ANN ARBOR, Mich. – For the first time this season, Northwestern played a close game on the road. And not only did the Wildcats keep the game tight, they also pulled out a win.
It wasn’t the prettiest contest, but NU played well enough to break two long-standing losing streaks with a 75-70 win Wednesday night against Michigan before a listed crowd of 8,806 that didn’t fill half of Crisler Arena. The victory was the first NU road win since Feb. 6, 1999, and its first win at Michigan since 1981.
The Cats (11-18, 3-13 Big Ten) finished the regular season with victories in two of their last three games, and now have a full week off before the first round of the Big Ten tournament.
“We really haven’t had too many goals this year, but at least we’ve gotten a couple things accomplished,” NU coach Bill Carmody said. “We’re playing about as well as we can play.”
The Cats struggled for the entire game to match up with the Michigan frontline, which featured Josh Asselin, Chris Young and Josh Moore. All three Wolverines big men stand at least 6-foot-10, compared with starting NU center Tavaras Hardy, who is 6-foot-8.
NU collected just 22 rebounds on the night – partially because of the size differential and partially because both teams shot better than 50 percent from the floor. Hardy also fouled out with 4:05 to go, after scoring 16 points.
But when it mattered most, NU was able to overcome Michigan’s big men and get to the basket. The Cats countered the Michigan low-post play with offensive production from guard Ben Johnson and forward Winston Blake, who combined to score 43 of the Cats’ 75 points.
Blake may have had the biggest bucket of the game, a layup that barely spun into the hoop with 45 seconds left after the Cats eluded Michigan’s aggressive full-court pressure.
“When you get a layup like that at the end of the game, it’s kind of frustrating for them,” said Blake, who nailed five three-pointers and had 23 points. “I almost cried when I thought I was going to miss the layup.”
Michigan (10-16, 4-11) stayed within a bucket until the last 20 seconds, but two more Blake free throws gave the Cats a five-point lead and sealed the game.
NU’s free throw shooting was on target all night – the Cats went 19-for-24 from the foul line. The Wolverines, on the other hand, missed seven of their 13 attempts, perhaps making the difference in the contest.
Johnson led the free throw parade by hitting all six of his attempts – including two after lame-duck Michigan coach Brian Ellerbe took a technical foul in the second half. Johnson also hit seven of his 14 shots from the floor in his best game of the Big Ten season and perhaps of his career.
“(Coach Carmody) wants us to be really patient so it looks like it’s more under control,” Johnson said.
The Cats turned over the ball just twice in a second half that saw them score 46 points. They’ve finished with fewer than 46 points in four different games this year, including a loss just 10 days earlier at Wisconsin.
For a long stretch in the first half, the Cats looked as if they would continue to struggle to score. They repeatedly missed wide-open three-pointers, and went just 6-for-21 from long range for the game.
But NU turned a corner in the second half, finding open shots all over the floor and reaching a season high for points against a conference opponent.
“It’s all the learning experience,” Blake said. “We’re starting to believe in the system and believe in each other as teammates, and we know we can play with these teams in the Big Ten. That’s going to help us out tremendously.”
