Michigan basketball has now won nine straight games. On Wednesday night, Michigan took an 87-75 victory over Northwestern on the road, although head coach Dusty May said it felt like a home game. Regardless of the atmosphere, it was a struggle for much of the game for Michigan.
Michigan trailed by 16 points in the second half, but made some changes in its play, leading to an impressive streak that flipped the game, according to Eric Shapiro of Basketball Analytics.
With 14:37 left in the second half, Arrinten Page hit a layup, which gave Northwestern a 56-41 lead. From there, Michigan would score on its next 21 possessions. The streak ended with 1:13 left in the game, when Trey McKinney missed a three-point attempt, and while Yaxel Lendeborg got the offensive rebound, LJ Carson would turn over the ball on a bad pass. Michigan went on to win the game 87-75.
Coach May felt his team was flat in the first half and was giving the ball away too often, according to Brandon Carr of All About Ann Arbor.
“When we stopped hurting our defense from our offensive ineptitude, we started playing much better,” May said.
Antoher key to the comeback was also the depth of Michigan. Michigan bench players scored 33 of the team's 87 points. Meanwhile, the Northwestern bench contributed just 18 points.
“We have four guys on our bench that could start on a lot of quality programs,” May said.
Michigan is now 23-1 and 13-1 in conference play. They will return to the court on Saturday, hosting UCLA.
