Michigan
23-1,13-1Big Ten
Northwestern
10-15,2-12Big Ten
Second-Half Scoring Surge Carries U-M to Comeback Win Over Northwestern
2/11/2026 11:59:00 PM | Men's Basketball
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Trailing by nine points at halftime and as many as 16 in the second half, the second-ranked University of Michigan men's basketball team staged a 21-7 run over a five-minute span in the second half for an 87-75 come-from-behind victory over the Wildcats on Wednesday (Feb. 11) at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Leaders and Best
L.J. Cason led the Wolverines with a career night, with 18 points on 5-for-8 shooting and 7-for-9 from the free-throw line. Yaxel Lendeborg also delivered a double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds. Aday Mara finished with 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting while adding seven rebounds and four assists. Morez Johnson Jr. posted 12 points of his own and pulled down nine rebounds, including several key finishes during Michigan's second-half comeback. Trey McKenney chipped in 12 points, knocking down two key three-pointers and going a perfect 4-for-4 at the free-throw line.
Turning Point
Trailing 60-49 in the second half, Cason scored a layup with 12:12 to go, before Lendeborg scored two second-chance buckets at the 11:08 mark. The Wolverines continued to score with a McKenney triple and a slam from Johnson, which brought U-M back to within two points of Northwestern. An 8-0 scoring run in 70 seconds, ending with 7:14 to play, gave the Wolverines their first lead since 10-8 at the 16:24 mark of the first half. Over the five-minute span, Michigan outscored the Wildcats 21-7.
Second Half
Northwestern (10-15, 2-12 Big Ten) opened the second half with a layup and a hook shot shortly before Nimari Burnett knocked down a second-chance three-pointer for Michigan's first points of the half. Mara added to them with a driving layup and made a pair of free throws to bring the Wolverines within nine points of the Wildcats, 50-41.
However, at the 14:36 minute mark, Michigan had made just one of its last eight attempts as Northwestern continued on a 6-0 scoring just over two minutes. A Roddy Gayle Jr. dunk and a Johnson layup finally snapped the Wolverines' five-minute-long scoring drought.
From there, the Maize and Blue began to chip away. Michigan strung together a 7-0 run to close within nine, and Cason converted a pair of free throws at the line at 9:53 to bring the Wolverines within four, 60-56. A 9-0 burst in under three minutes, capped by a dunk from Johnson, pulled Michigan within two, 64-62, with 9:02 to play. Free throws from Cason again cut the deficit to two, 67-65, before the Wolverines evened the score at 69, the first tie of the game since 17-17 early in the first half.
Michigan reclaimed the lead for good with just over five minutes remaining, and with the Wolverines in the double-bonus at 5:26, McKenney knocked down two free throws to make it 73-69. From the 14:00 mark on, Northwestern shot just 3-for-14, while Michigan went 11-for-12, completing a 23-4 run highlighted by dunks from Johnson, Mara and Lendeborg. McKenney later pushed the lead to double digits at the line, and the Wolverines closed it out for an 87-75 win.
First Half
Michigan took immediate control of the tip with a score from Elliot Cadeau, assisted by Burnett, for the game's first points. Northwestern quickly answered, going on an 8-0 run in just 40 seconds. An alley-oop dunk from Johnson ended the Wildcats' run and brought the score to 8-7 with 17:26 on the clock.
Burnett found himself in early foul trouble after two fouls in two minutes. Meanwhile, Northwestern continued to attack, with a streak of 5-for-5 shooting. With three Wildcat turnovers in four possessions, U-M brought the score to 17-17 with 13:20 left in the half off three consecutive scores. At 10:05, the Wildcats led 29-17, the largest lead any team has owned against the Wolverines all season. During the span, Michigan continued its shooting woes, making just two of its 11 field goals.
With 5:49 left in the half, Michigan continued its scoring drought of 2:34 and committed six turnovers to Northwestern's four. The Michigan scoring drought ended with a second-chance putback layup and a free throw by Lendeborg. A tip-in from Mara and a three-point jumper from Cadeau brought the Wolverines back within six points (40-34) with under two minutes left in the half. Northwestern led 44-35 at the break, marking U-M's largest halftime deficit this season.
What's Next
The Wolverines will return to Crisler Center on Saturday (Feb. 14) for a 12:45 p.m. matchup against UCLA. Michigan's annual Wear White game will be broadcast live on CBS.
Notes
• Tonight's halftime deficit marks just the fifth time U-M has trailed at the half and the first by more than five points -- with four on the road and in Big Ten contests.
• After scoring 14 points and collecting 14 rebounds against Ohio State last Sunday and a double-double in Evanston, Lendeborg becomes the first Wolverine since Hunter Dickinson to have double-doubles in consecutive regular-season games. Dickinson did so during the 2022-23 season, and combined for 55 points and 30 rebounds from March 3-5.
• Mara ntered the night ranked third nationally in blocks per game (2.74) and tonight had his 18th multi-block performance in the last 20 games, with three blocks against Northwestern.
• McKenney has now scored 10 points or more in his last seven games, his longest streak and the longest streak of double-digit scoring for any Wolverine this season. Johnson holds the second-longest active streak at six games.
• Cason is the latest Wolverine to set a career high in scoring and is the third to do so in as many games. Burnett started the team streak with 31 points against Penn State (Feb. 5), followed by Mara's 24 points at Ohio State (Feb. 8).
• Between the 14:10 mark of the second half and Northwestern's timeout with 4:33 to go, Michigan went 11-for-12 on field goals and turned a 16-point deficit into a six-point lead.
• Michigan outscored Northwestern by 21 points in the second half. This is the largest second-half scoring margin since the Wolverines played La Salle (Dec. 21).
• Tonight's victory is the 50th for Dusty May in 61 games as U-M head coach. He is the second-fastest in the Big Ten to reach the milestone since 2002, falling short of the fastest by four games.
