Michigan Basketball Offers 2021 Four-Star Combo Guard Jalen Warley

The COVID-19 pandemic might have brought the sports world to a halt, but things are still active on the recruiting trail. Juwan Howard is still making moves and decided to put out a new offer in the 2021 cycle to guard Jalen Warley.

Michigan’s Juwan Howard just offered five-star junior Jalen Warley, he told @Stockrisers. National priority.

— Jake (@jakeweingarten) April 25, 2020

Bradley comes out of Norristown, Pennsylvania and is currently rated as a four-star prospect by 247Sports. He is listed at 6-foot-4 and 175 pounds by the recruiting site and is one of the most highly sought after prospects in the country. Along with Michigan, Warley has offers from Creighton, Louisville, Marquette, and Oregon among others. He currently has no crystal ball predictions on 247Sports.

Michigan Basketball Offers 2022 Five-Star Point Guard Jaden Bradley

The COVID-19 pandemic might have brought the sports world to a halt, but things are still active on the recruiting trail. Juwan Howard is still making moves and decided to put out a new offer in the 2022 cycle to guard Jaden Bradley.

After a great meeting with @JuwanHoward and the rest of the staff, I’m thankful to announce I’ve received an offer from the University of Michigan #GoBlue〽️ pic.twitter.com/nirJpnNvvN

— Harrison Ingram (@Harrisoniingram) May 9, 2020

Bradley comes out of Concord, North Carolina and is currently rated as a five-star prospect by 247Sports. He is listed at 6-foot-2 and 160 pounds by the recruiting site and is one of the most highly sought after prospects in the country. Along with Michigan, Bradley has offers from Alabama, Auburn, and North Carolina among others. He currently has no crystal ball predictions on 247Sports.

Michigan Basketball Offers 2022 Four-Star Center Dylan Anderson

The COVID-19 pandemic might have brought the sports world to a halt, but things are still active on the recruiting trail. Juwan Howard is still making moves and decided to put out a new offer in the 2022 cycle to big man Dylan Anderson.

2022 ESPN #22, #2 C

7’0 Dylan Anderson (@bucketsallday45) has received an Offer from Head Coach Juwan Howard and the University of Michigan #GoBlue#ReignSUPREME pic.twitter.com/yJPTNiAFcS

— Arizona Supreme (@NikeAzSupreme) May 13, 2020

Anderson comes out of Chandler, Arizona and is currently rated as a four-star prospect by 247Sports. He is listed at 6-foot-10 and 220 pounds by the recruiting site and is one of the most highly sought after prospects in the country. Along with Michigan, Anderson has offers from Arizona, Arizona State, California, and Gonzaga among others. He currently has no crystal ball predictions on 247Sports.

Michigan Basketball Offers 2021 Five-Star Small Forward Harrison Ingram

The COVID-19 pandemic might have brought the sports world to a halt, but things are still active on the recruiting trail. Juwan Howard is still making moves and decided to put out a new offer in the 2021 cycle to forward Harrison Ingram.

After a great meeting with @JuwanHoward and the rest of the staff, I’m thankful to announce I’ve received an offer from the University of Michigan #GoBlue〽️ pic.twitter.com/nirJpnNvvN

— Harrison Ingram (@Harrisoniingram) May 9, 2020

Ingram comes out of Dallas, Texas and is currently rated as a five-star prospect by 247Sports. He is listed at 6-foot-6 and 210 pounds by the recruiting site and is one of the most highly sought after prospects in the country. Along with Michigan, Ingram has offers from Arkansas, Louisville, Memphis, Stanford, and Texas Tech among others. He currently has two crystal ball predictions for Stanford on 247Sports.

Michigan Basketball Offers 2021 Five-Star Center Charles Bediako

The COVID-19 pandemic might have brought the sports world to a halt, but things are still active on the recruiting trail. Juwan Howard is still making moves and decided to put out a new offer in the 2021 cycle to center Charles Bediako.

