National Basketball Association
Michigan 67, Northwestern 55
When: 8:00 PM ET, Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Where: Welsh-Ryan Arena, Evanston, Illinois
Officials:
# Bo Boroski, # Tim Clougherty, # John Higgins
Attendance:
8117
By SportsDirect Inc.
NO. 13 MICHIGAN 67, NORTHWESTERN 55 (OT): Michigan used a flurry of 3-pointers to deal Northwestern an overtime loss in a game the hosts absolutely had to have.
Trey Burke finished with a game-high 19 points, Tim Hardaway Jr. had 14 and Stu Douglass added 12 points and five assists for the Wolverines (21-7, 11-4 Big Ten), who pulled within a half-game of first-place Michigan State in the Big Ten standings with three to play.
Burke, Zack Novak and Douglass each hit a 3-pointer in overtime, as the Wolverines opened the extra session with a 9-0 run. Michigan attempted a season-high 38 3-pointers and converted 14 of them — meaning nearly two-thirds of their overall points came from beyond the arc.
The loss was Northwestern’s (16-11, 6-9) third in its last four games and dropped them to eighth in the Big Ten standings, a half-game behind Iowa. The Wildcats, who have never advanced to the NCAA Tournament, were in desperate need of a marquee win to improve their resume.
Instead, they fell to 1-6 against teams ranked in the Top 25.
John Shurna, who became Northwestern’s all-time leading scorer in Sunday’s 64-53 victory over Minnesota, finished with a team-high 14 points on 6-of-16 shooting. Davide Curletti had 12 points and Reggie Hearn added 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Northwestern took a 47-43 lead on Shurna’s jumper with 2:44 left, but Michigan responded with a pair of 3-pointers — one by Burke and another by Hardaway Jr. — to tie the score at 49 a minute later.
Both teams came up empty on their final possessions of regulation.
Michigan led 20-13 midway through the first half, but the Wildcats closed on an 18-4 run to take a 31-24 advantage at halftime.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Eighteen of Michigan’s 24 first-half points came on 3-pointers … The Wolverines’ final three games are against unranked opponents … The Wildcats lost their sixth straight overtime game.
Top Game Performances
Michigan |
|
Northwestern |
Trey Burke 19 |
Scoring |
John Shurna 14 |
Stu Douglass 5 |
Assists |
Alex Marcotullio 3 |
Jordan Morgan 7 |
Rebounds |
Reggie Hearn 11 |
Tim Hardaway, Jr. 4 |
Free Throws Made |
Davide Curletti 4 |
Trey Burke 2 |
Steals |
Davide Curletti 2 |
Tim Hardaway, Jr. 3 |
Blocks |
Davide Curletti 2 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Michigan
|
67 |
37.5 |
14-38 |
11-18 |
15 |
30 |
6 |
4 |
6 |
Northwestern
|
55 |
41.2 |
3-16 |
10-14 |
11 |
33 |
4 |
3 |
14 |