After a tough end-of-game sequence in Iowa City cost the Michigan Wolverines a valuable B1G win on Thursday night, they returned home with a chance to right the ship against the Northwestern Wildcats today. A strong Michigan start turned into a back-and-forth affair through the middle half of the game before Michigan asserted itself again in the final ten minutes. With 4.5 minutes to play, a nine point lead had been cut to just three and there was reason to wonder if another late game brain freeze was coming. Instead, the script flipped today. Michigan blunted the Northwestern rally, snagged control back, got enough stops late, and broke the NU full court press to put the game away 85-78. Michigan is back in the winning column and are 4-2 on the year in B1G play. 

The game started well for the Maize & Blue, leading 18-6 just 5.5 minutes in, making four of their first five from three and 7/10 from the floor overall. They hounded Northwestern defensively and had few issues on the offensive end, getting contributions from everyone to build an early lead. The seamless ball movement that defined their strong start entered a ditch not long after, as Michigan endured a stretch where they turned the ball on five consecutive possessions, as well as six of seven, a very odd development for a team that limits turnovers so well. Northwestern's defense is geared towards forcing turnovers and their tendencies ground the Wolverines to a halt offensively for a seven minute stretch, over which Michigan scored just seven points. 

NU didn't get hot during that period, merely using the strong defense to stop the bleeding. They knocked a few points off the margin to get it to 25-19 Wolverines, but once the Michigan offense began to score some, Northwestern's offense kicked it into overdrive. The 'Cats went with a small-ball lineup, playing Robbie Beran as an undersized five, and it gave Michigan's defense all sorts of fits. He helped facilitate a Wildcat offense that was getting to the paint at the same time they were heating up after an ice cold start shooting the ball from outside. Northwestern scored 19 points in less than 4.5 minutes to draw even at 27 all thanks to Chase Audige drilling a pair of threes. After Michigan briefly took the lead back 29-27, Beran put up a personal 5-0 run to give Northwestern their first lead of the game.

[Marc-Gregor Campredon]

The purple-and-black just kept scoring and stretched the lead all the way to 39-33 with 1:15 left, but Michigan closed strong, with Dug McDaniel getting four points on a layup and two free throws in between a pair of stops, the last one being a Hunter Dickinson block at the horn, which made it 39-37 Northwestern at the break. The stat lines were pretty even at halftime, 48% from the floor for Michigan to 46% for Northwestern, Michigan shooting it better from three but turning it over more. Beran led Northwestern with 12 at halftime, while McDaniel and Kobe Bufkin leading Michigan with 10 and 9, respectively. 

The second half got off to an ominous start for Michigan. Matthew Nicholson of Northwestern was quickly fouled and he missed both free throws, but Terrance Williams II failed to box out Chase Audige, who snatched the OREB. Julian Roper then missed a shot, but Northwestern snagged the OREB again and Williams was forced to foul Nicholson. This time he swished them both, and Juwan Howard was so displeased from those first 21 seconds from Williams that he yanked the junior off the floor ASAP. Williams would not be seen again until there were under three minutes to go, replaced by Will Tschetter at the four, who did not play in the opening stanza. 

Despite that clunker of a start, Michigan started to get it going offensively. They forced Chris Collins to call timeout after Dug McDaniel, on his way to a career high in points, knocked down a corner three to put Michigan ahead 52-49. The response for Howard once Williams exited was a mix of Tschetter, who battled constant fouls, and Tarris Reed Jr., who he used in the double big Twin Towers lineup with Hunter Dickinson for the second straight game. Michigan's offense continued to shoot it pretty well but still struggled taking care of the ball, committing five more in the opening eight minutes of the second half. 

[Campredon]

Boo Buie made a two point jumper to give Northwestern the lead 59-58 with 10:17 remaining in the game and from that point forward, Michigan pulled ahead as the better team. They embarked on a 10-0 run, holding Northwestern scoreless for 3.5 minutes while the offense chipped in steadily. Dickinson and Bufkin put Michigan back ahead, and the advantages of the Reed-Dickisnon lineup were put on display, recovering several OREBs in this stretch eventually culminating in a made three by Joey Baker and a Dickinson hook shot. That put Michigan up 68-59 with 6:56 remaining and now it was time for Michigan to try and close out a game again. 