Blessed to receive an offer from the University of Michigan Ann Arbor! pic.twitter.com/dsUGhpaPyp

— Charles A. Bediako (@CBediako) May 1, 2020

Bediako comes out of St. Catharines, Ontario and is currently rated as a five-star prospect by 247Sports. He is listed at 6-foot-11 and 215 pounds and is regarded as one of the top recruits in the nation for the 2021 cycle. Along with Michigan, Bediako has offers from Alabama, Illinois, Maryland, and Ohio State among others. Alabama has 67 percent of the current crystal ball entries on 247Sports.

Michigan Basketball Offers 2021 Shooting Guard Isaiah Barnes

The COVID-19 pandemic might have brought the sports world to a halt, but things are still active on the recruiting trail. Juwan Howard is still making moves and decided to put out a new offer in the 2021 cycle to guard Isaiah Barnes.

Blessed to receive an offer from The University of Michigan! 🔵🟡 #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/b5iFs4pFuO

— IB (@Isaiahbarnes_) April 26, 2020

Barnes comes out of Oak Park, Illinois and is currently unranked by 247Sports. He is listed at 6-foot-6 and could be a player set to trend up on the recruiting trail in the coming months. After all, his offer profile is quite impressive. Along with Michigan, Barnes has offers from Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, and TCU among others. There are currently no crystal ball entries on 247Sports regarding his recruitment.

Michigan's Long Trip To Columbus

Although all Michigan fans were probably living pretty high after defeating Michigan State for the third consecutive game, they've probably been shocked by some of Michigan's recent struggles.  Entering what could very well be the toughest game Michigan plays all season in Columbus against #4 Ohio State, Michigan is 2-2 in their last four games and have only won one game on the road this year.  Michigan may not be the hottest team in the country, but a big win over Purdue will go a long way toward helping them beat Ohio State.

Michigan may have lost all but one of its true road games, but that does not mean Michigan will not win the next one.  The team has struggled on the road, but a lot of that has changed with the win over Purdue.  So, let's throw the road record out the window for this game.  In fact, in most of the team's road games, Michigan has been forced to make up early game deficits that ultimately cost them the game.  For instance, in Michigan's game against Arkansas, the Wolverines started down by 20 points early in the game.

Now, in any situation this is bad, but when a team is on the road down by 20 points this almost always means a loss.  If Michigan can prevent these types of early game deficits I see no reason for Michigan to have just one win on the road this year.  Ohio State may be a great opponent, but it's not as if they're invincible.  They will likely enter the game against Michigan with a perfect home record, but they've lost three games already this year, including games against Indiana and Illinois, which are no better than Michigan, in my opinion.

So let's break this down.

Offense
Now, Michigan has fared pretty well this season in this category  by putting up 68.6 points per game, but Ohio State is one of the best in the nation, putting up 78.0 ppg.  Obviously, this is a pretty significant difference.  Michigan is currently making 46.1% of this shots, which isn't bad, but Ohio State is at 49.4%.   This likely has a lot to do with Jared Sullinger, their All-American forward.  Sullinger plays primarily interior basketball and is able to get a lot of easy looks, which are pretty high percentage shots.  In fact, in every game this season that he has played more than a few minutes (due to injury) he has had at least 14 points.

This is important because it virtually guarantees Sullinger is going to get some points against Michigan, barring some crazy situation.  Along with Sullinger, Ohio State's other primary offensive players are Buford and Thomas.  Craft is a great guy at spreading the ball around, but Sullinger, Buford, and Thomas are the guys putting up the majority of Ohio State's points.  They all have great shooting percentages and if they're left open Michigan could be in big trouble.

