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The No. 7 Michigan Wolverines will head to Minneapolis to battle the No.23 Minnesota Golden Gophers in a top-25 Big Ten matchup.
This is the second time these two teams will play each other within the last two weeks. The Wolverines won the first matchup in blowout fashion, 82-57.
The Michigan Wolverines moved up another three spots this week in the AP Top 25 Poll. They are likely to break into the top-5 in next week's rankings, due to their impressive win against the Wisconsin Badgers on Tuesday night.
The Minnesota Golden Gophers, on the other hand, dropped seven spots due to losing both of their games last week.
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Match Details
Fixture: Michigan Wolverines vs Minnesota Golden Gophers - NCAA Men's Basketball
Date & Time: Saturday, January 16, 2021, 2 PM ET
Venue: Williams Arena, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Michigan Wolverines Preview
The Michigan Wolverines are coming off a 23 point win against the No.9 Wisconsin Badgers, making them the only team in history to beat three top-25 teams by 19 or more points in consecutive games, via Michigan Athletics,
The Wolverines couldn't miss against the Badgers on Tuesday night, going 51.6% from the field and converting 9 out of their 16 shots from behind the arc. On top of that, they went 100% from the free-throw line.
If Michigan can continue to shoot the above 50% from the field, it is unlikely for them to lose a single game this season.
Key Player - Franz Wagner
Franz Wagner is the key player for the Michigan Wolverines. The sophomore guard is the top scoring player of the Wolverines backcourt with 12.5 points a game on 53.6% shooting.
If Wagner can catch fire from the field and Michigan can get their typical 17.5 points from Hunter Dickinson, they will blow out the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
Michigan Wolverines Predicted Lineup
F Isaiah Livers, C Hunter Dickinson G Mike Smith, G Eli Brooks, G Franz Wagner
Minnesota Golden Gophers Preview
The Minnesota Golden Gophers are coming off a loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes on Sunday afternoon, 86-71.
That result was the third loss in four games for the Golden Gophers as they dropped to 3-4 in Big Ten play. Here is what Minnesota coach, Richard Pitino, had to say about his teams poor shooting against the Hawkeyes,
We took ill-advised shots. We just took some bad shots down the stretch and couldn't get stops.
Bad shooting has been a trend for the Golden Gophers over the last two weeks. Minnesota converted just 32.9% of their shots in their last three losses, including going 32.4% from the field against Michigan, last week.
The Minnesota Golden Gophers will need to find their shooting touch to have a chance at handing the Michigan Wolverines their first loss of the season.
Key Player - Gabe Kalscheur
Gabe Kalscheur is the key player for the Minnesota Golden Gophers. The junior guard is averaging 30 minutes a game but is shooting just 31.5% from the field.
The Golden Gophers will need Kalschuer to gain confidence in his shooting to give them a scoring threat from every position on the court. If Kalschuer can score 15 or more points, they will have a great chance of defeating the Michigan Wolverines.
Minnesota Golden Gophers Predicted Lineup
F Brandon Johnson, C Liam Robbins, G Marcus Carr, G Gabe Kalscheur, G Both Gach
Michigan vs Minnesota Prediction
The Michigan Wolverines will remain undefeated after sweeping the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Saturday afternoon.
The Wolverines have too much firepower on offense and will run up the score against a Minnesota team struggling to produce points.
Expect a big game from Franz Wagner, who is coming off a 15 point performance in his last outing.
Where to watch Michigan vs Minnesota
The game will be broadcast live on ESPN2.
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