Michigan Basketball survives overtime battle with Northwestern to stay unbeaten at home

After suffering its first loss in Big Ten play this week, Michigan got back in the win column with an overtime win over Northwestern to stay undefeated at home. Vlad Goldin led the way with 31 points in another dominant performance. Here’s the recap:

After suffering the first loss in conference play earlier this week, the Michigan Wolverines got back in the win column with a 80-76 overtime victory over the Northwestern Wildcats to stay undefeated at the Crisler Center.

Dusty May’s team didn’t play up to its usual standard, but still found a way to fend off Northwestern’s upset attempt. Michigan is now 14-4 overall and 6-1 in the Big Ten.

Vlad Goldin led the Wolverines with another dominant performance, posting a game-high 31 points and eight rebounds on 9-of-16 shooting from the field. Nimari Burnett added 13 points and six rebounds, while Roddy Gayle Jr. totaled 10 points.

Here’s how it all went down on Sunday afternoon in Ann Arbor.

FIRST HALF

Michigan struggled to find a rhythm on offense in the opening minutes, going scoreless on the first five possessions. Northwestern jumped out to a 7-0 lead until Goldin found Gayle for a cutting layup to get the Wolverines on the scoreboard.

With the offense sputtering for a second straight game, May continued to tweak the rotation until something clicked. Michigan finally got into a groove midway through the half as Goldin drilled three consecutive three-pointers to take a 19-18 lead.

Goldin’s dominance on both ends of the floor fueled the Wolverines to a 12-2 run but Northwestern answered with a 7-0 spurt to take a 35-30 lead at halftime. Goldin led Michigan with 11 points and three rebounds in the first half.

SECOND HALF

The Wolverines started the second half with much more energy due to Tre Donaldson pushing the tempo on offense. Donaldson connected with Goldin for an alley-oop on the opening possession of the half, then scored a layup moments later.

Rubin Jones gave the Wolverines their first lead of the second half, hitting a three-pointer to go up 50-49 with 10:45 left. However, Northwestern immediately responded on the other end as Brooks Barnhizer knocked down a triple of his own.

Michigan got a much-needed shot in the arm when Northwestern leading scorer Jalen Leach committed a flagrant foul and was ejected with 9:23 left in the game. Goldin made four straight free throws to give the Wolverines a 55-54 advantage.

With less than a minute remaining, Gayle blew past his defender and finished at the rim to put Michigan up 65-63, but Northwestern continued to fight back as Matthew Nicholson connected on a pair of game-tying free throws to force overtime.

OVERTIME

In the early stages of the extra session, the Wolverines forged ahead as Gayle scored on the opening possession and Burnett threw down a baseline dunk. Michigan made a series of free throws in the final minutes to escape with an 80-76 win.

UP NEXT

The Wolverines will get several days off before hitting the road to face Purdue on Friday night. Purdue moved into second place in the conference with a 7-1 record after beating Oregon this weekend.

It will be a difficult matchup for the Wolverines, who will be tasked with trying to slow down All-Big Ten point guard Braden Smith and forward Trey Kaufman-Renn. Purdue is ranked 10th on KenPom, second-best among Big Ten teams.

Following the upcoming road trip to Purdue, Michigan is scheduled to host the Penn State Nittany Lions on Monday, Jan. 27. Penn State has lost four straight games, currently sitting at 49th on KenPom with a 12-6 overall record and 2-5 in conference.