[jwplayer YeehlpAc-XNcErKyb]
Coming off their big win over rival Michigan State, Michigan (14-9 overall, 5-7 Big Ten) hit the road for a trip to Big Ten bottom-feeder Northwestern on Wednesday.
The Wildcats (6-16, 1-11) are not only the worst team in the conference, they’re amongst the worst teams in the nation. Northwestern entered this contest having lost 12 of their last 13 games.
The Wolverines had an ice cold start to the contest, missing their first 11 shots with several coming right around the basket.
Michigan settled in shortly after however, finding it’s rhythm offensively to knock down 13 of its next 20 shot attempts to take a 38-23 lead into the locker room.
NEGATIVES:
- Jon Teske’s ineptitude on offense is reaching mind-boggling status. The senior center has struggled mightily to finish around the rim as the season has progressed, and he started tonight’s game 0-for-5 with every shot coming around the rim. His shot attempts were contested, but a 7’1 center needs to be able to finish over defenders. That’s not happening nearly enough for Teske lately. He finished the half just 1-of-8 from the floor.
POSITIVES:
- With Teske ineffectiveness, backup center Austin Davis got an early opportunity to make an impact on the game and he took advantage. Davis made his first three attempts from the floor, showing off some impressive footwork, and finished with 7 points in the half.
- Davis wasn’t the only guy off the bench who made an impact. Brandon Johns Jr. and David DeJulius combined to score 7 points on 3-of-4 shooting, with the only miss coming on DeJulius’ three-point prayer as time expired. Michigan’s starters started the game slugglish, but the bench provided a nice bump for the Wolverines.
- Eli Brooks looked good in the first half. He’s up to 9 points after hitting 3-of-4 attempts from three-point range.