Michigan 72, Northwestern 70
Good grief.
The basketball game that unfolded on Wednesday night at Crisler Center was a deeply unpleasant viewing experience, even if the Michigan Wolverines were able to notch their third consecutive victory, 72-70, over the Northwestern Wildcats. The win is crucial for keeping Michigan's tournament hopes alive, but very little else will be remembered fondly by the Michigan faithful. Though the home team didn't play particularly well, most of the memory of this one will hinge on it being a foul-fest. There were 46 fouls called between the two teams, forcing both squads into rolling with unfamiliar lineups in a choppy game that lacked any flow due to the fact there was a whistle less than every sixty seconds.
Shooting fouls, blocking fouls, charges, moving screens, anything and everything in the rule book was getting called tonight and whistles were blown so much you'd have mistaken it for a practice, not a regulation conference game. A deeply strange game that was upsetting to watch, not just when it seemed that Michigan was on the ropes, but even during the stretches when the home team was winning. Nevertheless, more stellar play from Caleb Houstan and a surprise late cameo from Jaron Faulds helped get it done. In a season where Michigan needs all the help they can get to make it into March Madness, a win is a win. And a win it was.
The first half was a pretty tight back-and-forth affair. Neither team led by more than five at any juncture in the first twenty minutes and all that felt notable at the time was the crazy number of whistles being called, though we came to learn in the second half that that's how the entire game would be. Houstan led Michigan with 12 in the first half, getting to the line for eight free throw attempts, while no other player had more than six points, and they closed the half with Jace Howard at center due to foul trouble affecting Hunter Dickinson and Moussa Diabate.
DeVante' Jones was a positive steadying force [Fuller]
The second half saw Michigan start hot, with a 12-2 run within the first three minutes of the frame putting the Wolverines up 11. That spurt was catapulted by nine points from Eli Brooks, who was quiet in the first half and who Michigan absolutely needs more from down the stretch of the season. Northwestern quickly called a timeout and for a brief moment, it seemed as if the Wolverines were asserting their control of the contest.
Unfortunately, after a DeVante' Jones jumper put Michigan up 10 with 15:08 to play, the Maize & Blue would notch just five points in the next ten minutes of game play. Over that span, the Wildcats added 22 of their own and flipped a 10 point deficit to a 7 point lead. After Robbie Beran made it 62-55 Northwestern with 5:09 to play, Juwan Howard called timeout. A loss in this game would have very possibly bumped Michigan back off the bubble, and so it was then that the team needed to rise to the occasion. They dug deep and did.
Over three straight offensive possessions, Diabate made a pair of free throws, then DeVante' Jones nailed a massive three from the corner, and Diabate slammed home a dunk. With two stops sandwiched in between, it was tied just like that. Michigan forced another miss from Ryan Greer and had the ball with a chance to take the lead when yet another sloppy turnover gave it right back to NU. 15 seconds later, Hunter Dickinson was called for what appeared to be a rather marginal foul while guarding the post and that was it for his night. Ryan Young hit both free throws (Northwestern was in the double bonus by now) and the Wildcats were back up two.
Faulds! [Fuller]
Without their best player on the floor, Michigan needed an answer, and Terrance Williams II delivered one, knocking down a huge three pointer to push Michigan back up one, 65-64, with 2:08 left. But just seconds after that, foul trouble struck again, as Moussa Diabate was whistled for his fifth on a shooting foul. This forced seldom-used backup center Jaron Faulds into the lineup and after Pete Nance went 1/2 at the line, it was tied at 65-65. Faulds made his impact quickly known: he dished out a sweet assist to Caleb Houstan in the corner, who swished a trey, and then he helped force a stop at the other end. DeVante' Jones drew a foul on the ensuing offensive possession, made both free throws, and Michigan led 70-65 with under a minute left.
It seemed at this moment that Michigan might be putting the game away, but the 'Cats had an answer of their own. Guard Boo Buie knocked down a triple to cut it to a two point game. Jones drove to the lane on Michigan's next possession and drew a foul, hitting both free throws again, making it 72-68 with 27 seconds left.
The final 27 seconds were wild. The sequence began with Northwestern sending big man Ryan Young to the stripe with the score at that margin. Young made the first but the second popped out. Nance tipped it back, and Buie recovered it and called timeout. With Northwestern now down three, Michigan opted for the intentional foul to nullify any chance of a game-tying bucket. Nance went to the line and missed both, and Faulds drew a whistle during the scrum for the loose ball. At this point, with the score 72-69 and eight seconds left, all Faulds needed to do was make one to put the game on ice. He missed them both.
