Michigan Basketball: Wolverines should be on upset alert vs Northwestern
After two wins last week, Michigan basketball moved up in the polls and in bracketology, but needs to be on upset alert Tuesday vs Northwestern.
Michigan basketball wasn’t dominant last week in wins over Minnesota and Northwestern, but it was still enough for the Wolverines to move up in the polls and bracketology.
It took some time for Michigan basketball to get some national recognition, but at 19-6 and 8-4 in the Big Ten, UM is now ranked 20th in the AP and coaches polls. Michigan is also looking good in recent bracket projections.
After two decent wins last week, ESPN moved the Wolverines from an eight seed, to a seven. While Joe Lunardi had UM as a No.7. Jerry Palm, who projects the bracket for CBS, listed Michigan as a six seed. The latest bracket from Fox Sports also had the Wolverines listed as a No.5.
Anyway you look at it, Michigan appears to be on the rise. But it will only continue if the Wolverines keep winning, especially against inferior teams. Kenpom has UM as the 24th best team in the country and in the final six regular-season games, only Ohio State will rank higher than Michigan.
And that game is at home, so even that is a game you would think the Wolverines have a good shot to win. The others are at Northwestern, home against Iowa, at Wisconsin and two road games at Penn State and Maryland to close out the season.
However, of all those games, especially the ones on the road, the game Tuesday against Northwestern might be the most worrisome. Quickly, in case you need to know, here’s how to watch the game, followed by a breakdown of why UM should be on upset alert.
Game Info:
Game 26: Michigan vs Northwestern
When: 7:00 PM EST
Where: Welsh-Ryan Arena
TV: Big Ten Network
Streaming: BTN2Go
Radio: WWJ (950 AM) in Detroit
Breakdown:
If you watched the game against Northwestern last week, you know this one won’t be a cakewalk. The Wildcats had a very real shot of upsetting the Wolverines in Ann Arbor and the fact that the two teams play again, a week later, spells trouble for UM.
It’s always hard to beat a team twice in the same season. It’s even harder to do it in the span of a week. Northwestern, which is No. 77 in the country according to Kenpom, has started to play much better of late. The Wildcats have won three of four, including back-to-back road wins over Minnesota and Wisconsin.
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Michigan basketball is the superior team. That was evident last week, when it rallied from an early deficit to win the game. However, road games are hard to win the in the Big Ten, look at how Purdue barely outlasted Rutgers last Saturday. Any team can win on any night. Nothing is a given in this league.
Michigan Wolverines Basketball
Scottie Lindsey was the driving force in the first matchup for the Wildcats and he will be a major focus again. If Michigan can keep him in check, it should have a much better chance of winning. The Wolverines also need much more from Moe Wagner, who scored just eight points in the win last week.
It’s not likely Michigan holds Northwestern under 50 points again. The defense is much better, but that’s a big ask. On the other hand, the Wolverines need to break out of their shooting slump. They have shot 25 percent from 3-point range the past two games and won’t keep winning unless that stat improves.
Michigan is a team that lives and often dies by three. It was able to overcome poor shooting nights at home. Yet, on the road, that will be much harder to do.
Of course, every Michigan basketball fan remembers what happened last season in Evanston. Northwestern won on a last second shot and basically clinched its berth in the tournament.
At 14-10 overall and 5-6 in the conference, Northwestern is a long shot for the big dance. It needs a win over Michigan and to close the regular season 7-0 or 6-1 to have a realistic shot. So in that sense, this is a do or die game. That’s part of what makes it scary.
The other thing is that Northwestern is scrappy. Head coach Chris Collins is smart and his teams play tough. The Wildcats won’t lay down for Michigan and if they find a way to win, maybe it could spark a late-season run to the tournament.
With all that in mind, it’s easy to see why Michigan must take this game seriously. The Wolverines seem headed in the right direction right now, but sometimes it takes only one bad game or one ugly loss to send things in the opposite direction.
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If Michigan is sharp and motivated from start to finish, it should find a way to win. Yet, if UM isn’t ready from the get-go, like it wasn’t against Minnesota, Rutgers or Northwestern last week, the team won’t just be on upset alert, it will get upset. And all that positive momentum, will be gone.