So, does Michigan have anything better on offense than Ohio State?  Yes, of course.  Michigan is a better 3 point shooting team.  They make 34.2% of their shots, while Ohio State only makes 33.9%.  Now, that's not a lot of difference, but Michigan has also been in a shooting slump as of late, so those stats are down a little bit from where they probably belong.  The Wolverines also have better depth than Ohio State.  Ohio State gets some decent minutes out of their backups, but when they're in the game they do very little.  For instance, Jordan Sibert averages 13.3 minutes per game, but just 3.4 ppg, 1.6 rebounds, and virtually no assists.

Michigan's depth and three point shooting could help them have a shot at upsetting the Buckeyes, but there's no way you can pick against the Buckeye's high-powered offense.

Advantage: Ohio State


Defense
Unfortunately, the stats also seem to favor Ohio State's defense.  Currently, they are allowing just 56.0 ppg, while Michigan gives up 60.9.  Along with this, teams make just 39.8% of their shots against Ohio State and 31.6% from 3-point range.  Michigan, on the other hand, gives up 41.9% of opponents' shots and 36.2% from 3-point range.  Now, I could try to create some excuse for this difference, but in all reality Ohio State has simply played better defense than Michigan.  Considering they're a top 5 team, that's not surprising.

Now, that doesn't mean they have a massive advantage on defense.  Michigan's 1-3-1 defense is relatively unusual and will likely play a factor in the game. I think the biggest impact Michigan's defense will play in the game is how they address Sullinger.  He's one of the best players in the nation and is guaranteed to put up a fair share of points, but the question is whether the Wolverines are going to commit to stopping him, or stopping everybody else.

In my opinion, Michigan needs to let Sullinger get his share, hopefully as few as possible, but focus primarily on stopping everybody else.  Burford has had some bad games, he's been held below 10 points on multiple occasions.  Thomas has had some bad games and been held to less than 10 points.  The only player on Ohio State's team that simply seems "unstoppable" has been Sullinger.  No matter who they play, as long as Sullinger is in the game, he scores a good amount.  This is why I say attempt to stop the other guys.  People have already slowed them down and I think Michigan can, but if they put everyone on Sullinger it's going to be very difficult to stop them.

Overall, Michigan's defense has some good matchups against Ohio State because of their unusual look.  They may not be able to stop Sullinger, but if they can slow the other guys down, there's no reason to think this won't be a close game.  Ohio State's defense is still better, but I think Michigan's depth gives them a chance in this one.

Advantage: Slight Ohio State


Intangibles/Crowd
I've been picking Michigan recently in this category, but this time the advantage belongs to Ohio State.  Not only will Ohio State likely be coming off several Big Ten wins in a row, but they will also be coming off five straight wins against Michigan.  Now, this stat is a little flawed because the two teams have faced off in the Big Ten tournament the last two seasons, but that's still a pretty good feat.  Beating any team, whether at home, on the road, or on a neutral court five straight times is impressive.

Along with this, everyone knows about what this game will mean to the Ohio State faithful.  After being embarrassed by the Wolverines on the football field and the ice, the Buckeyes will be desperate to beat Michigan in something.  Obviously, the football rivalry is much bigger than basketball, but the home crowd will be roaring when Michigan rolls in to Columbus.

On a side-note, I'm interested to see how the crowd reacts to Burke, since he is from Columbus and the Buckeyes passed him up on the recruiting trail.

Advantage: Ohio State


Overall
Now, this game will likely be very close, or a decisive win for Ohio State.  I know that may not sound like a real prediction, but the Buckeyes seem to play teams very close, or completely blow them out.  I think with Michigan's competitive spirit and fight, especially against the Buckeyes, this will be a close game.  Ohio State will clearly be the favorites and should be, but I think this will be a big chance for Michigan to really take it to the next level.

Michigan may not be a top five team, at least not yet, but they are certainly talented.  If the Wolverines can get off to a quick start and shoot well from 3-point range I see no reason why they can't win.  However, with Michigan's road troubles and poor shooting as of late, I'm going to have to go with the enemy from down south.


