Preview and prediction: Michigan basketball vs. San Diego State

Michigan Wolverines basketball will host San Diego State Saturday afternoon at Crisler Center.

The Maize and Blue are 4-3, with losses to Seton Hall, Arizona and North Carolina, and wins over Buffalo, Prairie View A&M, UNLV and Tarleton State. Meanwhile, San Diego State, coached by former U-M assistant Brian Dutcher, are 5-2, with setbacks to BYU and USC, and wins over UC Riverside, Arizona State, UT Arlington, Georgetown and Long Beach State.

Here is everything you know before the game, including a breakdown on key players, analysis on the matchup, our final score prediction and more.

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Game Information: Michigan vs. San Diego State

Date: Saturday, Dec. 4

Time: 1:00 p.m. ET

Venue: Crisler Center (Ann Arbor, Mich.)

Channel: CBS

On The Call: Tom McCarthy (play-by-play) and Bill Raftery (color)

Radio: Detroit: WWJ-Radio (950 AM) | Ann Arbor: WWWW (102.9 FM)| Grand Rapids: WOOD (106.9 FM) | Stream: MGoBlue.com

On The Call: Brian Boesch (play-by-play) and Terry Mills (color)

Betting Line: Michigan -8.5, over/under 125

Kenpom Prediction: Michigan 66, San Diego State 59

Clayton Sayfie Prediction (5-2 ATS): Michigan 60, San Diego State 51

Michigan Projected Starters

• #12 – Fifth-year senior guard DeVante’ Jones (6-1, 200) — The Coastal Carolina transfer and reigning Sun Belt Player of the Year is averaging 6.7 points, 3.9 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game, while shooting 42.5 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from long range.

• #55 – Fifth-year senior guard Eli Brooks (6-1, 185) — The team captain is leading the way with 15.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists per outing, while shooting 49.3 percent overall and 41.9 percent from three.

• #22 – Freshman guard/forward Caleb Houstan (6-8, 205) — The former five-star recruit is registering 8.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists per clash, while shooting 32.8 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from long range.

• #14 – Freshman forward Moussa Diabate (6-11, 210) — Made his first career start last game … Averaging 8.4 points and 5.3 rebounds per tilt … Made 24-of-37 shot attempts (64.9 percent) and is 10-of-20 from the free throw line.

• #1 – Sophomore center Hunter Dickinson (7-1, 260) — The 2021 second-team All-American is posting 14.8 points and 8.2 rebounds, with 13 assists … Shooting 60.7 percent from the field and has made one of his four three-point attempts.

Key Bench Contributors

• #23 – Junior forward Brandon Johns Jr. (6-8, 240) — Notching 5.3 points and 2.4 boards per outing, while shooting 38.5 percent from the field and 2-of-12 from three-point range.

• #5 – Sophomore forward Terrance Williams II (6-7, 230) — Playing 16.0 minutes per contest, while averaging 5.1 points and 2.9 rebounds and shooting 34.5 percent from the field and 26.7 percent from long range.

• #10 – Freshman guard Frankie Collins (6-1, 185) — Seen action in five games, averaging 10.8 minutes per appearance … Scored 13 total points and dished out eight assists, while shooting 40.9 percent from the field and 1-of-3 from the field.

San Diego State Projected Starters

• #4 – Senior guard Trey Pulliam (6-3, 180) — Posting 10.9 points, 3.6 assists and 2.7 rebounds per outing, while connecting on 42.0 percent overall and 38.9 percent from beyond the arc … Runs 48.5 percent of the team’s pick and roll plays, producing 0.94 points per possession.

• #2 – Senior guard Adam Seiko (6-3, 210) — Started two of his five appearances and may get the nod due to an injury to senior guard Lamont Butler … Averaging 3.6 points and 2.2 rebounds per game, while shooting 6-of-19 from the field and 4-of-15 from deep.

• #3 – Senior guard Matt Bradley (6-4, 220) — The California transfer is registering 13.0 points, 2.0 assists and 5.3 boards per clash, while shooting 40.0 percent overall and 18.2 percent from three (4-of-22) … Runs the second-most pick and roll plays on the team.

• #0 – Junior forward Keshad Johnson (6-7, 210) — Notching 6.3 points and 4.0 rebounds per tilt, while shooting 54.8 percent from the field and missing all five of his triple tries.

• Senior center Nathan Mensah (6-10, 230) — The Ghana native is averaging 8.1 points and 7.9 rebounds per contest, while making 55.3 percent of his field goal attempts.

Key Bench Contributors

• Senior guard Joshua Tomaić (6-9, 230) — Scoreless in his last three outings and has put in 16 points on the season in just over 14 minutes per game.

• #10 – Keith Dinwiddie Jr. (6-0, 185) — Generating 3.3 points in 13.1 minutes per contest, while shooting 30.8 percent from the field and 5-of-18 from deep (27.8 percent).

Matchup Breakdown

• San Diego State senior guard Lamont Butler will miss the remainder of the non-conference season with a wrist injury, and it’s a big loss. Averaging 9.7 points, 2.3 assists and 2.1 rebounds per contest while shooting 45.8 percent from the field and 8-of-17 from long range (47.1 percent), Butler is the team’s starting point guard. The Aztecs will have to play a few guys, plus increase the minutes for Trey Pulliam, to replace him.

• Defense is the Aztecs’ calling card. They haven’t allowed over 63 points in a game this season, including in losses to BYU and USC, and slot seventh in adjusted defensive efficiency. San Diego State runs man-to-man and brings pressure on 8.3 percent of its possessions. The team is excellent at defending spot-up offense (0.679 points per possession) and the pick-and-roll (0.695 PPP).

San Diego State has held opponents to a 41.3 effective field goal percentage (10th nationally), 22.8 percent from three-point range (fifth) and 44.5 percent on twos (59th).

• While he hasn’t gotten as many touches as of late, Hunter Dickinson is the focal point of Michigan’s offense. San Diego State doesn’t have a seven-footer to defend Dickinson, but it has been stellar against post-ups this year (0.553 PPP), bringing double teams over 23 percent of the time.

• San Diego State’s offense is a work in progress, playing at a slow pace and not shooting it well from either two (46.9 percent) or three (27.6 percent). The Aztecs notch assists on just 48.7 percent of their field goal attempts. They run ball screens on over 30 percent of their offensive possessions, cashing in with a modest 0.88 points per play.