3. The Wolverines are a fluke buzzer beater away from being undefeated in the Big Ten
Dusty May has Michigan basketball in contention despite Thursday's buzzer-beating loss. It was another blown lead by double digits. On Sunday Michigan's biggest advantage was five. Northwestern quickly erased that deficit and got ahead of the pack by halftime. It was the first time the Wolverines were trailing at the break at home this season.
Historically speaking Northwestern plays Michigan tight when they visit Ann Arbor. 2020 was the last time Michigan decisively thumped the Cats. Sunday is the lone meeting between the two rivals this year.
If Michigan loses the regular season championship by a game, it will have no one to blame but itself. Losing to Minnesota was not in the plans, so they'll have to get one back sooner rather than later. A great opportunity presents itself on Friday in Mackey.
Michigan State and Purdue won cataclysmic matchups this weekend to keep pace with each other at the top, so the Wolverines were desperate with those Boilermakers on deck. Purdue has not lost since Auburn lapped them for their third loss in four tries. Purdue losses came on the road or neutral courts.