Michigan outlasts Northwestern for slim victory on the road

Good lord, that was stressful!

It was bound to happen after the No. 5 Michigan Wolverines (9-0, 2-0 B1G) had blown through every opponent they had seen so far this year, but they were able to walk out of Northwestern (6-3, 0-2 B1G) with a slim 62-60 victory.

Freshman sensation Ignas Brazdeikis led the Wolverines in scoring with 23 points and had a few key baskets down the stretch. Jordan Poole was second on the team with 15 points of his own, 11 of which came in the first half for Michigan.

The Wolverines led for nearly the entire game and went into the locker room with a 36-30 lead after a buzzer-beater from the Wildcats came them some momentum heading into the locker room. Michigan led by as much as 15 in this game at 45-30 before the Wildcats stormed back and eventually took the lead. Both teams would trade the lead down the stretch, but a chuck from Northwestern at the buzzer would fall by the wayside and Michigan would walk out with a slim victory.

Less than ideal stretches from Austin Davis and Zavier Simpson let Northwestern back into the game, but the Wolverines were able to overcome it and walk out with a close win. Seeing as the team had not faced much adversity this season, it could actually pay dividends down the road having gone through this in December.

Next up for Michigan is South Carolina, who comes to town for a 12 p.m. tip on Saturday afternoon at Crisler Center.