'They've gotta guard us, too': Michigan embracing 'chess match' against Penn State

Michigan Wolverines basketball is fresh off an 81-46 blowout victory over Maryland and is looking to keep the momentum going against Penn State Wednesday at Crisler Center. Despite dropping five non-conference games, the Maize and Blue are tied atop the Big Ten standings at 2-0 and can stay perfect with a win over the Nittany Lions.

The Nittany Lions exceeded some early expectations after slotting 11th in the media’s preseason Big Ten poll, scoring top-50 victories over Illinois and Iowa. As the Big Ten’s smallest team according to Kenpom’s average height rankings, Penn State poses a unique challenge, too.

Only one PSU starter — 6-foot-10 forward Kebba Njie — is over 6-foot-6. Njie, however, plays just 13.5 minutes per game, and the team’s most common lineup features 6-foot-6 Seth Lundy as the tallest player.

The Nittany Lions spread the floor with a five-out offense, lead the nation in turnover rate (12.9) and rank 17th in three-point field goal percentage (38.8). Head coach Micah Shrewsberry‘s club slots third nationally in jump shot volume (56.9 percent of their attempts from the field are jumpers) and shoot a 54.6 effective field goal percentage on such looks (12th in the country).

Point guard Jalen Pickett ranks third nationally with a 44.8-percent assist rate and has four teammates who have attempted more than 40 three-pointers and cash in with a clip better than 38 percent.

“I think Schrews does a great job of trying to keep teams off balance, whether it’s through their play call, whether it’s through their personnel that’s out on the floor,” Michigan assistant Saddi Washington said. “They can really stretch the floor with their shooting and with their speed, but then they also have a really talented point guard in Pickett, who’s just a jack of all trades. He can score, he can defend, he can pass, he can rebound.”

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There’s a stark difference between that and what Michigan deploys. The Wolverines are more traditional, with a 7-foot-1 center in junior Hunter Dickinson, two guards and a pair of wings. The Wolverines are second in the sport in turnover rate (13.6), but play more inside-out, with only 36.6 percent of their shots coming from behind the arc.

The contrast in styles will force Dickinson out to guard players on the perimeter. But at the same time, an undersized PSU defensive unit will attempt to keep Dickinson in check on the offensive end, an equally daunting challenge.

“At the end of the day, we have to be what we are and stick to our principles and habits,” Washington said of his team, which slots 99th in the country by allowing opponents to make just 31.6 percent of their triple tries.

“We’ve just got to really fly around, play with good length and just make it challenging for them to execute in the half court, as well as in the full court, because they can really get out and run.

“At the end of the day, we gotta be who we are, because they’ve gotta turn around and guard us, too.”

Dickinson has struggled guarding on the perimeter at times during his career. However, the numbers are better this season. Opponents are shooting just 21.6 percent from the field with Dickinson as Michigan’s primary defender, per Synergy. That includes a 3-of-17 mark on threes. Those are mostly from opposing big men, though, so PSU will pose a different threat in that their ‘bigs’ are more like wings and better from the outside.

“I definitely have gotten better with it,” Dickinson said of defending quicker players near the three-point line. “I take it more as a challenge. When I was a freshman and definitely in high school, when teams would try to play five-out like Penn State will probably do some of next game, I would kind of just relax and try to go through the motions. But I know in this game coming up, they’re going to try to work their offense around me and try to put me in spots where I can be exposed. 

“It’s a challenge that is fun to me, because it’s almost like it’s a new type of game. You get so used to playing big men; you’re in the post the whole time. It’s going to be a new kind of game for me, and it’ll be a fun little challenge for me to be able to guard on the perimeter. It’s been fun with all the different coverages we have, exploring all options — switching, hedging, drop coverage, all different defensive stuff. We’ve got a full arsenal of defensive coverages going into next game.”

There’s a good chance PSU will get some on Dickinson. But he knows he can get some buckets back on the other end. The Nittany Lions rank in the 15th percentile nationally in post defense, allowing 0.952 points per play. Dickinson is one of the best in the country down low and will look to feast.

“Like Saddi said, you can’t get too focused on the five-out, because they’re going to have to try to guard us on the other end, as well,” the Michigan captain said. “It’s going to be a good chess match between us and Penn State, and hopefully we’re able to win that battle.”