2019-20 northwestern

1 hour and 35 minutes

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1. Hoops vs Indiana

starts at 1:00

Archie Miller: great basketball coach! All those dunks and layups all come from sticking to this insane strategy of high hedging vs X, even after Michigan had 41 points because of it at halftime. Everyone except the centers had a 128+ and after Franz they're all in 140. IU's three-big lineup leads to Michigan going zone. That Davis guy went 9/9, with more than half of them garbage buckets. Brandon Johns is like a cornerback with closing speed: closing feet!

[The rest of the writeup and the player after The Jump]

2/12/2020 – Michigan 79, Northwestern 54 – 15-9, 6-7 Big Ten

I remember Julia Louis-Dreyfus. I remember a packed arena losing its mind for Dererk Pardon on that thing he did, you know, that one. I remember worse Northwestern teams that didn't sniff the tournament but were still close enough to turn Chris Collins into a dog.

Playing Northwestern anywhere other than Crisler has been a brutally frustrating experience for Michigan of late. Michigan won 62-60 in Northwestern's building just last year. The year before the Wildcats won; the year before that was the Pardon thing. There was no game at Welsh-Ryan in 2016; instead Michigan scraped out an OT win in the Big Ten Tournament.

A distinct air of "here we go again" descended over the Michigan fandom during a nearly six minute stretch without points immediately after tipoff. Then Northwestern gave up a 31-5 run with Zavier Simpson on the bench. In the second half there were possessions were Simpson just threw it to Brooks or Livers for wide open threes. No action, no screens, just guys standing by themselves outside the three point line.

It took Northwestern over a half to get an offensive rebound. Jared Jones, the backup post you may remember canning off the dribble jumpers, seemed like the only guy on the court who wanted to be there. It obviously sucks to be on a team that's 1-12 in conference play but after watching Rutgers nearly fight all the way back against Ohio State in the game immediately preceding Michigan's it was hard not to compare the two teams.

Rutgers is still pretty much Rutgers. They can't shoot (318th in 3P%, 329th in FT%). Their offense is still a series of isos with very little team basketball (311th in assist rate). They're an island of misfit toys, and they play balls to the wall at all times. It's impossible to rattle them. They play in the RAC. Two years ago they went 3-15 in league play. So what if Geo Baker misses 12 straight shots and you're down 15 to, yep, Northwestern? Been there. Lived there. Gonna win anyway in the jankiest way possible.

Northwestern just wants to go home.

[After THE JUMP: Big Country!]

For the first four minutes and change, it appeared tonight would be another excruciating experience at Welsh-Ryan Arena, where of late Michigan has played several unexpectedly close games with Northwestern. The Wolverines missed their first 11 shots from the field, seven of them dunks or layups, to allow the Wildcats to leap out to a [checks notes] 4-0 lead at the first media timeout.

Eli Brooks drilled a three out of the break, however, and when Northwestern pushed back, Juwan Howard inserted the team's secret weapon: Austin Davis. Big Country scored three straight buckets after Jon Teske had failed to hit on a series of close looks, then Brooks and Franz Wagner hit back to back triples to give Michigan a lead they wouldn't relinquish. The Wolverines hit 30-of-53 shots after their 0-for-11 start.

Northwestern remained stuck in first gear, failing to make a third of their attempts on the night and looking generally incapable of generating quality looks.

The game turned into an increasingly one-sided affair highlighted by a couple thunderous Isaiah Livers dunks, the second following consecutive emphatic blocks by Wagner and Teske on Miller Kopp, Northwestern's leading scorer.

Isaiah Livers (@isaiah__02) is out here handing out lessons. ?

Don't jump with the @umichbball star: pic.twitter.com/Dq4PCT8NV3

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) February 13, 2020

Livers scored 17 points, going 5/6 on twos and 7/7 from the line (also 0/5 on threes), and added five rebounds, two assists, and a block. Brooks led the team with 18 points on 14 shooting possessions, repeatedly finding open spots to unleash his jumper.

While Zavier Simpson had a quiet night and Teske struggled to a 3/14 mark from the field, the supporting cast stepped up: David DeJulius had an excellent 7-6-7 performance, Davis and Brandon Johns were both perfect from the field, Wagner dished out four assists and again made a significant defensive impact, and the backups—including, notably, Cole Bajema, who knocked in a corner three—were lights out in KenPom time.

Michigan dominated as you'd hope a tournament team would against an overmatched Northwestern squad. With their win and OSU's victory over Rutgers earlier in the evening, there are now eight Big Ten teams with between six and eight conference wins. The push for conference and NCAA tournament seeding is going to be wild. It continues for the Wolverines on Sunday when they host Indiana (5-7 B1G), losers of four straight.

[Hit THE JUMP for the box score.]