Wolverine TV podcast: Chris Balas, Clayton Sayfie and Ant Wright break down Michigan hoops, preview MSU
TheWolverine.com’s Chris Balas, Clayton Sayfie and analyst Ant Wright break down Michigan Wolverines basketball issues from a Tuesday night loss at Rutgers, look ahead to Saturday’s rivalry matchup with Michigan State and more.
In this episode, Wright — a former Michigan player — discussed how he believes Michigan matches up with Michigan State, and broke down a few Spartans to watch for.
“In my opinion, [Michigan State center] Marcus Bingham should probably win Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year this year with the way that he disrupts the paint,” Wright said. “Anything within five feet, the other team knows they’re either going to get their shot blocked, adjusted or they’re thinking about it so they shoot something crazy up on the rim.
“Matchups are going to be very, very tough. What’s good for [fifth-year senior point guard DeVante’] Jones is that against Rutgers, Jones was guarded with a lot of size. He was guarded by guys who are 6-4, 6-6, 6-7. Against this team, he’s going to be guarded by a guy who’s smaller than him. Now, he [Michigan State point guard Tyson Walker] has really good hands, and DeVante’ has shown to push off a lot. So he’s going to get up in him. He’s going to force DeVante’ to really be more shifty, and if DeVante’ can use his body some without being an offensive fouler, he should be OK.
“I’m more wondering who’s going to guard [Michigan State freshman wing] Max Christie. If you’re Eli Brooks, you’re 6-1 and giving up five, six inches to a good shooter. I’m interested to see Caleb Houstan vs. Max Christie. The power forward position — [Michigan freshman forward] Moussa [Diabate] vs. [MSU forward] Malik Hall — I’m going to be interested in. Bingham versus [Wolverine sophomore center] Hunter [Dickinson], I’m going to be interested in that.
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“They actually match up pretty well with Michigan State, in my opinion. But I’m not worried about the first 33, 34 minutes. I’m just not. Michigan could be up by 10 or down by 10. This is going to come down to the last five or six. Who’s going to put the best lineups in to win the game? Who’s going to execute better to win the game? Who is going to make the right calls to win the game, whether defensively or offensively?
“That’s what it’s going to come down to, and that’s the part that worries me, because Michigan State has found their formula of who opens games, who their rotation is and who closes games. Michigan Still doesn’t know who that is. I hope they find that in this game — and then continue the following game. Just give me two games, back-to-back, where you’re like, this team has an identity.”
For more, watch or listen to the episode below.
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