Wolverines to Close Early Big Ten Slate on the Road at Northwestern

» U-M swept the Big Ten weekly honors as Jordan Poole was named the Player of the Week, while Ignas Brazdeikis was awarded Freshman of the Week honors.
» Michigan has now won 22 of its last 23 contests, with the lone loss coming in last season's national championship game to Villanova.
» Michigan will close its early two-game Big Ten slate with a road trip to Northwestern.
» After playing a full season at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois, Northwestern returned this season to the newly renovated Welsh-Ryan Arena.
» The Wolverines have lost three straight and five of their last seven at Northwestern.

NEXT GAME
Tuesday, Dec. 4 -- at Northwestern (Evanston, Ill.), 8 p.m. CST

The fifth-ranked University of Michigan men's basketball team (8-0, 1-0 Big Ten) will close its opening Big Ten Conference early games with a road trip to Evanston, Illinois, for a battle with Northwestern at the Wildcats' newly renovated Welsh-Ryan Arena. With an 8 p.m. CST (9 p.m. EST) tipoff, the game will be broadcast on BTN with Dave Revsine and Jon Crispin calling the action.

A Little Bit About Northwestern

• Northwestern is 6-2 heading into Tuesday's game with the Wolverines. The Wildcats dropped a heartbreaking 68-66 decision to Indiana on the road in their Big Ten opener.
• The Wildcats have four players scoring in double figures, led by 17.6 points per game from Vic Law. Dererk Pardon averages 13.8 points and a team-high 9.6 rebounds per contest, while Ryan Taylor adds 13.4 points and A.J. Turner chips in 10.0 points per game.
• Chris Collins is in his sixth season as head coach at Northwestern. Collins led the Wildcats to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in school history in 2017.
• Billy Donlon is in his second season as an assistant coach with the Wildcats. Donlon was an assistant for John Beilein for one season at U-M during the 2016-17 campaign.
• Following a $110 million renovation to its on-campus facility, Northwestern returned to Welsh-Ryan Arena this season after playing off-campus in 2017-18 at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. So far the Wildcats are a perfect 4-0 at home.

The Series with the Wildcats

• Tuesday's game will be the 172nd all-time meeting in the series between Michigan and Northwestern. The Wolverines lead the overall series, 112-59.
• Tuesday's game is the first of two regular-season meetings for the teams. The Wildcats will play a return game at Crisler Center on Sunday, Jan. 13.
• Michigan has a 45-37 road record against the Wildcats and has lost three straight games and five of its last seven in Chicago. The Wolverines' last road win at Northwestern was a 94-66 decision on Jan 3, 2013, when the Maize and Blue was ranked No. 2 in the country.
• U-M head coach John Beilein is 13-7 against Northwestern.

The Big Ten So Soon? Yup, and We Like It

• After a condensed schedule last year led to an early December conference weekend, the league expanded the regular season to 20 games this season, allowing for the early December home/away match-up around the B1G football championship game.
• U-M's early Big Ten schedule started with a 76-57 victory against No. 19/18 Purdue at Crisler Center. The Wolverines now head to Evanston, Illinois, for a match-up with Northwestern in the newly renovated Welsh-Ryan Arena.

Tidbits from U-M's Notebook

• U-M swept the Big Ten weekly honors as Jordan Poole was named the Player of the Week, while Ignas Brazdeikis was awarded Freshman of the Week honors.
• U-M has started 8-0. It is just the second time under Beilein (since 2007-08) U-M has remained undefeated heading into December. The other occurrence was the 2012-13 campaign, when the team got off to a program-best 16-0 start.
• Michigan has now won 22 of its past 23 contests, with the lone loss coming in last season's national championship game to Villanova. Of the 22 victories, 17 have come by double figures.
• After starting the season 1-for-10 from long range in his first three games, Jordan Poole said he is letting the game come to him. And it has, as he has found his rhythm and knocked down 17 long-range buckets over his last five games, including a career-best-tying five triples three times -- George Washington, No. 11/13 North Carolina and No. 19/18 Purdue.
• Picking up from last year's defensive successes, U-M has allowed 51.8 points per game, holding its opponents to less than 50 points in four games. No opponent has scored more than 67 points this season.
• Against Purdue, Jon Teske tied his career high with 17 points as he knocked down two three-pointers. He finished 5-for-6 from the field with three dunks while grabbing eight rebounds with a block, a steal and an assist.