It was a more entertaining night inside Welsh-Ryan Arena than expected, but it ended in brutal, gut-wrenching heartbreak. Northwestern got off to an incredible start against No. 2 Michigan (yes, the 2-11 in the B1G Wildcats). They led by nine at the break, but they couldn't fend off a Wolverine comeback in the second half and fell 87-75.
Jayden Reid led the way for the Wildcats, finishing with 20 points and three assists. Nick Martinelli was also a major contributor, finishing with 18 points and eight rebounds. But again, he wasn't efficient enough, shooting 5-of-22 from the floor.
Northwestern shot the ball really well tonight overall, especially early in the game. It finished the game shooting 40% from the floor and 24% from three as a team, but a lot of the misses came late. Overall, it was a refreshingly efficient night for the home team during a season when it hasn't shaken out that way often.
On the boards, Northwestern got boat-raced by a 47-30 margin. In the turnover battle, the 'Cats finished with a 12-8 advantage.
Michigan took a 5-0 lead after the tip, including a ridiculously long three from Eliot Cadeau and a monster slam from Aday Mara. It felt like the talent gap was going to be evident all night.
Then.... things got fascinating in a hurry. Northwestern couldn't miss a shot in the first half, riding a raucous crowd and a red-hot stretch to a 44-35 lead and a 52% mark from the field at the break.
Reid was tagged with two early fouls, but he still managed to score 12 points in the opening frame. His pull-up game from the elbow was working -- he was finding space and knocking down the shots with ease. Meanwhile, Martinelli did his thing early, and Tre Singleton and Arrinten Page both provided an added spark on offense with seven points each.
Northwestern's early lead was, in large part, due to its shooting percentage. But the 'Cats also battled on the boards, finishing the half down 21-17 in that margin. They also played pretty dogged defense and made the Wolverines look uncomfortable. Once they were flustered, the road team started forcing some pretty brutal passes and had seven turnovers heading into the locker room.
At the beginning of the second half, the 'Cats just kept at it on the offensive end. Martinelli got a flipper to fall. Jake West was slashing and passing -- he had two assists in the first few minutes of the period. At the 15:42 mark, Michigan called a timeout down 54-41. The Welsh went nuts. Berserk even.
Northwestern stretched that lead out a little more, but the Wolverines went on a run to cut it back to a 58-47 deficit at around the 13-minute mark. Chants of "Go Blue" started to rain down for the first time all night as Michigan's large contingent of fans tried to will it back to life. Chris Collins decided to use a TO of his own.
Up 60-49, Tyler Kropp was called for a hook-and-hold (whatever that means). It was one of a few questionable calls in the middle of the second, and it came at a bad time. Mara missed his foul shots, but it prompted an immediate Michigan run to cut the deficit to two.
It was at that point that tensions rose. With both groups of fans going crazy, Mara committed a flagrant foul on a Martinelli drive. No. 2 was incensed getting up off the ground -- it was, objectively, a dangerous play from Michigan's big man.
Martinelli was screaming, players were holding him back -- it was a whole thing. And it seemed to ignite some fire in the Wildcats, who held a 67-63 advantage just minutes later at the under-8 TV timeout.
Immediately following the short break, Michigan went on a mini-run to take the lead, and then the 'Cats were locked in a back-and-forth battle. But that only lasted for a few minutes. By 4:33, Michigan had taken 75-69 lead. By 2:24, it was 82-71. A 22-4 run had completely ruined Northwestern's chances for the upset.
It was a more-than-valiant effort from the Wildcats, but they just didn't have enough gas at the end to get it done.
Northwestern will be back in action on Saturday at No. 7 Nebraska.