Prediction: Ohio Bobcats 72-67

Tim Hardaway Jr And Iowa State

Last Tuesday, the Michigan basketball team entered the Big Ten/ACC Challenge following a bright finish in Maui to face Virginia, a team that by most accounts would be over matched. However, in arguably the biggest surprise of this short season for the Wolverines, Michigan came out flat and lost to a team they should have beat.

There is really no other way to describe it. Although I stated in the Big Ten/ACC preview that Virginia was probably slightly underrated and would be a legitimate opponent, there is no way I believed Michigan would end up losing by 12 points. Michigan was simply too good of a team to let that happen.

Unfortunately, I and most Michigan fans were wrong. Due to a few early fouls from Tim Hardaway, Michigan played almost the entire first half without their star offensive player. Michigan stayed solid for most of the first half and only trailed by 1 going into halftime, but the big problem occurred when Hardaway came out flat in the 2nd half and Michigan players got into foul trouble.

Hardaway ended the night with 5 points. Completely unfathomable if I had described this Monday night. This was an unranked Virginia, Hardaway had put up 21 on Memphis and 19 on Duke. This was easily Hardaway's worst game of the season, but, as I stated in the game's preview, this first true road test for Michigan told a lot about how this season. This team will go as far as Tim Hardaway takes them.

There have been 2 games this year when Hardaway's performance has been pretty questionable (I will ignore games such as Ferris State because, well, it's Ferris State). Hardaway came out completely flat against Duke and was horrible against Virginia. Hardaway ended up with 19 points against Duke, but they ALL came in the 2nd half. You can't play top competition like Duke and have the best player on the team scoring 0 in the first half and hope to win. The same can be said about the Virginia game, except Hardaway showed up for even less of the game.

Now, my point is this. Michigan has lost 2 games this season, against Duke and Virginia. One game this team probably should have lost (Duke), but the other this team should have certainly won (Virginia). If Hardaway continues his practice of only showing up for some games, this Michigan team will not have the great season which has been predicted of them.

Burke has shown that he can really play and will be a major weapon, but if Hardaway doesn't show up in road games or for entire halfs, Michigan will not be able to beat the top competition such as Ohio State or Wisconsin this year. They will probably still make the tournament, but until Michigan, and specifically Hardaway, can turn this corner, I can't see the team going that far because this team simply can't score without Hardaway.

Iowa State (5-2) is a perfect chance for #14 Michigan to change the team's direction. Iowa State may not be the best team in the nation (lost to a 4-3 Drake, yes Drake, I have no idea who they are either), but they have 2 Michigan State transfers in Chris Allen and Korie Lucious. I think this alone will get the team fired up enough to get ahead of their poor performance on Tuesday. Along with this, the home-court advantage is going to propel them for much of the season.

Predictions:

• Hardaway and Burke both reach double-digits
• Morgan gets into foul trouble, but Horford bails him out
• Smotrycz leads the team in rebounds Saturday

Michigan 63-56

Road Games And The Big Ten/ACC Challenge

Although much of the excitement and focus has been on the football team's dramatic victory over Ohio State (and rightfully so), many have forgotten that Michigan basketball will be tipping off against an exciting opponent Tuesday night at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.

Michigan's opponent in the annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge will be Virginia. Last year, Michigan faced Clemson in a rematch from its 2009 tournament trip. The game didn't receive the publicity of some other match-ups (such as Michigan State vs. Duke), but those who watched saw one of the first glimpses of a team that would sweep Michigan State, finish 19-12 in the regular season, and lose a close 2nd round game (technically the 3rd round) to Duke by two points.

In 2011-12, Michigan has already done some to prove themselves by defeating #8 (now #22) Memphis in the Maui Invitational by 12 pts, playing #6 (now #3) Duke tough for long segments of the game, and blowing out UCLA to have a Bright Finish In Maui. However, this is the first time Michigan will face a team in a true road game this season. There were many Memphis, Duke, and UCLA fans in Maui, but there were also plenty of Michigan fans (enough even to start a "Beat Ohio" chant at the end of the UCLA game).