Nance rebounded, passed it to Buie, who then was intentionally fouled just past half court by Williams. He made the first, missed the second, and again Northwestern got a second chance. Nance snagged the offensive rebound, passed to Roper, who pulled up from three for a chance to win at the horn. The shot was off target, and Michigan had survived.
[AFTER THE JUMP: A couple thoughts and the box score]
Could have used a little more Eli in this game [Fuller]
It's hard to know what to take away from a game like this. You could throw it all out the window because of the fouls. Or you could praise Michigan for their resilience in storming back to win late, but that feels improper given the long stretches where the team was completely impotent offensively, as well as the way they nearly threw it away at the end. The one thing it does feel like you can say is that Faulds won't be playing in many other late game situations the rest of the season, so that may not be the most applicable takeaway.
Caleb Houstan led Michigan with 18 points, including 3/5 from three, continuing his Jake Rudock-like midseason improvement of the last week. A very welcome sight. DeVante' Jones is in a similar bucket, playing much better than earlier in the year, scoring 15 points and handling the ball in key moments late, drawing fouls and willing the team forward without Hunter Dickinson on the floor. The big men were quiet due to the penalty trouble, while Eli Brooks had 12, mostly all from that one stretch early in the second half. Northwestern's scoring was quite balanced, four in double figures, but no one with more than 14. In total, three players from the two teams fouled out, while two others on Northwestern finished with four. Weird.
Michigan is now 10-7 on the season and moves to 4-3 in B1G play. Their tourney hopes still have some life, but they'll need a signature win soon. That could come Saturday, as they head into the Breslin Center to play #10 Michigan State at 12:30 PM EST. That game is on CBS.
Box score:
January 26th, 2022 at 10:01 PM ^
We’re going to need Hunter to have a double double (16-10 or something like that) in East Lansing to have a decent shot. Also need 3li to play huge.
January 27th, 2022 at 12:16 AM ^
Well, Sparty had no answer for Ryan Young, who put up 18 and 8 on them. What are they going to do with Hunter??
January 27th, 2022 at 9:01 AM ^
Speaking of bigs, have we seen the last of Johns? Never came back in after “the shoe incident” and the ensuing dust-up with Coach in the first half. And when we needed a replacement for HD, he got passed up for Faulds. Not looking good….
January 27th, 2022 at 11:49 AM ^
He’ll he just fine. Keeping Johns on the bench the rest of the way is not normal thinking.
January 27th, 2022 at 12:22 PM ^
I think Howard told Johns he is done for the game when he got to the bench after the shoe incident. Johns didn't even bother tying his shoe when he put it back on when he sat down.
January 26th, 2022 at 10:06 PM ^
Watching that game was like watching the stock market the past week: ups and downs with a whole lot swearing muttered at a screen.
January 26th, 2022 at 10:11 PM ^
When Mich gets reF'd on the road everyone just shrugs and says "home court advantage."
But Mich also gets reF'd at home...
January 26th, 2022 at 10:46 PM ^
Both teams got terrible calls all night but I do agree that generally the road team alone gets the shaft except at Crisler, where both teams just have to wade through shit for 40 minutes
January 26th, 2022 at 11:12 PM ^
It was a total refshow both ways all night. One of the refs was the same guy that tossed Beilein that one time if that tells you what a moron he is. In many ways it was ironic because these two teams are the two worst FT margin teams in the entire B10.
There's a stat that UMHoops has been tracking about Michigan drawing a lot fewer fouls this year. Specifically, Hunter is drawing significantly fewer fouls during post ups despite taking just as many shots. Very weird. I do think he was more reckless last year, but still....how does a POY candidate who plays in the post and is a giant get no calls?
January 27th, 2022 at 9:23 AM ^
Two of the three refs in this game were part of the same crew that ejected Beilein (the 2nd time in his career and the first since the 1970s): Paul Szelc, Robert Riley
January 26th, 2022 at 10:11 PM ^
Was Brandon Johns hurt or benched? I’d have expected to see him at the 5 before Jace or Faulds.
January 26th, 2022 at 10:14 PM ^
No one wants to talk about it.
January 27th, 2022 at 2:50 AM ^
We don't talk about Brandon.
January 26th, 2022 at 10:16 PM ^
He was trying to figure out how to tie his shoes. He was too nervous and he made the bunny run the wrong way around the tree. They them gave him a coloring book to see if he could stay inside the lines and build some momentum, but even that was a struggle.
January 26th, 2022 at 11:18 PM ^
Loop, scoop, tuck
January 27th, 2022 at 7:35 AM ^
Now that’s funny.
