ANN ARBOR — It was a rough start for the Wolverines (14-4, 6-1 Big Ten) on Sunday – 1-for-13 from the field to start the game – but they found a way to come out on top 80-76 against Northwestern. It marked Michigan’s second straight overtime game after losing on a buzzer beater to Minnesota on Thursday. The Wildcats (11-7, 2-5 Big Ten) have lost four of their last five games, with their only win over that stretch coming against Maryland on Thursday.
Michigan basketball gets by Northwestern in OT
The majority of the first half was forgettable for Michigan, and it went scoreless for the first three minutes of the game. It took the Wolverines nearly ten minutes to grab their first lead, which came with 11:11 left in the first half after a pair of free throws from forward Sam Walters. Michigan couldn’t get going offensively until center Vlad Goldin drained 3 threes from the top of the key in a span of less than three minutes. Northwestern outscored the maize and blue 15-5 over the final five minutes of the first half to give itself a 35-30 lead going into the break.
Goldin said teammate Danny Wolf taught him a trick of the trade when it comes to long-range shots.
“I feel like I was pretty wide open (on my threes), and Danny taught me something,” Goldin said after the game. “It’s impossible to block the three from a seven footer, because I’ve tried all summer and I don’t think I (got him) one time.”
Goldin and guard Tre Donaldson came out of the locker room and gave the Wolverines a much needed spark. The two combined to score the first 12 points of the second half for Michigan, but Northwestern wasn’t going away. Jalen Leach and Nick Martinelli were getting buckets for the Wildcats all night. Leach hit the showers early after getting himself ejected for kicking Goldin in the groin midway through the second half, but still finished with 19 points (8-for-12) and five assists. Martinelli ended with 18 points and missed two important free throws (7-for-10) with under three minutes left.
Northwestern guard Brooks Barnhizer led his team with 21 points, although ten of them came from free throws (10-for-13).
Crunch Time
Each team was struggling to score down the stretch. The score was tied at 63 with under a minute to go when Michigan guard Roddy Gayle Jr. blew past his man to give his team a two-point lead. The following possession, Northwestern center Matthew Nicholson drew a foul and made both free throws to tie it back up with 14 seconds on the clock. The Wolverines were unable to sink a game-winner, so overtime came with the score tied at 65.
Northwestern went 0-for-5 from the field in overtime but made 11-of-15 free throws. The Wolverines went 3-for-4 from the field in the extra period, and made 9-of-10 free throws.
Goldin led all scorers with 31 points while adding eight rebounds, four blocks, two assists and a steal. It was an off-day scoring for Wolf as the Michigan forward missed every shot he took, aside from four (of 8) free throws.
“They got very physical with Danny,” Michigan head coach Dusty May said after the game. “He had a step-in wide open three, he had some shots around the basket that just didn’t drop. I think it was a combination of, when the ball did find him and he was open he didn’t knock it down, and then the others they defended very well. But (Northwestern) did a very nice job in the four-five ball screen.”
The Wildcats are towards the bottom of the standings in the Big Ten, but it was hard to tell Sunday. Goldin said it goes to show the kind of teams in the conference.
“It definitely shows how good the Big Ten is, because everybody can beat everybody,” Goldin said after the game. “I’ve said it a million times, to my family, to everybody, there are no bad teams in the Big Ten conference.”
The Wolverines visit No. 17 Purdue (15-4, 7-1 Big Ten) next on Jan. 24 at 8 p.m. on FOX.
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