This is important for Michigan because there are important players such as Trey Burke, Michigan's starting point guard who was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week, who have not experienced a true collegiate road game. He played at a high level and in big games during high school, but making a trip to Virginia to play in front of a hostile crowd will be something new. Obviously Maui was pretty far, but every team had to face the adversity of the trip and a mix of opposing and friendly fans.

Virginia (5-1) may not be #6 Duke or #8 Memphis, but they certainly appear to be capable of making the NCAA tournament. They have faced pretty weak competition up to now, facing no ranked opponents, but they have only lost one game, falling to a 4-2 TCU team at a neutral location by two points. Virginia has even received several votes in the Coaches' Poll.

I fully anticipate the #14 Michigan Wolverines will take care of business on Tuesday and win by a comfortable margin, but this should give fans an inkling about what to expect when the team has to go on the road to places like East Lansing and Columbus. Being able to compete on the road is going to be one of the main things that determines whether Michigan can compete for the Big Ten championship and a high-seed into the NCAA Tournament this year or will end up as a "middle of the pack" team.

Michigan was able to finish at 5-5 on the road last season and this is largely what allowed them to pick up near the end of the season (Michigan started at 1-3 on the road). If Michigan proves it can play on the road this Saturday, they should have a great chance during Big Ten season, and it would be one more potential win to point when it comes time to pick teams for the NCAA tournament come March.

Prediction:

Michigan 67-57

Photo Credit: AnnArbor.com

A Bright Finish In Maui

Tonight will wrap up Michigan's trip to Maui with a game against UCLA starting @ 7:30pm ET (preview: here). Although many, including myself, were quite disappointed with Michigan's game last night, especially a mediocre first half where Tim Hardaway, Jr. appeared non-existent, I can't help but think this game still offers Michigan some great advantages.

Yesterday before the Duke game I talked about how simply playing in the 2nd round against Duke was a "Win, Win" situation. I voiced this belief because the added experience of playing a great team like Duke would benefit the Wolverines during the course of the season and I still believe it. Michigan may have fell to Duke by 7 points, but there were long stretches during the game where Michigan was on the attack and made Duke nervous.

Now, how nervous Duke really was can be debated, as Michigan was never able to take the lead, but when a team is able to compete with Duke in Maui (where they have been 13-0) one can't help but get excited. Michigan thoroughly dominated Memphis and even though it could be argued that Duke dominated Michigan, I think the slow start and poor play of Tim Hardaway, Jr. was what put the game away, not Duke dominance.

For instance, Michigan had several drives that would cut the deficit but Duke would be able to slow down or stop due to a great 3-point shot. I even posted on Hoke's Mad Magician's Facebook page that Duke was "killing it outside the arc." When a team is able to shoot from the 3-point line like that, not many teams are going to beat them, especially if you're talking about Duke.

Bottom line, there's no reason to be upset with the loss to Duke. They are a very good team who was playing very well last night. Michigan didn't play hard at first and it cost them at the end. Along with this, Michigan still has the game against UCLA tonight for 3rd place in the Maui tournament. If I had said last season Michigan would lose Darius Morris and still finish 3rd in Maui with teams like Memphis, Duke, and Kansas being there, you might think I'm crazy.

UCLA should be an easy win tonight and unlike what I said last night. Michigan doesn't need Burke AND Hardaway to show up tonight. Last night we needed both and only Burke came with full energy the entire night. If either or both have a big night, I think we can beat the 1-3 Bruins without too much difficulty, especially if the defense keeps playing the way it has at Maui.

Remember not to get too caught up in not winning the tournament and focus on the potential for this team. If Michigan wins tonight, they leave the tournament 2-1 and finish 3rd place against tough competition. We may have lost a game the team could have won, but it's not as if the season depends on Maui. This team will continue to prove and has already shown they can play with the "Big Boys" of the nation. I say expect a very solid Big Ten season.