Michigan Basketball Finds Way to Win ‘Wrestling Match’ to Keep Pace in Big Ten Title Hunt

ANN ARBOR — Tre Donaldson’s shot hit off the back of the rim, Danny Wolf’s tip attempt was off, and the ball got swatted out of bounds as the second-half buzzer sounded. Michigan and Northwestern were heading to overtime.

The first thought of another Wolverine, Nimari Burnett: “Oh, man, this again.”

Michigan’s last game, three days earlier, was an overtime loss at Minnesota.

“But, you know, we learned from the last one, learned what we need to do in order to pull off a win,” Burnett said. “And that’s just about valuing every single possession in front of us and having a team effort to rebound and get the best shot on offense. I think we did a great job of that.”

Michigan prevailed in the extra session this time, beating Northwestern 80-76 on Sunday.

“When you get beat on a half-court shot, you could have a tendency to play afraid to lose,” Michigan head coach Dusty May said after the game. “I thought our guys kept their composure, they stayed together, and they played with great poise down the stretch.”

Michigan held Northwestern to just under 40 percent shooting. Northwestern’s top scorers on the season were the top producers again on Sunday, but Nick Martinelli (20 points) needed 17 shots to get there and Brooks Barnhizer (21 points) needed 14. They’re big, strong players who can create for themselves, hit tough shots, and get to the line.

“They’re definitely two unique players,” Burnett said. “We just really locked into knowing what they love to get to.” When Northwestern tried to play isolation ball, the Wolverines were in the gaps to help.

Northwestern tries to turn the game into a grind, which is the opposite of Michigan’s preferred style and pace. (All the replay reviews only hurt the flow.) May compared the first 30 minutes or so to a wrestling match. “They’re as physical as anyone that we can remember playing,” he said. “They play a really practical, smart brand of basketball where they challenge every catch, they challenge every spot, and they just have a really good feel for reading the tells of the game.”

Michigan’s offense was nowhere near its best. Michigan shot 36 percent from the field. Vladislav Goldin was a force (31 points), but the other players Michigan likes to run its offense through had bad shooting days: Danny Wolf was 0 for 7 and Tre Donaldson was 3 for 12.

“Roddy (Gayle Jr.), thank goodness, stayed ready and determined,” May said. Gayle scored on a drive to give Michigan a two-point lead with 34 seconds left in regulation; opened the overtime scoring with another driving bucket; and drew a foul later in the period, making the free throws to give Michigan the lead for good. He finished with 10 points.

“It was nice to see Roddy have his pop back, his athleticism back,” May said. “He’s been battling some minor injuries.” Gayle, who sat out the Jan. 7 game at UCLA with a knee issue, missed all six of his shots in the Minnesota game.

“That’s the type of team we’re going to have to be,” May said, referencing the fact that different Wolverines have stepped up in different games, whether it’s Gayle or Burnett or Rubin Jones, who made a pair of 3s off the bench on Sunday.

The Wolverines showed immediate improvement from Minnesota by only having 11 turnovers, their cleanest game in that regard in more than a month. Donaldson took a wild shot at the end of regulation on Thursday night. On Sunday, though his floater was just a tad too strong, May was happy with the play since Donaldson got into the paint and Michigan had an opportunity for a put-back.

Bigger picture, it was an important bounce-back game. The Wolverines are in the hunt for a Big Ten title, and the win kept them near the top of the standings. They’re 6-1 in the league, behind Michigan State (7-0) and tied in the loss column with Purdue (7-1). Wisconsin is 5-2, three teams have three losses, and on down it goes.

When May spoke to reporters after the win, he was aware the two other Big Ten games that day were one-possession games. “It’s going to be a slugfest every single night in this league,” he said.

Michigan visits No. 11 Purdue on Friday.

“We have to fix some things,” May said. “We’ve got to find some solutions to problems that we’ve faced. … It’s January, and we’re still learning a lot about ourselves every single game.”