Michigan
20-9 (10-6)
Northwestern
17-11 (5-10)
U-M Overcomes Rough Start to Beat Northwestern
2/24/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 24, 2016
» Michigan got within two or fewer points six times before finally retaking the lead with 9:15 to play in the game.
» Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman (19) and Derrick Walton Jr. (16) combined for 35 points on 12-of-23 shooting.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Crisler Center)
Score: Michigan 72, Northwestern 63
Records: U-M (20-9, 10-6 Big Ten), NW (17-11, 5-10 Big Ten)
Attendance: 12,071
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Feb. 28 -- at Wisconsin (Madison, Wis.), 5 p.m. CST [ TV: BTN ]
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan men's basketball team defeated the Northwestern Wildcats, 72-63, on Wednesday night (Feb. 24) inside Crisler Center. Michigan fell behind early after it had a scoring drought of nearly six minutes to open the game, but the offense found its rhythm, and the Wolverines clawed their way back to victory.
With five minutes to play in the game, Michigan found itself trailing by two, 54-52. Just as he had done all evening, sophomore guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman used shifty footwork to blow by his defender for a layup to tie the game. On the next possession, sophomore guard Aubrey Dawkins splashed his third triple of the game to give the Wolverines a 57-54 edge with 4:15 remaining.
Michigan extended its lead to 66-61 with two minutes remaining, and Dawkins added a fast-break layup to make it a seven-point game with 1:19 remaining. The Wildcats were forced to foul after they came up empty on their next trip, and the Wolverines saw out the win from the charity stripe.
Abdur-Rahkman led the way with 19 points, while junior guard Derrick Walton Jr. added 16 points and six rebounds. Dawkins chipped in 11 points, all of which came in the second half.
The Maize and Blue got off to a rough start, missing its first eight shots, before junior guard Zak Irvin got to the rim for a layup at the 14:17 mark. The 5:43 scoring drought allowed the Wildcats to take a commanding 10-0 lead. Northwestern pushed its advantage to 11 points, 17-4 with 12:37 to play in the half, but the Wolverines finally found a rhythm.
Behind strong guard play, Michigan rattled off a 13-2 scoring run to cut the deficit to two, 19-17 with seven minutes remaining. Abdur-Rahkman provided six points on a pair of jumpers and three free throws during the run.
The Wildcats stretched their lead back to five, 26-21, but Irvin knocked down a mid-range jumper, and junior/sophomore guard Duncan Robinson hit the Wolverines' first three-pointer of the game as time expired in the half. Michigan finished the half 12-of-17 from the floor and went to the locker room trailing by just one, 29-28.
Northwestern began the second half with eight unanswered points to make the score 37-28, but the Wolverines answered right back. Abdur-Rahkman used two great moves to score a pair of layups, and Walton added two free throws to make it 39-32 at the 14:46 mark. Two minutes later, Dawkins drained a pair of threes to tie it at 44-44. On the next trip, sophomore forward Kameron Chatman was fouled on an offensive board, and his free throws gave Michigan its first lead, 46-44.
U-M is back on the road this weekend for a contest with the Wisconsin Badgers on Sunday evening (Feb. 28) at the Kohl Center in Madison. The meeting is the first between the teams since last year's Big Ten Tournament. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 pm central time, and coverage can be found on the Big Ten Network.
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72 | 63 |
• The Wolverines improved to 110-57 all-time against the Wildcats, including 64-20 in Ann Arbor. Michigan also improved to 20-9 overall (10-6 Big Ten) in the series.
• Aubrey Dawkins tied his season high of three-point field-goals made with three, en route to scoring 11 points. He has had three or more three-pointers in five games this season. Dawkins also grabbed a career-high seven boards.
• Derrick Walton Jr. had six total rebounds tonight and has grabbed five-plus boards in 17 games this season, including each of the last five games. Including Walton's 16 points tonight, he has scored in double figures in 18 games this season.
• Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman (19) led the Wolverines in scoring for the second time this season. Abdur-Rahkman has scored in double figures in eight games this season -- all as a starter.
• Derrick Walton Jr. dealt out three assists to reach a season total of 102, becoming the first Wolverine to eclipse the 100-assist mark this season. He is four assists shy of his freshman year total of 106 assists.
• With four rebounds tonight, Mark Donnal (103) became the third Wolverine to reach 100 rebounds this season (Derrick Walton Jr. 149, Zak Irvin 119). Duncan Robinson is just five rebounds from the 100-board benchmark.
• Just four Wolverines have played in all 29 games this season: Duncan Robinson, Aubrey Dawkins, Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman and Ricky Doyle. However, Zak Irvin (27) has the most starts for U-M this season.
Communications Contact: Tom Wywrot
