Michigan heads into the biggest week of the season as the top team in the country after a comeback win at Northwestern and a blowout win over UCLA. The Wolverines are playing excellent basketball and now will be tested with a big week against Purdue and Duke. Dylan and Eric recap the UCLA and Northwestern games, then spend the back half (44:40) of the podcast previewing the Purdue matchup on Tuesday night at Mackey.
The UM Hoops Podcast · Episode 237 · 1:17:58
Show notes
Dylan Burkhardt and Eric Shapiro recap Michigan's comeback at Northwestern and blowout of UCLA, and say the Wolverines look like the best team in the country. They credit L.J. Cason's recent run, the team's defense, and the three-big lineup that closed the Northwestern game.
The back half previews Purdue at Mackey. They break down Braden Smith's offense, Purdue's help-heavy defense, and how Michigan can mix ball-screen coverages. Both see an athleticism edge for Michigan and expect the offensive glass and Yaxel Lendeborg to matter.
- purdue preview
- three-big lineup
- ucla
- northwestern
- big ten race
- defense
- l.j. cason
- yaxel lendeborg
Worth hearing
1:11:34 · Matchups and Yaxel at the 3
“The weakness of Purdue’s roster is there’s no wings. There’s no one that’s like 6’6’5. an athletic who can guard a guy like Yax.”
Dylan Burkhardt
16:12 · Is Michigan back in Vegas form?
“Michigan is like pretty clearly to my eye the best team in the country with the most options and the most depth and the best balance of offense and defense.”
Dylan Burkhardt
Prediction1:12:15 · Matchups and Yaxel at the 3
“If Michigan plays like a B+ game or better, I think they win. I kind of like the matchup.”
Eric Shapiro
Prediction1:07:32 · Michigan's athleticism edge
“Michigan actually matches up pretty well with them. And if this game was at home, I would favor Michigan pretty strongly.”
Eric Shapiro
Prediction58:05 · How Michigan defends Braden Smith
“I think they’ll experiment with switching as much as they possibly can. And seeing how that looks, because that also makes it more difficult to like get a barrage of 3s.”
Eric Shapiro
Prediction1:01:04 · How Michigan defends Braden Smith
“The last 12 minutes of the game, they will play Morez Johnson and switch 5 ways the whole final quarter of the game.”
Dylan Burkhardt
32:51 · The three-big lineup
“The way Northwestern was guarding Morez Johnson in that game was kind of criminal to me.”
Dylan Burkhardt
Chapters
- Intro and Valentine's Day
- Big Ten race and Purdue stakes
- Is Michigan back in Vegas form?
- L.J. Cason's two-game stretch
- Shot selection and defense vs. UCLA
- The three-big lineup
- Yaxel Lendeborg's impact
- Purdue preview: how they play
- How Michigan defends Braden Smith
- Michigan's athleticism edge
- Matchups and Yaxel at the 3
Games discussed
- Michigan at Purdue W 91-80
- Michigan at Northwestern W 87-75
- UCLA at Michigan W 86-56
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Join the conversation · 12 replies on the forum
The conversation
12 repliesJoin the discussionaiglick
Excellent podcast Dylan and Eric. Really looking to seeing how Purdue plays out.
Wpb
Actualelguapo
Hey, it’s Nate Bittle’s drunk uncle.
muwilson
Enjoyed the opposing viewpoints here too, obviously @joejacksoncbb always with quality takes! Hope it’s an entertaining one, regardless of outcome.
Wpb
These dudes are funny: