Men’s Basketball

When Michigan and Northwestern met earlier this season Jan. 29, the Wildcats went a full 7 minutes without scoring and lost 58-47 in Ann Arbor.

The tables were turned when the two teams met again Tuesday at Allstate Arena.

NU (15-10, 6-6 Big Ten) held the No. 20 Wolverines (19-7, 8-5) without a field goal for more than nine minutes in the second half and picked up a 61-52 win, its first against a ranked opponent this season.

The Cats’ zone defense looked strong again, despite the fact that Michigan had played against the zone just eight days ago. The Wolverines’ 52 points tied for their lowest total this season.

“Defensively we did an excellent job,” senior guard Bryant McIntosh said. “When you do that, you give yourself a great chance to win a game, especially in the second half. We had to do our best communication of the season in order to get those stops and let us get out in transition and run and find shooters and make plays.”

NU started the game slow, missing its first six shot attempts. The Cats faced a 10-1 deficit early on, and it took a jumper from junior center Dererk Pardon at the 14:56 mark to get the team’s offense going.

The offense found its rhythm at the end of the half, beginning with a made 3-pointer from McIntosh with five minutes left in the first. The shot, his first made three since Jan. 23, was part of a 24-point, five-assist performance from McIntosh.

Scottie Lindsey was another bright spot for the offense. The senior guard finished with 19 points and shot 4-for-6 from the three, his best showing from beyond the arc this season. Lindsey hit a 3-pointer with 6 seconds remaining in the first half to pull the Cats within 3 heading into the break.

“At the beginning of the game, they came out and punched us a little bit and got off to a lead, so we were playing from behind,” Lindsey said. “We were just a little bit more ready to play in the second half, and we threw the first punch.”

The Cats came out swinging in the second half, hitting six of their first eight shots and two-of-three from deep. Law made his first and only 3-pointer at the 17:12 mark to give NU its first lead of the night. The Cats would not trail again.

McIntosh said the team’s adjustments allowed them to space the floor and drive the ball more on Tuesday, compared to a quiet offensive showing against the Wolverines in the previous matchup. The Cats outscored Michigan 24-15 from the 3-point line and 22-20 in the paint.

The Wolverines made just two field goals in the final 12 minutes of the game, shooting 5-for-20 from the field in the second half. Michigan attempted to stage a late comeback when forward Moritz Wagner, who finished with a team-high 20 points, drew an and-one with just over 2 minutes remaining.

The Cats answered on the other end with a layup from McIntosh and three straight made-free throws to seal the win.

“I just loved how we hung in there,” coach Chris Collins said. “For us to hold (Michigan) to 20 points in the second half, 52 points overall, to play that team twice in the span of a week and hold them to 58 and 52 points makes me really proud of the defense (and) the fight.”

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