No. 2 Michigan at Northwestern College Basketball Preview

With Illinois losing twice in a row, the Michigan Wolverines are nearly a coinflip to win the Big Ten title outright. With Arizona losing on Monday, a path to the No. 1 spot in the AP Poll is as open as ever, too. However, Dusty May cannot afford to let his team get distracted now, as this week is the final one on the calendar without at least one gargantuan test.

The Northwestern Wildcats are not horrendous, but clearly sit a class below the Wolverines. 2026 has not been kind so far, as nine of 11 games have resulted in losses, including each of the last three. Odds are not with the home team in this one, and it would take something unforeseen to pull off the upset Wednesday. Michigan is locked in and must avoid all pitfalls.

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No. 2 Michigan (22-1, 12-1) at Northwestern (10-14, 2-11)

Date & Time: Wednesday, Feb. 11, 8:30 p.m. ET
Location: Welsh-Ryan Arena, Evanston, IL
TV/Streaming: BTN

Last season’s affair was a second consecutive overtime game for Michigan, though this one ended more favorably. It was far closer than it should have been for the Wolverines, but in the end they escaped with the four-point win at home. Vlad Goldin’s 31 points (including 10 free throws lol) were the headline, while three other starters hit double-digits as well, compared to a trio of Wildcats who each scored at least 19.

Two Stats to Watch

Northwestern Adj. Offense: 13th B1G

Neither side of the ball is too impressive for the Wildcats. With two-point shooting ranking 15th in conference play and three-point shooting also ranking 15th, it is just hard to win too many games. Northwestern does not rebound well (on either end), does not generate a ton of free throw attempts, and favors twos to threes while playing at an average tempo.

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This is obviously a big mismatch, but there are a few areas that appear to be strength-on-strength. First: turnovers. Nick Martinelli is the heart of the team and leads the group with a 28.7% usage rate. His 8.7% turnover rate is nearly top-100…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/no-2-michigan-northwestern-college-150000605.html

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Publish date : 2026-02-11 15:00:00

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