever seen him on Thursday.
I’m hesitant to pick Michigan because this is Juwan Howard’s first year.
But Michigan has experience. And sometimes experience can help in a big game like this.
Because of this, I think Michigan wins this one. Barely.
Michigan 75 UNC 74
UNC vs. Michigan
Where: Paradise Island, Bahamas
When: Nov. 28, 1:30 p.m.
TV: ESPN
Listen: WTKK-106.1 Raleigh; WCHL-97.9, WCHL-1360 Chapel Hill; WBT-99.3, WBT-1110 Charlotte
This story was originally published November 27, 2019 at 5:56 PM.
