CHICAGO, Ill. — The 20th-ranked University of Michigan men’s basketball team led for the first 21-plus minutes of the game before a second-half scoring drought allowed Northwestern to steal the lead and eventually the game in a 61-52 upset on Tuesday night (Feb. 6) at Allstate Arena.
Junior Moritz Wagner posted a team-high 20 points and was one rebound shy of his second straight double-double with nine rebounds. Senior Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman joined Wagner in double-figure scoring with 11 points.
The Wolverines got off to a hot start, hitting four of their first six shots, including their first two three-point attempts while the Wildcats started the game 0-for-6. Five different U-M players scored before the first media timeout at 15:02, and Michigan held an early 13-3 advantage.
Northwestern scored five quick points out of the timeout to cut Michigan’s lead to five, 13-8, but then a triple from freshman Jordan Poole and a three-point play from Wagner extended U-M’s lead to 19-11 with 11:27 left in the first half.
The Wildcats then went on a 6-0 run to cut their deficit to two, their smallest of the half, with 8:23 to play. The two teams traded buckets for the remainder of the half, with seven of Michigan’s last 13 points of the half coming from Abdur-Rahkman. NU’s Scottie Lindsey hit a three pointer with six seconds to go in the half to make it a three-point game at the break, 32-29.
Northwestern opened the second half on a 10-1 run to take its first lead of the game, 39-33, at 15:09.
Michigan trailed, 44-41, after a Wagner bucket with 12:15 remaining in the game before being held without a field goal for nine and a half minutes. The Wolverines converted just five free throws during that stretch, allowing the Wildcats to push their lead to 10, 54-44, at the 3:43 mark. Northwestern’s Bryant McIntosh scored 10 straight points for the Wildcats during that stretch.
Junior Charles Matthews ended the drought with a corner three with 2:46 on the clock. With 2:01 left to play, another three-point play from Wagner brought the Maize and Blue within four, but Northwestern closed the game on a 5-0 run to seal its first win over a ranked opponent this season.
The Wolverines converted just five field goals in the second half (5-for-20) and got nine of their second-half points from the free-throw line.
Tuesday marked the second regular-season meeting between Michigan and Northwestern in the last eight days. The teams split the games and both teams won on their home courts.
Michigan will remain on the road for its next matchup, as it will travel to Madison, Wisconsin, to take on the Wisconsin Badgers on Sunday (Feb. 11). The game is scheduled for a noon CST tipoff and will be broadcast live on CBS.
Release By Mgoblue.com