January 26th, 2022 at 11:14 PM ^
By the end of the game Johns was behind Williams, Jace, and Faulds on the depth chart. Will be interesting to see if he plays any meaningful minutes the rest of the way. The shoe thing was the last straw I think....after multiple clueless plays.
January 27th, 2022 at 8:24 AM ^
After the shoe incident, the camera showed JH having a deep discussion with Johns near the bench. Johns looked disengaged and tentative when he was in the game.
January 26th, 2022 at 11:40 PM ^
This was....concerning.
January 27th, 2022 at 12:53 AM ^
Holy shit I can't think of a more disappointing season by a returning player ever. The guy has so much talent and was playing downright good basketball at the end of last year replacing Livers. What in the goddamn hell.
January 27th, 2022 at 9:12 AM ^
my theory is their is something mental with him. last year he wasn't that good until he was forced to step up when livers was hurt. this year similar. when diabate was ill at Nebraska, he had his best game. when the person in front of him is gone, he seems to do better.
i have not actually tracked this, but these things stick out to me.
January 27th, 2022 at 3:19 PM ^
It's clearly mental, but he was the starter to begin the season. And he flashes moments coming off the bench too. Against Indiana, he absolutely nailed that catch-and-shoot 3 coming off a screen. And that spin move in the first half against Northwestern was beautiful. When he's on, he's a matchup nightmare bordering on literally unguardable. But it's so rare for him to be on.
January 27th, 2022 at 1:10 AM ^
FWIW...
ON FAULDS PLAYING LATE INSTEAD OF BRANDON JOHNS
"We needed some length. They had two big guys in there. (Robbie) Beran, and also (Ryan) Young. And Young is a load in the low block. He’s very skilled, he’s long. I wanted to match size with size."
January 27th, 2022 at 1:45 AM ^
For one, there's no way Faulds is "length"ier than Johns. He might be heavier, but no way lengthier. Where was that supposed length when we let them get not one but TWO orebs on missed FTs.
In fairness, he did coax a miss out of Young on the block with 1:17 to go. I was like ok, maybe...oh god, oh god no. Also in fairness, that was the reaction to some of Johns play as well.
January 27th, 2022 at 1:24 PM ^
He passed up a three and it was all downhill from there. I have always wished the guy the best--and we know he has talent--but man has he appeared to be fragile in his time at Michigan.
January 26th, 2022 at 10:21 PM ^
[EDIT: missed the above post, while I had the window open for several minutes looking up stuff on Johns and Zeb]
What's the latest on Zeb?
January 26th, 2022 at 10:46 PM ^
Jackson is busy trying to legalize changing his name to Xeb. Kind of a reversal of Xavier Simpson to Zavier.
January 26th, 2022 at 10:30 PM ^
Couldn’t catch the game. Were the fouls because the refs blew the whistle at the slightest contact, or was it really just that sloppy?
January 26th, 2022 at 10:39 PM ^
I'd say it was totally the refs. Basketball always has a lot of contact, and it's impossible to call everything. These refs tried though...
January 26th, 2022 at 10:52 PM ^
Seconded.
January 26th, 2022 at 11:20 PM ^
I would say the offensive fouls on Dickinson were petty….. first one okay, second was BS. Wins a win though
January 27th, 2022 at 1:50 AM ^
The refs called a very, unreasonably tight game. That said, Michigan needed to adjust but they made a lot of undisciplined plays to give the refs excuses to make calls.
Dickinson's fifth was really bad by him. It was a ticky tack call but in this game you just cannot risk a reach in like he did. ESPECIALLY with four fouls.
The mental mistakes and lack of discipline in general are still holding this team back from being more consistently dominant which they absolutely could (should) be when Jones and Houstan are playing like this.
January 27th, 2022 at 7:16 AM ^
I thought his 4th was the bigger mental lapse. He was pissed about the offensive possession and reached in 90 feet from NW basket. Have to be smarter there with 3 fouls. That being said it was a painful game to watch with all the fouls. Middle school ref show.
January 27th, 2022 at 12:14 PM ^
Hunter's fouls:
1st and 2nd: Jones left too early on a ball screen and brought the defender into Hunter while he was still positioning himself.
3rd: offensive player lowers his shoulder into Hunter, gets a call (this was the only BAD call wrt Hunter)
4th: frustration foul 90 feet from the basket after he missed a hook (dumb)
5th: lowers his arm and does restrict the offensive player's movement technically but in a way that happens dozens of times per game. Correct but cheap call. Raftery would call it a nickel-dimer.
January 26th, 2022 at 11:40 PM ^
What a weird game. Same FG made, same 3PT made, same points in the paint, same points off TO, won the FT margin by 2, won the game by 2.
