Michigan
Northwestern
Wolverines to Host Wildcats in Wednesday Big Ten Battle at Crisler Center
1/25/2022 2:51:00 PM | Men's Basketball
» Michigan hosts Northwestern in a midweek Big Ten battle at Crisler Center.
» The game will be highlighted as U-M's "Pink Game" as well as "Suits & Sneakers" week.
» Big Ten Co-Player of the Week Hunter Dickinson has scored 20+ points in four of his last five games, averaging 21.0 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists while shooting 65.2 percent and 40.0 percent from long range in the stretch.
» Big Ten Freshman of the Week, Caleb Houstan has gone 8-for-11 from long range in his last two games.
NEXT GAME
Wednesday, Jan. 26 -- vs. Northwestern, 6:30 p.m.
• TV: Big Ten Network | Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Video
• Satellite Radio: Sirius: n/a | XM: 372 | SXM App: 372
• Yearbook | Record Book | Game Card
• Complete Game Notes (PDF)
• Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Note: Effective Jan. 1, 2022, the University of Michigan has instituted a proof of COVID-19 vaccination or negative-test protocol for indoor athletic events. Face masks continue to be required and must be worn during all home indoor athletic events. [ U-M Vaccination Policy ]
The University of Michigan men's basketball team (9-7, 3-3 Big Ten) have a midweek Big Ten battle with Northwestern (9-8, 2-6 Big Ten) at Crisler Center on Wednesday (Jan. 26). Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Big Ten Network with Brandon Gaudin (play-by-play) and Robbie Hummel (analyst) on the call.
The Scene Setter
• Michigan's game against Northwestern will be U-M's annual "Pink Game" to honor those who have fought or are still fighting cancer.
• This week is the National Association of Basketball Coaches "Suits & Sneakers" week, as the Coaches vs. Cancer campaign encourages teams, staff and fans to wear suits and sneakers to raise awareness about the fight against cancer and inspire hope. U-M will wear Jordan Brand XXXVI BCA's for the game with the Wildcats.
• Hunter Dickinson earned the Big Ten's Co-Player of the Week on Monday (Jan. 24) -- sharing the honor with Minnesota's Payton Willis) -- while Caleb Houstan was named the Freshman of the Week.
• Dickinson has scored 20+ points in four of his last five games. During the stretch, he has averaged 21.0 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists while shooting 65.2 percent and 40.0 percent from long range.
• Houstan has gone 8-for-11 from long range in his last two games.
Breaking Down the Big Fella
• For a second straight season, Hunter Dickinson is leading Michigan in scoring (17.0) and rebounding (8.6). Last season as a consensus All-America second teamer, he led U-M with 14.1 points (first frosh since 2018-19; Ignas Brazdeikis) and 7.4 rebounds (first frosh since 2012-13; Mitch McGary).
• Dickinson has 13 double-figure scoring games with a team-best six 20+ point games, including a season-best 27 against Buffalo (Nov. 10) in the season opener. He has had 20+ points in four of his last five games.
• Dickinson has a team-best six games of 10+ rebounds, which has led to a team-best five double-doubles.
• In 28 games last season, Dickinson had 25 assists (0.9 apg). In 15 games, he surpassed that with 35 (2.3 apg), including a career-best six against Maryland (Jan. 18). He has eight games of 3+ assists this season.
• Dickinson has posted a team-best five games with 10+ field goals, shooting 61.1 percent from the field, which is second in the Big Ten and eighth nationally. Purdue's Zach Edey (70.9 percent) leads the nation and Big Ten.
Breaking Down the Wolverines
• Playing in his first game in a month (COVID-19 and protocols), Brandon Johns Jr. returned at Indiana (Jan. 23), logging 10 minutes and scoring five points in the win over the Hoosiers.
• Eli Brooks is Michigan's second leading scorer with 11.5 points per game, posting 12 games in double figures. He has had a career-best 13 double-figure games in a season on two other occasions, his junior and senior seasons.
• Brooks has started his last 73 consecutive games -- basically his last three seasons. During the stretch, he has missed two games -- one (Wisconsin, Feb. 27, 2020) due to after effects of a broken nose and another (at Minnesota, Jan. 16, 2021) due to a foot injury.
• DeVante' Jones has made 10 of his 14 three-pointers over his last six games.
• Jones has scored in double figures in five of his last seven games -- hitting a season-best 17 points twice -- at Central Florida and at Illinois. During his stretch is has gone 50 percent from the field (32-for-65).
