Late Michigan rally against Northwestern might have been a season saver

Michigan didn’t rack up style points in its 72-70 win over Northwestern, and they didn’t need to. All the Wolverines needed was a ‘W’ over a team that plays just about everyone close, but usually not well enough to win. 

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With five minutes to go Wednesday night, they were in danger of letting it get away. A loss would have put them back on the outside looking in at the NCAA Tournament, making this one as important as any game remaining on the schedule. 

They responded when it mattered. Michigan senior guard DeVante’ Jones, whose big plays down the stretch made the difference.

With Hunter Dickinson and Moussa Diabate fouled out, Jones became the go-to guy. He led the comeback from seven down. 

“I’m very proud of how our team, when we were down seven … it was really hard to figure out how to dig deep and get a victory,” head coach Juwan Howard said. “Each possession mattered to this group.

“We talked about it at the timeout. We looked up to the scoreboard and saw we were down seven. I asked them all to breathe … take some deep breaths. There are a lot of emotions, probably, going on in your head. Just dial in, dial in and have trust in one another and trust that we will get this first stop.”

After the first stop, they got the second. From there, they (finally) made some good decisions on the offensive end, Howard noted. 

And after giving an 11-point lead away in minutes with some careless play, they responded with a very good last five minutes. 

Terrance Williams hit a triple, and Jones his own from the corner. Little-used Jaron Faulds set up Caleb Houstan for a huge three-pointer from the corner that cut the lead to two, and Jones hit a floater and a number of free throws down the stretch. 

“D.J., his first year with us, he’s still learning a lot about the system,” Howard said. “He’s still learning a lot about what is asked of him. 

“But down the stretch, being able to come in and make shots, to also make free throws when we needed it the most, that was great.”

Had it been a month or two ago, Howard noted, they might have — probably would have — lost. 

“But I think we grew up from this,” Howard said.

At the same time, they still need to be — and can be — better. 

The Michigan offense got clunky when they tried to force feed the post, ball movement at a minimum. There were some frustration fouls, though the officiating crew seemed to have a quota Wednesday night, and some of the lineups were head scratchers. 

When it came down to it, though, they did what they needed to do. They won their third straight and kept their hopes alive heading into a Saturday game at Michigan State. 

They lived to fight another day, and now they’ll be playing with house money Saturday in East Lansing. 

Strategy worked for, against Michigan down the stretch

Howard instructed his team to foul twice late rather than risk a Northwestern triple. 

It worked. Pete Nance missed a couple free throws, and the Wildcats never got a chance to tie.

“I did not want to give them an opportunity to come down and run one of their sets where they could possibly get a quick three,” Howard said. “I knew they were in the bonus and I did not want to give them an opportunity … our defense will get stops when needed, but since we’re up three, send them to the free throw line and see if they can make their free throws. It was successful for us.”

But he also left Jaron Faulds in after Dickinson and Diabate fouled out rather than substituting Brandon Johns. Faulds missed a pair of free throws that could have iced it for Michigan up three.

“We needed some length,” Howard said. “They had two big guys in there … and [Ryan] Young is a load in the low block. He’s very skilled. He’s long. I wanted to match size with size.”

Johns had a rough first half. Some surmised Howard had enough after his senior lost his shoe and spent time trying to put it back on while the Wildcats hit a three on the other end. 

Either way, Johns has been in that position before, needing to make free throws down the stretch. Faulds hadn’t. Thankfully for Michigan, it didn’t come back to bite them.