Michigan
9-0; 2-0
Northwestern
6-3; 0-2
Maize and Whew: U-M Defense Turns Away Northwestern for Ninth Straight Win
12/4/2018 11:13:00 PM | Men's Basketball
» The Wolverines improved to 9-0 (2-0 Big Ten) with a 62-60 win over Northwestern.
» Ignas Brazdeikis notched his fourth 20-point game, scoring a team-best 23.
» Jon Teske earned his second double-digit rebounding effort with 10 boards.
» Michigan returns to Crisler Center on Saturday (Dec. 8) against South Carolina.
Site: Evanston, Ill. (Welsh-Ryan Arena)
Score: #5 Michigan 62, Northwestern 60
Records: U-M (9-0, 2-0 Big Ten), Northwestern (6-3, 0-2 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Dec. 8 -- vs. South Carolina (Crisler Center), noon
• Watch: Postgame Report
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern found itself with the ball and 11 seconds remaining in regulation, trailing by two points. But the No. 5-ranked University of Michigan men's basketball team played lockdown defense to capture a 62-60 victory over the Wildcats on Tuesday (Dec. 4) at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Northwestern's Ryan Taylor launched a contested last-second three-pointer that went off the glass and bounced off the rim as time expired. The win is Michigan's ninth in a row to start the season and snapped a three-game road skid against the Wildcats in Evanston.
Freshman Ignas Brazdeikis scored a team-high 23 points, Poole added 15 points and junior Zavier Simpson contributed 10 points for the Wolverines. Simpson led the Wolverines in assists, dishing out five. Junior Jon Teske paced the Wolverines on the boards, grabbing 10 rebounds.
Poole scored the first five points of the game on a layup and three free throws, and Simpson capped off a 7-0 run in the first three minutes of the game with a reverse layup under the basket at the 18:12 mark.
The Wolverines extended their lead when Teske turned a block and a steal into four points and Poole added an and-one play to give U-M a 15-7 lead. Northwestern cut the Michigan lead to three, 22-19, with a 7-0 run with less than 10 minutes remaining before the Wolverines called a timeout with 8:09 remaining in the half.
After the timeout, Michigan's defense put the Wildcat offense on ice for 2:36 and Brazdeikis scored four points to extend the Michigan lead to seven, 26-19. Minutes later, Brazdeikis drained a three-pointer to force the Wildcats to call a timeout of their own with Michigan leading, 31-21, with 4:30 remaining in the half.
Both teams exchanged baskets heading into halftime, with NU making a last-second three-pointer. The Wolverines carried a six-point lead, 36-30, into the locker room.
Coming out of the break, Michigan worked its lead to 13 points behind five points from Brazdeikis, to force Northwestern to call a timeout less than three minutes into the second half. Upon returning to the floor, the Wildcats went on a 15-2 run to come within two points of the Wolverines, 47-45, with 13:10 to play in the game.
Northwestern's offense went on another 7-0 run and earned its first lead of the game, 52-51, with 6:24 remaining in the contest. The lead changed hands four times over the last seven minutes to set up the game's final sequence.
The Wolverines will return to Crisler Center on Saturday (Dec. 8) when they play host to South Carolina in a noon contest that will be broadcast live on FS1.
