Michigan
Northwestern
Balanced Michigan Attack Bounces Northwestern
1/19/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Michigan (12-3, 3-1 Big Ten) began the contest with a 4-0 lead after layups from Leon Jones (Battle Creek, Mich./Winchendon HS) and Crawford. Northwestern (4-12, 0-4 Big Ten) bounced back to grab its first lead of the game at 5-4, but a pair of Michigan triples from freshmen LaVell Blanchard (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer HS) and Kevin Gaines (Las Vegas, Nev./Clark HS) gave Michigan the lead back at 10-8. Michigan maintained its two-point advantage keyed by a four points from sophomore Chris Young (Plymouth, Mich./Catholic Central HS) to lead 19-17 at the 11:50 mark.
A barrage of Northwestern triples was answered by another Gaines three and one from Crawford as Michigan's lead remained at two (31-29) with 7:30 left in the half. Michigan came out of the timeout on fire as a three from Brandon Smith (Amarillo, Texas/Palo Duro HS) and another from Crawford helped Michigan to lead 39-32, and later a great dish from Gaines led to a Blanchard dunk to give Michigan its first double-digit lead of the game, 47-37.
Northwestern's ninth three-pointer of the half helped the Wildcats cut the lead to seven (49-42) at the intermission. Michigan's freshmen Gaines, Crawford and Blanchard each notched 10 points in the first half. Gaines also led the Maize and Blue in assists with four, while grabbing four rebounds. Michigan's 49-point first half outburst was paced by a .655 shooting percentage on 19-of-29 from the field, including 7-of-11 (.636) from behind the arc.
Crawford opened the second half by scoring with his third triple of the contest and Jones converted a steal into a layup to help Michigan push its lead to 13 at 57-44. Michigan's improved second-half defense continued as Smith turned a steal into a alley-oop dunk from Smith to Crawford, giving Michigan a 63-49 lead.
From there, Michigan kept momentum and went on a 8-4 run, capped by a conventional three-point play from Smith on a great pass from Crawford to go up 71-53. Freshman guard Gavin Groninger (Plainfield, Ind./Plainfield HS) came off the bench to provide a spark with a pair of triples and a jumper during a 13-2 Michigan run which allowed the Wolverines to push their lead to 27 (87-60). Michigan then emptied the bench and finished off the Wildcats 93-70, buoyed by a shooting percentage of .642 (34-of-53) and a dominating 35-10 advantage on the glass.
The Wolverines will begin a two-game road swing when they face Iowa on Saturday (Jan. 22) at 7 p.m. CST at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City.
N O T E S
Michigan set a season high in three-point field goals made with 11. The Wolverines' three-point field goal percentage of .647 (11 of 17) was also a season best, as was their field goal percentage of .642 (34 of 53).
Michigan's rebounding margin of +25 (35-10) and its +23 margin of victory over Northwestern were its highest of the season.
Michigan's 12 wins this season matches its total for all of 1998-99, when the Wolverines finished 12-19 overall.
Michigan has won three straight Big Ten Conference games for the first time since the end of the 1997-98 season, when the Wolverines won their last three regular-season league games, then won three in a row on their way to the first Big Ten Tournament championship.
Northwestern's 14 three-point field goals is the second highest total allowed by Michigan this season and is the third highest total in Crisler Arena history.
Michigan's win over Northwestern was its 90th in the series, which is the most wins the Wolverines own over any one team. Michigan's second most wins vs. one team is 88 wins over Michigan State.
Contact: Tom Wywrot (734) 763-4423