• Caleb Houstan (28), Eli Brooks (25), DeVante' Jones (14) and Terrance Williams II (11) have 78 of U-M's 107 three-pointers (73 percent).
• Houstan has scored in double figures in three of his last four games and is now averaging 10.3 points per game. He has eight total double-digit games with a career-best 19 points at Indiana (Jan. 23).
• This season, Eli Brooks has gone 27-for-30 (90 percent) from the free-throw line. He is 67-for-74 (90.5 percent) over his last two seasons, and for his career he is shooting 81.3 percent (113-for-139).
• Right behind Brooks from free-throw line is Caleb Houstan, who is 26-for-34 (76.5 percent).
• DeVante' Jones leads Michigan with 62 assists (3.8 apg). He had a season-best eight assists at Nebraska (Dec. 7) and vs. UNLV (Nov. 19) at the Roman Main Event in Las Vegas. He has six games of 5+ assists.
• Eli Brooks is second with 46 assists (2.9 apg), with Dickinson right behind with 35 (2.3 apg).
• Moussa Diabate, who is second on the team with 6.1 boards per game, has 12 games with 5+ rebounds -- including his last seven, which included his first 10+ board game with 13 (Minnesota, Dec. 11).
• Hunter Dickinson (15) and Moussa Diabate (11) have 26 of the Wolverines' 46 blocks (56.5 percent).
The Northwestern Wildcats
• Northwestern comes to Ann Arbor with a 9-8 overall record and a 2-6 mark in Big Ten play. The Wildcats have dropped their last two games after their 64-62 upset win at No. 10 Michigan State on Jan. 15. After an 8-2 start, Northwestern has lost six of its last seven.
• Northwestern, which has played five of its eight conference game vs. teams in the top half of the Big Ten standings, averages 76.5 points, 37.4 rebounds and 17.8 assists (second in the Big Ten).
• Northwestern leads the nation with a 1.97 assist-to-turnover ratio, as they average just 9.1 turnovers a game (fourth nationally), while opponents are at 13.8.
• The Wildcats are led by eight underclassmen and senior Pete Nance, who averages a team-best 16.1 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. He is shooting 51.8 percent from the field and is third with 22 three-pointers. He adds 46 assists (second on the team) as well as a team-high 22 blocks.
• Behind Nance is junior guard Boo Buie, who has averaged 15 points and a team-best 5.5 assists (second, Big Ten). He adds a team-leading 38 three-pointers, while shooting 80.4 percent on his free throws (45-for-56).
• After missing the first seven games of the season to a hip injury, redshirt-junior Chase Audige has averaged 11.9 points per game in his 10 games back. He has added 4.5 rebounds and has a team-best 18 steals.
• Northwestern head coach Chris Collins is in his ninth year with the Wildcats. In 2017, he coached them to their first winning record in conference play since 1968, and NU made the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance and secured its first tournament game win later that same season.
The Series: Michigan & Northwestern
• Michigan and Northwestern have played 175 games, with U-M leading 116-59 in the all-time series. The Wolverines have a 67-20 record in Ann Arbor and have won the last nine at Crisler Center.
• There have been 39 games decided by three points or fewer, with U-M leading, 24-15 in those games. There have been 12 games decided by one point, with the series tied, 6-6. In the last narrow margin game (Dec. 4, 2018), U-M won 62-60 at Northwestern.
• There have been nine overtime games, with U-M leading 5-4. In the last overtime contest (March 10, 2016), U-M won 72-70 in the Big Ten Tournament.
• Longest U-M win streak: 17 games (Jan. 31, 1985 to March 13, 1993).
• Longest U-M losing streak: eight games (Jan. 11, 1958 to Feb. 10, 1962)
• Largest U-M win: 38 points (105-67) on March 2, 1988, in Ann Arbor.
• Largest U-M loss: 27 points (84-57) on Jan. 10, 1953, in Evanston.
• Most U-M points: 110 (W, 110-76) on Feb. 17, 1973, in Ann Arbor.
• Most Northwestern points: 105 (L, 105-82) on Feb. 11, 1967, in Evanston
• Series points: Michigan (11,061; 63.2 ppg) | Northwestern (10,126; 57.9 ppg)
Up Next
Saturday, Jan. 29 -- at No. 10 Michigan State (East Lansing, Mich.), 12:30 p.m. (TV: CBS)
