Michigan basketball ‘juiced up’ for matchup with Rutgers, projected lottery picks

[ad_1]

Michigan basketball assistant coach and director of player development Drew Williamson had a nightmare earlier this week — and that was even before he’d shut his eyes.

On Wednesday, he watched from start to finish as star Rutgers freshman Ace Bailey scored 37 points in a victory over Northwestern, filling it up at all three levels. Bailey is heating up just in time for the Scarlet Knights (11-10, 4-6 Big Ten) to host the Wolverines (15-5, 7-2 Big Ten) on Saturday (3:30 p.m., Fox) at Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway, New Jersey.

“Struggled to get some sleep last night because of him,” Williamson laughed Thursday morning when he spoke with media to detail U-M’s weekend opponent. “He’s just such a really good scorer.”

Jan 29, 2025; Evanston, Illinois, USA; Rutgers Scarlet Knights guard Ace Bailey (4) celebrates a three point basket against the Northwestern Wildcats during the second half at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images

POWER IN THE PAINT: Michigan basketball’s Vlad Goldin last saw his family as a boy; he’s all grown up now

Bailey enters Saturday’s game averaging 20.7 points and 7.8 rebounds per game while shooting 48% from the floor and 41.2% on 3-pointers.

Worse yet for Michigan, the 6-foot-10 forward is only one of two dynamic Rutgers freshmen. The other? Guard Dylan Harper, who is putting up 18.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. That gives the Scarlet Knights a pair of near-certain high picks in this summer’s NBA draft., both so glaringly talented that the Wolverines aren’t even pretending to hide their plan.

“Those two players are probably one, two or three in this year’s draft,” Williamson said. “We talked to our guys about taking the challenge as a group.”

Harper, however, is far from a lock to play. The 6-foot-6 guard ball handler missed the win over Northwestern with an ankle sprain, and scored just six points the game prior (vs. Michigan State) as he sat the final 18 minutes in a loss to the Spartans.

Dylan Harper of the…

[ad_2]
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/michigan-basketball-juiced-matchup-rutgers-110318198.html

Author : Detroit Free Press

Publish date : 2025-02-01 11:03:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.