One of the top teams in the Big Ten will duel a perennial mid-major powerhouse in the season-opener for both squads in Ann Arbor.
TV schedule: Wednesday, November 10, 6:30 pm ET. Big Ten Network
Arena: Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Fresh off of their best season yet under Juwan Howard, Michigan Basketball will tip-off the 2021-22 season on Wednesday with high expectations – and with a subtly daunting battle on tap, as the Wolverines will host a Buffalo Bulls team that is projected to be among the best mid-majors in the country.
The Wolverines enter the new season with national expectations, having been slotted sixth in the preseason AP Top 25 Poll, higher than any other Big Ten team – but they also return with a chip on their shoulder, after seeing their 2020-21 campaign end prematurely in the Elite Eight to an upstart UCLA program.
From their 23-5 team that won the Big Ten regular season title and finished the year ranked fourth in the AP Poll, the Wolverines return 40.8% of their offensive production. Franz Wagner, Mike Smith, Isaiah Livers, and Chaundee Brown – all players who saw over 20 minutes of action per night and averaged over eight points per game – are all gone, but Michigan is far from slim in offensive weaponry.
Hunter Dickinson, Michigan’s top scorer (14.1 ppg) and rebounder (7.4 rpg), is back to anchor the Wolverines inside, in addition to starting shooting guard Eli Brooks. Howard and his staff, meanwhile, have brought in a slew of dangerous options that will have an immediate impact, including Coastal Carolina transfer and reigning Sun Belt Player of the Year DeVante’ Jones (who averaged 19.3 points, 7.2 boards, and 2.8 steals in his senior season), five-star recruit Caleb Houstan (the 14th-ranked recruit in the nation, according to 247Sports), and three four-star talents in Kobe Bufkin, Moussa Diabate, and Isaiah Barnes.
Expectations are, again, high in Ann Arbor – but the Wolverines will have to compete against a sneakily good Buffalo team that has the potential to reach – and make some noise in – the NCAA Tournament. Ranked first in the preseason MAC poll – ahead of teams like Ohio (who beat Belmont), Akron (who was a second away from topping Ohio State), and Miami (who defeated Georgia Tech) – the Bulls boast one of the most experienced teams in the nation, sitting as the fourth-most veteran team in college basketball.
Buffalo’s 2021-22 aspirations rest on the shoulders of a pair of preseason All-MAC First Teamers in Jeenathan Williams and Josh Mballa. Williams led the Bulls in scoring last season with 17.6 points, while Mballa – the reigning MAC Defensive Player of the Year – hauled in a double-double of 15.3 points and 10.8 caroms. Additionally, Buffalo will return point guard Ronaldo Segu, who tallied 13.3 points and 4.3 assists for the Bulls last season.
Our own preseason Top 25 Mid-Major power rankings slotted the Bulls at 15th, and understandably so – Buffalo has, arguably, the two favorites for MAC Player of the Year. The Bulls are also no stranger to national success, having reached the second round of March Madness in back-to-back tournaments in 2018 and 2019, after lopsided victories over Arizona and Arizona State catapulted Buffalo into the national spotlight.
This will, by no means, be an easy game for the Wolverines, especially considering their most proven weapon – Dickinson – will have to line-up against an athletic big man in Mballa. Dickinson has had mixed results when lining up against a center more physical than him – the 7-1 post tallied just six points against Illinois’ Kofi Cockburn, and eight on Purdue’s Trevion Williams.
The Bulls have the offensive firepower necessary to hang around with Michigan – they ranked 12th in the nation in points per game last year (81.4) – but they will need to find an offensive replacement for double-digit scorer Jayvon Graves, who opted for professional waters over the offseason. Michigan, meanwhile, saw five different players reach double-digits in the Wolverines’ exhibition win over Wayne State in Dickinson, Brooks, Jones, Houstan, and Diabate – and all five are capable of doing that throughout the season.
This will be an offensive battle – but Michigan’s proven offensive capabilities and a concern for where Buffalo’s extra boost of scoring will come from may ultimately be the difference maker. If Mballa is able to put the clamps on Dickinson, then the Bulls have a shot at hanging around – but Buffalo’s ability to defend the perimeter and guard play will be crucial to actually pulling off the upset.
Prediction: Michigan 84, Buffalo 77