Michigan basketball win over Northwestern 'not perfect,' but it didn't have to be

There are only 1 or 2 teams in the Big Ten that don’t have a chance to beat every other team in the conference, and Michigan isn’t one of them. That’s what makes it so competitive and fun on a weekly basis … watching the upsets, the games between solid but not great teams that could go either way, and often aren’t going the way you think they will.

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And that’s what the Big Ten is — solid. There aren’t any conference teams likely to make the Final Four, but they’ll compete, and they’ll knock each other off. That’s why nobody took an improving Northwestern team for granted when the Wildcats came in to Michigan with some nice wins on the resume. Chris Collins’ team battled, but the Wolverines were able to pull out an 85-79 win.

Despite 18 turnovers and his team having blown a few double-digit leads, Michigan head coach Juwan Howard was very happy with the win, as he should have been.

“We have one day of rest and we are we right back at it again on Thursday versus another tough team in our league [Maryland],” Howard said. “And that’s what we expect throughout the year. There are a lot of coaches that have been saying this is one of the best — if not the best — conferences in college basketball.

“I would say we’re definitely one of the best Power Five conferences in basketball because every team, you’re going to get their best.”

As noted, parity-wise, yeah. Top to bottom, anyone can beat just about anyone. Big Ten bottom feeder Minnesota even went into Columbus this weekend and beat a good Ohio State team. This Northwestern team won at Michigan State earlier this year.

So … holding serve at home is No. 1. Michigan did that again, and that’s 3-for-3 in Big Ten play. They’ll also have to steal some on the road, and they missed an opportunity earlier in the week in a loss at Iowa, blowing a 7-point lead late.

For a while, it appeared as though U-M might let this one get away, too. They built a nice lead early, only to play lackadaisically in stretches both on defense and in ball protection. Michigan turned it over 18 times in fact — almost double the Wolverines’ average — and it led to 16 points in transition for the Wildcats.

There were times they seemed disinterested on defense, and they didn’t play their ‘A’ game.

Yet they scored 85 points despite all the miscues and a number of missed free throws. They overcame because they made 45 percent of their triples (10 of 22), got backcourt scoring from frosh Dug McDaniel and sophomore Kobe Bufkin (17 and 20 points, 5-of-10 triples combined), and a better all-around effort from Jett Howard.

On Thursday, Howard scored 34 points but added 1 rebound and 0 assists. Sunday, he led Michigan in assists with 7 and — while he still had his share of defensive lapses — played a much better all-around game.

“When you have 34 points, the next game, you expect to have 30. You’re [usually] going to go for your numbers to get at least the 20s,” Howard said. “Jett is not wired that way. He also understands that time and possession — which he’s going to continue to keep improving with — but reading defense, and that’s the part of being a willing passer, as he is. And his passing is very underrated.

“His playmaking ability is growing. But he, of course, allowed the game to come to him. And I was impressed with his maturity.”

There’s some talent here on this Michigan team, and more is emerging. Frosh Tarris Reed Jr. scored 6 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in only 18 minutes. He’s providing great energy. Sophomore Will Tschetter added 4 points, and while he’s limited in ways, he’s been a plus just about every time he’s stepped on the floor.

The bottom line, though — this is a game the Wolverines were supposed to win. They still need to prove they can do it against better teams in their venues.

There will be opportunities, and they’re still growing.