A 2.5 minute scoreless stretch for the Wolverines during a period of a made dunk by Matthew Nicholson and a fast break three by Boo Buie (+ a Julian Roper free throw) trimmed the lead to 68-65 with 4:29 left and the creeping feeling of worry began to permeate across many Michigan fans watching the game. Turns out that the fears would be unfounded. Roper missed his second at the line, Michigan went up the court, and a beautiful alley-oop from Bufkin to Reed broke the offensive drought for Michigan. After another stop McDaniel would be fouled by Nicholson, and he made them both out of the under-four media timeout. 72-65 with 3:51 left. 

Northwestern got a quick score from Nicholson to trim it back to five, but the biggest shot of the game followed right afterwards. Jett Howard dished to an open Kobe Bufkin in the corner, and the sophomore SG drained the triple, putting Michigan ahead 75-67. The defense got another stop, and a great pass from Dickinson to Reed down low set up Tarris for an easy layup to put Michigan ahead double digits with 2:29 left. The lead would grow to eleven some 30 seconds later when Bufkin finished a tough shot through contact going downhill, and it started to feel reasonably comfortable. 

Michigan hadn't yet got on the free throw rollercoaster, though. Northwestern started to get a steady drip of quick scores and when Dickinson bricked both FTs, a quick Buie bucket meant Michigan led just 79-74 with 42.3 left. Terrance Williams II, back into the game, went to the line and missed the first, leading to a collective *gulp* but TWill salvaged it by hitting the second. Northwestern came down the floor and had Audige open for a three but it was off the mark. The rebound landed right where Beran had a chance to score, but it glanced off his hands and into the arms of Hunter Dickinson, who was promptly fouled. Dickinson went 1/2 and Buie's quick score returned the margin to five, 81-76 with 22.5 left. The home Wolverines had no problem with Northwestern's full-court press late, dissecting the defense with good passing that set up a Kobe Bufkin dunk and that more or less sealed it. The final sixteen seconds were merely performative and Michigan had a seven point victory. 

[Campredon]

The story of this game for Michigan was the performance of the underclassmen. Dickinson had a decent outing, 10 points and dominant on the glass (15 rebounds), but largely forgettable efforts from Williams and Joey Baker put more responsibility on the young players, and they rose to the occasion. The young guards, sophomore Kobe Bufkin and freshman Dug McDaniel, battled the turnover problems (8 combined TOs), but poured in a combined 37 points. Bufkin was phenomenal, 9/11 from the floor and 2/3 from three, while McDaniel put together an effort that surpassed his Minnesota game as the best outing of his young career. He was an up-and-down 5/12 from the floor, but 3/7 from three and perfect on four FT attempts were huge, as was his ability to shoulder the whole PG load, playing a whopping 37 minutes in this game. He and Bufkin both played nearly all of the game and they were a big part of why Michigan won. They're also part of optimism for the future, and the possibility of getting Michigan back into B1G contention in 2023-24. 

Jett Howard didn't have the cleanest shooting performance overall, but the freshman scored 16 thanks to another red hot 3PT outing, hitting 4/6 from beyond the arc. Defensive lapses remain an issue, but his ball movement led to seven assists, and he was the only Wolverine to play significant minutes that finished without a turnover. Tarris Reed Jr., the third freshman to be mentioned here, logged 18 minutes (11 of them in the second half), and continued to show growth. He snatched down eight rebounds in that time (three offensive), swatted two shots, got a steal, and was perfect shooting from the floor (3/3). On the down side, he did commit three turnovers and unsurprisingly went 0/1 from the free throw line, but it was a nice showing from Reed. 

Northwestern was led by Buie and Beran, who combined for 38 points. Michigan's Twin Towers lineup way out-rebounded the smaller Wildcats, but they gave Michigan's defense trouble on the other side of the coin. Northwestern's 6/23 from three contrasted with Michigan's 10/22 was the difference in the game, though Michigan's 18 TOs to NU's 8 explains why the score was as close as it was. It was not the cleanest game for Michigan, but after two tough road losses in a row, a win was a must-have and they got it. Michigan is now 4-2 in B1G play and will go back on the road for a tough one on Thursday night @Maryland. That game is scheduled for 7:00 and will be broadcast on ESPN. 

[Click the JUMP for the box score]