Michigan fell behind by 16 points but went on a wild run in the second half where it scored on 20 straight possessions, beating Northwestern 87-76 in Evanston. At 23-1, the Wolverines could be the No. 1 team in the country next week after No. 1 Arizona finally lost.
EVANSTON, Ill. — With Arizona losing its first game of the season on Monday, No. 2 Michigan strolled into Welsh-Ryan Arena on Wednesday night looking for a win that would likely make them the No. 1 team in the country.
But, just like that, they were behind by double-digits in the first half, and Northwestern — which had won only two Big Ten game all year but has a history of shocking upsets — grew the lead to 16 in the second half.
Michigan didn't panic, though, and went on a crazy offensive run midway through the second half. They scored on 20 straight possessions and pulled away for an 87-75 victory to go to 23-1 on the season, and 13-1 in the Big Ten.
Michigan had a stretch of 15-of-16 made field goals that was capped off by four consecutive dunks as Northwestern appeared to run out of gas. Their shots kept coming up short, and the defensive effort just wasn't there.
Their stretch of 11 consecutive made shots a very pro-Michigan crown going nuts in Evanston. Michigan took the lead with a Trey McKenney three-pointer with 7:12 left, then a Yaxel Lendeborg layup two possessions later gave Michigan the lead for good.
Backup guard L.J. Cason scored a career-high 18 points, which included nine in a stretch of less than four minutes during the comeback run.
"Wow. When we got on our run, when we took the lead, it erupted. I even told our guys, fellas, this is a home game,'' Michigan coach Dusty May said. "Let’s continue to get stops and get out and run. ... A lot of gratitude for the people that came to watch us.
"We’ve never had a takeover like that."
Here's the game story from Michigan Roundtable publisher Brandon Brown.
Despite its struggles this season, coach Chris Collins and Northwestern has a knack for scaring the big boys. They've beaten at least one top-25 team for six years in a row.
Here's their run, which includes three wins over top-4 or better teams:
2024-25 season
Dec. 6, 2024 — Northwestern defeated No. 19 Illinois 70-66 in overtime at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Ill.
2023-24 season
Jan. 24, 2024 — Northwestern defeated No. 10 Illinois 96-91 in overtime at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Ill.
Dec. 1, 2023 — Northwestern defeated No. 1 Purdue 92-88 in overtime at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Ill.
2022-23 season
Feb. 15, 2023 — Northwestern defeated No. 13 Indiana 64-62 at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Ill.
Feb. 12, 2023 — Northwestern defeated No. 1 Purdue 64-58 at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Ill.
Jan. 8, 2023 — Northwestern defeated No. 15 Indiana 84-83 at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Ind.
Dec. 4, 2022 — Northwestern defeated No. 20 Michigan State 70-63 at Breslin Center in East Lansing, Mich.
2021-22 season
Jan. 15, 2022 — Northwestern defeated No. 10 Michigan State 64-62 at Breslin Center in East Lansing, Mich.
2020-21 season
Dec. 26, 2020 — Northwestern defeated No. 23 Ohio State 71-70 at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Ill.
Dec. 20, 2020 — Northwestern defeated No. 4 Michigan State 79-65 at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Ill.
2019-20 season
March 7, 2020 — Northwestern defeated No. 20 Penn State 80-69 at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Ill.
Collins was pleased that his Wildcats played so well for 25-plus minutes on Wednesday, but was disappointed they couldn't finish. He gave Michigan a lot of praise for the turnaround.
"We played about as well as we can play tonight,'' Collins told reporters after the game. "(Our play and effort) were good enough to beat a lot of teams tonight, but we were just playing the best team in the country.''
The turnaround was stunning, with Michigan going on a 45-17 run. The Wolverines got red hot at the same exact time that the Wildcats couldn't hit anything.
Michigan now has a two-game edge on everyone in the Big Ten. Illinois, Purdue, Michigan State and Nebraska are all next with three losses. Michigan hosts UCLA on Saturday at 12:45 p.m. ET in Ann Arbor.