Michigan routs Northwestern 74-51
Wildcats have lost last six against Michigan
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Though his numbers did not speak volumes, Michigan forward Jordan Morgan tied a season-high eight points and eight rebounds for an unlikely spark to lead the Wolverines to a 74-51 Big Ten win over Northwestern on Sunday.
Sophomore forward Nik Stauskas led all scorers with 18 points, including a 5-for-10 performance from the field while sophomore forward Glenn Robinson III chipped in 12 points to lead Michigan (10-4, 2-0 Big Ten).
Forward Drew Crawford led Northwestern (7-8, 0-2) with 17 points, including 13 in the first half. Of the Wildcats’ 24 first-half shots, Crawford took more than a third of all attempts with nine.
Morgan, who averages 3.3 points and 2.9 rebounds per game, split time with redshirt junior Jon Horford in the absence of preseason All-American forward Mitch McGary. Last week, McGary announced his intention to have surgery on his back, a lingering injury according to the sophomore.
The Wolverines’ lead was as large as 26 after redshirt sophomore forward Max Bielfeldt, in just his first minutes of the game, knocked down a 3-pointer with less than two minutes left in the game.
A pair of free throws from guard Caris LeVert pushed the lead to 16 after Robinson slammed home an alley-oop pass from freshman forward Zak Irvin midway through the second half.
The Wildcats held the lead for a large portion of the first half, taking advantage of poor shooting and porous defense from Michigan. But a 10-9 lead with 10:56 left in the first half was the last time the Wildcats would stay on top.
Crawford, Northwestern’s leading scorer, had little help during the game, as only one other teammate finished in double digits for a team that averages a Big Ten low in scoring, with 65.4 entering Sunday’s contest.
It took nearly nine minutes for either team to reach double digits in scoring, but not long after for the game to heat up as Michigan outscored the Wildcats 20-12 in the last 10 minutes of the first half. The Wolverines led 31-24 at halftime.
Sophomore forward Nik Stauskas sparked a 10-2 run for the Wolverines midway through the first half, nailing a turnaround jumpshot just outside of the key before slamming home a behind-the-back pass from guard Spike Albrecht.
Notes: Michigan F Glenn Robinson III started Sunday’s game after he missed most of the second half when he injured his ankle against Minnesota on Thursday. Michigan coach John Beilein had said Robinson would be day-to-day earlier last week. … Northwestern has lost the past six straight contests against Michigan, which leads the series 108-56. The teams will not meet again this season. … After he scored 23 points in a 76-49 loss to Northwestern, 7-foot C Alex Olah had 12 points Sunday.
