Michigan basketball guard Kobe Bufkin: 'It's our time to go on this run'

Michigan Wolverines basketball had lost five of its last seven games heading into Thursday’s pivotal tilt at Northwestern. The Maize and Blue came out desperate, defended at a high level and pulled out a 68-51 victory against what’s projected to be a future NCAA Tournament team.

Michigan shot just 29 percent from the field in the first half but was aggressive, with 11 offensive boards before the break. Sophomore guard Kobe Bufkin set the tone with 10 first-half rebounds, and controlled the game throughout, nearly logging a triple-double with 15 points, 12 boards and 8 assists. He sat for less than a minute in each half, playing 38 minutes, the most action he’s seen in a non-overtime game, and gave everything he had.

“He’s a hard worker, he’s always in the gym,” Michigan graduate guard Joey Baker, who put up a season-high 14 points, said. “So it’s no surprise when he’s performing the way he performed today. I think he had 10 rebounds at halftime, which is just [showing] he’s playing with energy and competing. He made a lot of big plays for us.”

“It was a game plan,” Bufkin added, discussing his rebounding. “Coach Howard emphasized crashing the offensive boards. So the ball just happened to bounce my way and I was able to grab them.”

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On playing a heavy load of minutes, Bufkin said: “I was happy to just be able to give my all to the team.”

Baker’s 14 points off the bench were huge, including scoring 9 after head coach Juwan Howard benched freshman guard Jett Howard with 16:41 left in the second half. The turning point was Baker’s high-arcing triple in which he drew a foul and made the and-one free throw to put the Wolverines up 7 points less than a minute before he came into the game.

“Most of my shots I feel like are going in when they leave my hand,” Baker said with a smile. “There are some that don’t, but for the most part, I think they’re going in. I felt that one was kind of in, and I felt him clip me a little bit and just thought, ‘This is good.'”

Michigan shot 55.6 percent from the field in the second half and out-scored the Wildcats — who were playing their fifth game in 11 days — by 16 points after halftime.

Baker has stepped up lately, knowing his time as a college player could come to an end in just over a month (he wants it to stretch a few weeks further). That sense of urgency was there for the entire team Thursday.

“I don’t want it to end,” Baker said. “I’ve had a lot of fun in college playing ball, and this year has been amazing despite some tough losses. I love my teammates, we have a great group of guys and we want to finish strong.”

‘It’s our time’

Michigan competed well and lost by 5 points to Purdue last Thursday night at Crisler Center, its first home loss in league play. The Wolverines had a prime opportunity to pick up a road win at Penn State Sunday, but too many defensive breakdowns and a clunky offense saw them get blown out by 22 points. They could’ve gone one of two ways, but Michigan didn’t fold and instead took it to the Wildcats.

“Our backs were against the wall,” Baker said. “We knew what we had to do, so it was kind of desperation time. We needed a win no matter what here. So we prepared hard, and we went out there and executed.”

“We have some big games coming up — both home and away — and we also got the Big Ten Tournament,” Michigan junior forward Terrance Williams II said. “The season’s not over, but our backs are against the wall. We can’t have too many mistakes, and we’re going to take that mentality going forward.”

Michigan is set to play a reeling Ohio State team that has lost eight of its last nine games, the first of three-straight home clashes, with Nebraska and Indiana also coming to town next week. The margin for error is slim — and Michigan has just one Quad 1 victory, Thursday night’s game — but there are some big opportunities coming up.

“We know that our backs are against the wall and we have to perform at a high level,” Bufkin said. “Practice was intense, but it was good. For good reason.

“We’ve been preparing for this all year. Before the season and during the season, we’ve been through ups and downs. I feel like it’s our time to go on this run.”

It’s likely going to take at least seven more victories, between the final nine regular-season games and the Big Ten Tournament, and while the campaign is on life support, the Wolverines’ NCAA Tournament hopes aren’t all the way dead yet.