Michigan basketball holds off physical Northwestern, 85-78

Michigan got off to a great start in a big game with Northwestern, jumping out to a 13-4 start behind a pair of triples from Jett Howard and another from Kobe Bufkin. 

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When freshman Dug McDaniel got involved with a stepback three that made it 18-6, it seemed clear it was Michigan’s day. 

But then they turned it over 6 times in the next 4-plus minutes in going on a scoring drought. The Wolverines allowed a comeback, but made enough plays down the stretch to pull out an 85-78 win.

Grad Joey Baker ended the initial drought at 10:19 with a nice drive and finish, but it would be a back and forth affair. The Wolverines struggled to get into their offensive sets, but the defense allowed them to stay ahead. McDaniel’s second triple made it 23-12. 

Then the Wolverines started playing sloppy ball. Jett Howard and McDaniel jacked some bad triples. They continued to turn the ball over, and Northwestern got right back into it with a 7-0 run in less than a minute. 

It was 25-24 at 6:30 when Julian Roper II scored on a jumper in the lane for the Wildcats. 

Michigan went zone, and Chase Audige hit a triple to tie it at 5:35. Northwestern took the lead after some bad shots by the Wolverines on a Robbie Beran triple that made it 32-29. 

Bufkin stopped the bleeding with a drive and finish at 2:45.

Northwestern continued to take advantage of Michigan miscues, though. Another Roper triple gave the Wildcats their biggest lead, 39-33, with about a minute to go in the half. McDaniel scored the last 4 points of the half, and the Wolverines went into the break trailing 39-37. 

McDaniel scored 10 points and Bufkin added nine for Michigan, which shot 48 percent and 45.5 from 3-point range but still trailed. 

Second Half — Michigan pulls away for big win

Northwestern started the half with 2 free throws on a second-chance opportunity to push the lead to 4. That forced head coach Juwan Howard to replace junior Terrance Williams II with sophomore Will Tschetter. 

The Wolverines finally got the lead back on buckets inside by McDaniel and Bufkin, but gave it right back by not getting back on defense. They gave up second chance opportunities on two possessions in the first 4 minutes and allowed the Wildcats to maintain their 2-point lead after the first TV timeout. 

Tschetter tied it with a putback. McDaniel put the Wolverines ahead, 52-49, with a triple from the corner at 14:15, forcing a Wildcats timeout. They looked like they were ready to make a run. 

Instead, they gave the lead back with a tough two by Boo Buie and a McDaniel turnover on which Buie made one of two free throws after being fouled. 

Michigan battled back on and-one dunk by frosh Tarris Reed made it 56-54 at 12:10., though he’d miss the free throw. Tschetter inside on Jett Howard’s second straight assist made it 58-54, but Howard unnecessarily fouled 3-point shooter Ty Berry made all three to cut the lead to 1. A miss and Buie’s runner gave the Wildcats the lead back at the 10-minute mark. 

Michigan went with its two-big lineup, and it paid off. Bufkin got into the lane and scored. Dickinson then followed up with a jumper to push it to 62-59, and Dickinson’s free throw off an offensive rebound made it 63-59. 

A McDaniel steal and a Joey Baker 3 pushed the lead to 66-59 with 7:19 remaining, forcing a Wildcats timeout. Northwestern missed a wide-open 3 and Dickinson scored inside, though missed the and-one, to push it to 68-59. 

The Wildcats wouldn’t go away. A Buie 3 cut it to 68-64 at 5:40. Dickinson and Jett Howard missed wide open threes, and a Bufkin over the back foul on the latter put the Wildcats in the double bonus. 

Roper made 1 of 2 free throws to cut the lead to 3. A McDaniel to Reed alley-oop pushed the lead back to 5. Reed gave a spark during his minutes, all over loose balls and the offensive glass.

The Wolverines started to pull away. A huge triple from Bufkin from the corner and his drive and finish made it 79-68 with 1:49 remaining. But Michigan players made some poor decisions, and a 6-0 Northwestern run cut the lead to 79-74 with 42.3 seconds remaining. It didn’t help that Dickinson missed 2 free throws during the stretch. He was 1-for-5 from the line at that point with 9 points.

Michigan would finish it, though, from the line. Williams and Dickinson both made 1 each on different trips, and after a missed triple, Bufkin dunked on a breakaway. Jett Howard finished it off with two free throws.

Bufkin finished with 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting. McDaniel added 17 with 5 assists and Jett Howard 16 for Michigan, which improved to 4-2 in Big Ten play.