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Indiana takes the court Thursday against Michigan in a Big Ten Tournament game with major NCAA Tournament implications.

Both Indiana and Michigan (17-13) are on the outside of the bubble looking in. Both teams will need to make a run in the conference tournament to feel good about their chances of competing in the NCAA Tournament.

Juwan Howard is back after a five-game suspension after striking Wisconsin assistant Joe Krabbenhoft. The Wolverines went 3-2 in that span under assistant coach Phil Martelli.

Michigan smacked the Hoosiers in their sole matchup earlier in this season at Assembly Hall 80-62. Trayce Jackson-Davis and Xavier Johnson were the only two IU players in double figures that day, finishing with 17 and 14 points respectively. Aside from their performances, the game was almost entirely negative and was one of the team's worst losses of the season.

The product you get from Michigan varies dramatically from night to night. They are capable of toppling even the best teams in the Big Ten and only to lose to a bottom-feeder a few nights later.

Hunter Dickinson (18.4 ppg, 8.5 rpg) has stepped up in a major way since Michigan's first game against Indiana. He is averaging 20.6 points and 9.3 rebounds per game since the start of February with several 25+ point outbursts. The Hoosiers had no answer for Dickinson in their first meeting. He scored 25 points, including a trio of three-pointers, nine rebounds, and four assists.

Depending on the day, Caleb Houstan (10.5 ppg, 36.6% 3pt) can be an afterthought or a star. The former five-star freshman has a beautiful jump shot but has been streaky this season. If his shot is falling, he is among the best sharpshooters in the country. That was true against Indiana, as he knocked down five of his seven attempts from deep for 19 points. He is also capable of having a game like he did Sunday against Ohio State, where he had zero points and shot 0-for-10 from the field. Houstan is someone who can be a standstill, catch-and-shoot player on the perimeter, but he has tremendous ability to create off of the dribble, whether that is attacking the rim or in the mid-range.

Similar to Houstan, Moussa Diabate (9.2 ppg) can be a force on both ends or a role player. Diabate is as athletic as players come but is still learning the ins and outs of the college game. He scored 28 against Iowa in mid-February but has only averaged 7.8 points in the five games since then. His ability to be a face up player from 12-15 feet has added a new dimension to the Michigan offense. He has the ability to knock down midrange shots. Diabate scored 10 points and hauled in seven boards against Indiana in January.

A veteran for the Wolverines is Costal Carolina transfer DeVante Jones (10.4 ppg). Jones leads the team in assists at 4.7 per game and has been scoring the ball effectively late in the season. He submitted a 25 point, 10 assist game against Illinois on February 27th and most recently finished with 21 and 9 against Ohio State. Jones is one of the more consistent players for Michigan with the scoring ability to carry the team on the right night.

Eli Brooks (12.2 ppg) is another steady veteran presence in the Wolverine backcourt. Brooks is second on the team in scoring yet has only had two games of 20+ points on the year. He can be relied upon to contribute 10-15 points every night and is the team's best free-throw shooter at 90 percent.

Howard will typically use four players off the bench. Brandon Johns Jr (3.6 ppg), Terrence Williams (4.8 ppg), Kobe Bufkin (3.1 ppg), and Frankie Collins (2.5 ppg) are the main rotation players. Williams scored 10 points off the bench in Michigan's first game against Indiana. Each player was a former Rivals150 recruit in high school.

G- Eli Brooks (Sr; 6-1; 185)

Season Stats: 12.2 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.8 apg

G - DeVante Jones (Sr; 6-1; 200)

Season Stats: 10.4 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 4.7 apg

F - Caleb Houstan (Fr; 6-8; 205)

Season Stats: 10.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg

F - Moussa Diabate (Fr; 6-11; 210)

Season Stats: 9.2 ppg, 5.6 rpg

C - Hunter Dickinson (So; 7-1; 255)

Season Stats: 18.4 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 1.5 bpg

Guarding the perimeter. Purdue generated some open looks against Indiana which ultimately proved to be the difference in a two-point loss for the Hoosiers. As a team, Purdue shot 37.5% from deep, but primary sharpshooters Eric Hunter Jr. and Sasha Stefanovic were both 3-6 from three.

As they demonstrated in their first game against Indiana in January, Michigan can light teams up from three given the chance. Their ball movement was superb that day, and they shot an absurd 64.7% from beyond the arc as a result.

However, much like the Purdue game, it wasn't a team effort from deep that game. Dickinson, Houstan, and Williams accounted for all but one of Michigan's makes from three. It was their ability to create open space for those three guys that sparked their success in a blowout win.

Indiana has had a disappointing season, but they remain an elite defensive squad. They will need to know the film of the Michigan game by memory and be crisp on rotations and closeout effectively on shooters. Otherwise, it could be a repeat of the 18-point smackdown from earlier in the season.

Who: Indiana (18-12) vs. Michigan (17-13)

When: Thursday, Mar 10th, 11:30 am ET

Where: Indianapolis, IN

TV: BTN (Kevin Kugler and Stephen Bardo)

Radio: IU Radio Network with Don Fischer, Errek Suhr and Joe Smith

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QUICK HITTERS

• Indiana is 79-48 all-time against Michigan

• Michigan defeated Indiana 80-62 in Assembly Hall on January 23rd

• Michigan is third in the Big Ten in field goal percentage (47.1%)

• Michigan is 13th in the Big Ten in field goal percentage allowed (44.7%)

• Hunter Dickinson is top-five in the Big Ten in scoring, rebounding, and field goal percentage.

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