Also, how does NW have 3 more minutes played than UM?
January 27th, 2022 at 6:13 AM ^
I thought the minutes played thing was odd too. Has to be rounding error, right?
January 27th, 2022 at 7:05 AM ^
You are absolutely correct. On the other hand, look at the other stats that caused the close score: six fewer shots and four more turnovers. The free throw difference was surprising, especially since Faulds missed both of his badly. Nevertheless, you have to admit that Faulds has "got game."
But... Go Blue! The comeback was unexpected after those disheartening earlier losses. Hopefully this result will help to fuel a positive attitude in future games.
January 26th, 2022 at 11:41 PM ^
that last 17 seconds was awful...so awful... happy with the win, but damn it is ever feel like a loss.
Luckily the only thing that matters is the W.
Glad to see Houstan continuing to shoot well too.
January 27th, 2022 at 1:10 AM ^
Definitely good to see Houstan and Jones continue to play well. If there's something to take away, that's a positive.
You're right that Jones willed the team to a win at the end. The three and then the two drives for fouls making 4/4 FTs pretty much won it for Michigan at the end, without Dickinson playing. He was very good as Michigan's primary offensive creator against Illinois too so I think he's finding the right balance of not forcing things, but then picking his spots when he needs to.
And good to see Eli break out of a mini slump even if that breakout only lasted about 3 minutes.
January 27th, 2022 at 1:25 AM ^
Still….awesome? That the refs decided to swallow their whistles, presumably to not impact the ending on both of those FT offensive rebounds. Two hand shove in the back on the last one was as easy a call as you get.
especially after the foul on Houston on a FT rebounding challenge just a couple of minutes before.
January 27th, 2022 at 1:30 AM ^
Kind of too bad that Johns wasn’t in to get that last rebound and make a FT to clinch the game.
it would have completed the perfecta on fan targets doing it all down the stretch. Game winning plays in the last 2 minutes by Jones, Houstan, and Williams. Who saw a game like that coming a month ago?
January 27th, 2022 at 1:56 AM ^
Those three celebrating postgame:
January 27th, 2022 at 6:04 AM ^
Not an analysis but feelz:
It felt as if Michigan’s offense kept fumbling the opportunities that are usually 50/50, like losing balls out of bounds off a couple Michigan players, or missing layups.
And it felt as if Michigan’s defense had no answer for Northwestern, that NU could usually get to the basket.
As Alex analyzed it, it was a strange game.
January 27th, 2022 at 11:54 AM ^
It was a strange game for many reasons, but NW isn’t a pushover. They are well coached and have some serious talent.
January 27th, 2022 at 1:41 PM ^
When I opened the box score, I didn’t expect to see 56/67/69. And without tooo many TOs. Those are numbers that can lead to 20 point wins vs good teams.
The single offensive rebound may have been a part of what it felt worse.
January 27th, 2022 at 8:14 AM ^
I didn't watch the whole game, but there was a stretch where Michigan got called for two questionable offensive fouls in a row then Nortwestern given the ball when they touched it last going out of bounds, again when Michigan had the ball. The last one was right in front of the Michigan bench and they were going ballistic over the bad call.
January 27th, 2022 at 8:34 AM ^
Only one thing wasn't entirely predictable about that last 27 seconds; Nance missing both free-throws. That was very surprising. But everything else you could see from miles away.
*Boo Buie immediately draining the 3 once we were up 5. (The only surprising thing was that he did it in 5 seconds and not quicker.)
*Faulds two free-throw attempts (I thought beforehand, there's not a chance in hell he hits either of these.)
*Buie's missed free-throw which, OF COURSE, was a Northwestern rebound with the chance to win it.
Ugh. The Maryland and Indiana games were fun but we can be so painful to watch. Northwestern has played everyone close but...yeesh...this is not a classic to go back and watch.
January 27th, 2022 at 1:08 PM ^
I'm with you, certainly not a rewatchable game. But could prove to be a memorable one if M ultimately claws its way into the tournament field. Because what wasn't predictable is how they completed the comeback, doing it on offense with cold-blooded 3s from Jones, Caleb and Williams down the stretch. Starring down an emasculating and devastating loss they didn't blink. Having watched this team all season, I think confidence is the most important factor in turning things around, and though they didn't execute like they did against Maryland and IU, this game still represents another palpable step forward in that area.
January 27th, 2022 at 8:44 AM ^
Our offensive sets can be very stagnant at (lots of) times. Not sure if that’s personnel, or scheme.
January 27th, 2022 at 8:48 AM ^
Winning by 18 on the road at assembly hall isn't a signature win? Especially to an Indiana team that hadn't lost at home all year.
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