Michigan men’s basketball preview: Wolverines look to avoid dropping two-straight, host Northwestern

Eight points is all that stands between No. 20 Michigan and being undefeated. However, after a heartbreaking buzzer-beater against Minnesota at Williams Arena, the Wolverines are now 13-4 and 5-1 in the Big Ten conference. Sunday, Michigan will take on a Northwestern (11-6, 2-4 Big Ten) team that previously won three straight before a buzzer beater of its own against Maryland on Thursday, at Crisler Center in looks to get back on the right track.

Preview: No. 20 Michigan hosts Northwestern

Let’s not waste any time and get into the preview. What does Northwestern do that can get Michigan off balance and potentially create an upset?

Northwestern’s main pulse comes from the offensive prowess of Nick Martinelli. Martinelli only trails Rutgers’ Dylan Harper for the scoring leader in the Big Ten conference, averaging 20 points per game. Any Michigan fans that watched the first half of the Michigan State Northwestern game last Sunday know that Martinelli makes his money in the paint. Martinelli is also effective from beyond the arc. He shoots 41% from 3-point range.

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His sidekick, Brooks Barnheizer, adds the second gear to this Wildcat team, averaging 18.2 points. To me, these two resemble what Rutgers has with Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey. If those two are both not atop the score sheet, this team will struggle. The same goes with Northwestern. In two of their more lopsided losses against Michigan State and Purdue, the two combined for just 31 and 21, respectively. Northwestern is basically short handed when those two are not playing their best.

Who else will Northwestern feature? Ty Berry and Matthew Nicholson are returnees that Wolverine fans should be familiar with, averaging seven and five points per game respectively. A new addition to this squad is Jalen Leach, taking over for Boo Buie for the team’s true point guard. He came to Northwestern by way of Fairfield.

This is going to be a good matchup for Michigan. If the Wolverines can stop Martinelli and Barnheizer, or even one of them, they will be in a good spot defensively. Michigan will have to play complimentary basketball, however. That means not turning the ball over.

While I mentioned the eight points in the beginning of the preview, in each of those eight points, a plethora of turnovers led to empty possessions, especially against Minnesota. What Michigan fans should look for is how their team will respond to its putrid performance in terms of being careful with the ball, especially Danny Wolf.

Wolf, arguably the most important player for Michigan, had six turnovers against Minnesota. He leads the Big Ten on a per game basis, averaging 3.9 turnovers per game. How he responds to one of his worst games of the season, will not only be a massive talking point postgame, but could determine the game result. Another Wolverine that will look to bounce back is Roddy Gayle Jr. Gayle went for just two points against Minnesota after coming off 15 against Washington in Ann Arbor.

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Michigan cannot get caught looking ahead to Purdue (1/24), they must have all focus on Northwestern. But, all things considered, the Wolverines should not have trouble with Northwestern. Look for a vintage game from Wolf and Goldin.

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