Michigan basketball pulls off much-needed win vs Northwestern

Michigan men’s basketball secured a much-needed win in Evanston, Illinois, 68-51. It was the Wolverines’ first road victory since early December, their first quad-1 win of the season, and places the Wolverines in a six-way tie for fourth place in the Big Ten conference standings.

Wolverines stop the skid

After back-to-back losses, including a painful 22-point loss in Happy Valley on Sunday, Michigan righted the ship against the Northwestern Wildcats last night. The Wolverines were led in scoring by Hunter Dickinson (19), Kobe Bufkin (15) and Joey Baker (14). Bufkin played one of the best games of his career, recording his first double-double and setting a new career high in rebounds (12). Bufkin was also just two assists shy of a triple-double.

Dickinson scored in double digits for the twentieth time this season, following his season low of 6 on Sunday against the Nittany Lions. Duke transfer Joey Baker also tied a season-high, playing his best game since the middle of November. The trio, along with solid contributions from Terrance Williams II (seven points, 10 rebounds) and Dug McDaniel (nine assists, four rebounds), were more than enough to handle the Wildcats.

The defense held strong

Northwestern was led in scoring by senior guards Boo Buie (23 points, eight assists) and Chase Audige (10 points). Besides those two, the Wildcats received little help as no other scorers topped six. While the Wolverines’ defense played a role, a large part of it was Northwestern didn’t shoot the ball very well. The Wildcats went just 3-19 (15.8 percent) from the three-point line and only made six free throws.

After heading to the locker room up by one at the half, 26-25, the Wolverines came out hot in the second half, eventually going on an 18-2 run that pulled Michigan away for good. Michigan basketball also outrebounded Northwestern 41-33, an aspect of the game that Michigan’s been lacking in losses this season. All around, Michigan played one of its most well-rounded games of the season, as they moved the ball efficiently, recording 21 assists on 24 made baskets.

Looking ahead

The Wolverines completed the season sweep of Northwestern- after an 85-78 victory in Ann Arbor back in January- and now find themselves just one game out of second place in the Big Ten standings. It’s hard to believe how the season has gone so far, but the Wolverines have held up pretty decently in conference play and could cause some problems down the stretch. While anyone catching first place Purdue (22-1 overall, 11-2 Big Ten) seems unlikely, if the Wolverines can sneak their way into a top-4 seed for the Big Ten tournament, it will significantly improve their odds of securing an automatic bid for the tournament, which at this point, maybe their only way in.

Michigan basketball can look forward to a three-game home stretch this week. First hosting Ohio State (11-11 overall, 3-8 Big Ten) on Sunday, followed by Nebraska (10-13 overall, 3-9 Big Ten) on Wednesday, and finishing the week with Indiana (15-7 overall, 6-5 Big Ten) next Sunday. It will be an excellent opportunity for Michigan to continue to build, and they should win at least two. They may even steal one from the Hoosiers. Indiana is one of five other teams currently tied with Michigan at 6-5, along with Michigan State, Maryland, Iowa, and Northwestern.