The Wildcats led for most of the game the last time these teams faced each other, before Michigan pulled away down the stretch.
Northwestern-Michigan first half thread
- Thread starter Straus2018
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Olah just drives me absolutely nuts right to the very end. Doesn't he realizes he's the biggest, strongest guy on the floor?? Quit tapping the ball. Grab it! Demand it on the block and power past that skinny guy guarding you. I guess we've been begging him to do it his entire career, so it won't start today.
After Tre Demps nailed a 3 on the game's first possession, Michigan went on a 16-0 run, the first eight of which were scored by Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman. The Wolverines have connected on 4 of their 6 3-point attempts, while Northwestern has gone 1-for-9 from the field since Demps' opening shot. Turnovers haven't been an issue for the Wildcats, but they just haven't gotten quality looks from the field outside of a post-up by Olah and a missed 3 by McIntosh.
Northwestern is in a 13-4 rebounding hole, including a 4-1 deficit in the offensive rebounding department. Most of that can be credited to all of the defensive rebounding opportunities the Wildcats have given Michigan, as the team is shooting just 3-for-13 from the field.18-8 Michigan at the second media timeout
Skelly was putting some fire back into the Cats and now Lumpkin is back in. Why?
A McIntosh 3 off the feed from Demps punctuates a 10-0 NU run, and they trail 23-21 at the third media timeout. Michigan has made just 2 of their last 11 field goal attempts, settling for many contested mid-range jumpers against an energized Wildcat defense. Demps and McIntosh have 16 of Northwestern's 21 points so far. They will need to get Olah going, however, as the Wildcats are shooting 5-for-10 from deep, and just 2-for-9 from two
Because we needed to start defending better...and sure enough we have.
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Skelly got beat on a baseline drive earlier, and McIntosh and Demps have it going, so he probably wants a a better perimeter defender on the floor. If they need offense, he'll probably go back to Skelly
A 7-0 run pushed Michigan's lead back to nine before BMac hit a tough elbow jumper to cut it to 32-25 at the final media timeout of the half. McINtosh and Demps have combined for 18 points, while Duncan Robinson (14) and Abdul-Rahkman (8) have 22 of Michigan's 32 points. Nate Taphorn also made a brief appearance, somewhat surprising but presumably to get more shooting threats to open up driving lanes for Northwestern's guards.
Zak Irvin's deep-two stretches their lead to 34-25 heading into the locker room. The Wildcats didn't score over the final 3:22 of the half, missing their final six shots to finish at just 25 percent shooting. The Wildcats did well to finish in just a 25-17 rebounding hole after Michigan jumped out to an early 13-4 advantage. Everyone not named Demps or McIntosh is 2-for-18 from the field, including Alex Olah at 1-for-7