Despite Jordan Morgan's foul trouble, Michigan pulled out the overtime victory (photo by Paul Beaty, AP)

Michigan survived a classic trap game tonight at Northwestern, needing overtime to beat the Wildcats for the second time this season. Following an emotional win over Ohio State on Saturday, a trip to Evanston to face a Northwestern team giddy about the possibility of a first ever trip to the Big Dance was a recipe for disaster, especially for a team that was just 3-6 on the road this season. But Michigan overcame a seven point halftime deficit and early foul trouble to pull out a 67-55 overtime victory.

It was apparent from the beginning that Michigan was in for a tough one when Jordan Morgan and Evan Smotrycz each picked up two fouls early. John Beilein was forced to use Blake McLimans for the majority of the first half, giving the Wolverines no inside presence. Northwestern countered with a 1-3-1 that forced Michigan to chuck up a season high 38 three-pointers.

Michigan held Northwestern without a point for the first 4:23 but could only build up a 6-0 lead. The Wolverines then built a 11-3 lead on a Jordan Morgan layup and Stu Douglass three. The teams went back and forth until Matt Vogrich hit back-to-back threes to give Michigan a 20-13 lead with 9:25 remaining in the half. However, Northwestern closed the half on a 18-4 run as Michigan went just 2-of-10 in the final nine minutes.

Tim Hardaway Jr started the second half off with a layup and Burke hit a three to pull Michigan within two. Northwestern finally got on the board nearly five minutes into the half, and for the next five minutes, points were hard to come by. With 9:51 remaining, Douglass hit a three to cut the lead to one and after a NW free throw, Vogrich nailed a three to give Michigan its first lead of the second half.

Burke followed up with a layup, but five straight Northwestern points put the Wildcats back on top. John Shurna finally got into the second half action to give NW a four-point lead with 2:44 to play, but Burke answered with a three. After another Shurna basket, Hardaway hit a three to tie the game at 49 with 1:46 remaining.

Northwestern had a chance to take the lead in the final minute, but missed a pair of shots, giving Michigan the last possession, but a Burke three at the buzzer fell short, sending the game into overtime just like the previous meeting.

In the overtime stanza, it was all Michigan. Burke, Novak, and Douglass hit back-to-back-to-back threes to blow the game open before Northwestern could get on the board. From there, it became a free throw contest and Michigan hit enough of them to seal the win.

Burke led all scorers with 19 points to go along with five assists and just one turnover while playing all 45 minutes. Hardaway added 14 points despite hitting just 4-of-10 from the free throw line and Douglass scored 12, all on threes (4-of-7). Vogrich hit 3-of-6 from three-point range to score nine points.

The Michigan defense held Shurna to 14 points, six below his season average, and his third lowest total of the season. The Wolverines also held Drew Crawford to just six points, 10 below his season average, and his second lowest total of the season.

Michigan returns home for its final game in the friendly confines of the Crisler Center on Saturday at 6pm against Purdue (17-10, 7-7). Seniors Zack Novak, Stu Douglass, and Corey Person will be honored.

#13 Michigan v. Northwestern
	Tuesday, Feb. 21 8 p.m. ET Big Ten Network Evanston, Ill.
20-7 (10-4)	Record	16-10 (6-8)
Ferris State 59-33 Towson 64-47 W. Illinois 59-55 #8 Memphis 73-61 UCLA 79-63 Iowa State 79-66 Oakland 90-80 Ark. Pine-Bluff 63-50 Alabama A&M 87-57 Bradley 77-66 Penn State 71-53 Minnesota 61-56 #16 Wisconsin 59-41 Northwestern 66-64 OT #9 Michigan St. 60-59 Purdue 66-64 #20 Indiana 68-56 Nebraska 62-46 Illinois 70-61 #6 Ohio State 56-51	Wins	UTPA 60-36 LSU 88-82 Tulsa 69-65 Seton Hall 80-73 Stony Brook 63-58 Georgia Tech 76-60 MVSU 92-67 Texas Southern 81-51 Central Conn. St. 70-64 Eastern Illinois 87-72 Penn State 68-56 #7 Michigan St. 81-74 Nebraska 84-74 Illinois 74-70 Iowa 83-64 Minnesota 64-53
#6 Duke 75-82 Virginia 58-70 #11 Indiana 71-73 Iowa 59-75 Arkansas 64-66 #3 Ohio State 49-64 #10 Michigan St. 54-64	Losses	#8 Baylor 41-69 #21 Creighton 79-87 #2 Ohio State 54-87 Illinois 56-57 #13 Michigan 64-66 OT Wisconsin 57-77 Minnesota 52-75 Purdue 56-58 Purdue 77-87 #20 Indiana 66-71
66.5	Points Per Game	70.1
60.1	Scoring Defense	67.4
653-for-1,416 (46.1%)	Field Goal %	630-for-1,374 (45.9%)
588-for-1,395 (42.2%)	Def. Field Goal %	638-for-1,423 (44.8%)
215-for-616 (34.9%)	3-point %	231-for-605 (38.2%)
163-for-476 (34.2%)	Def. 3-point %	176-for-489 (36.0%)
275-for-385 (71.4%)	Free Throw %	331-for-481 (68.8%)
10.2	Free Throws Made/Game	12.7
30.9	Rebounds Per Game	29.7
31.4	Opp. Rebounds Per Game	34.8
13.2	Assists Per Game	15.6
10.7	Turnovers Per Game	10.2
5.1	Steals Per Game	6.2
2.0	Blocks Per Game	3.8
G – Tim Hardaway (14.3) G – Trey Burke (14.1)	Leading Scorer	F – John Shurna (20.2) G – Drew Crawford (16.6)
F – Evan Smotrycz (5.6) F – Jordan Morgan (5.0)	Leading Rebounder	F – John Shurna (5.6) G – Drew Crawford (4.5)

The Wildcats enter at 16-10, 6-8 in the Big Ten, and squarely on the NCAA bubble. ESPN’s Bracketologist Joe Lunardi has Northwestern among his “last four in” but we Michigan fans know all to well from recent years, it’s a dicey place to be. At this point, every game counts, and a win over a team like Michigan could be the boost that gets the Wildcats into the Tournament. Add to that the fact that NW has never qualified for the Big Dance and that Michigan needed overtime to edge the Wildcats in Ann Arbor in early January, and tonight’s game will be a very tall task for Michigan.

In the last meeting, Michigan was outplayed for much of the game, needing a 10-point second half comeback to force overtime, but was able to pull it out in the extra period.

Northwestern stars John Shurna and Drew Crawford scored 21 and 20, respectively, and the Wildcats shot 50 percent from the field, but Michigan found a way to win thanks to 17 offensive rebounds and forcing 16 turnovers.

If there is a reason for optimism for Michigan heading into tonight’s matchup, it’s that the Wolverines shot just 33.3 percent from the field and 7-of-30 from three-point range and still won the game. It’s unlikely that either team will shoot as good (NW) or as bad (Michigan) as it did in the first contest.

Northwestern has lost two of its last three, having beaten Minnesota 64-53 on Saturday, and is 14-3 at home in Welsh-Ryan Arena this season.

As mentioned above, the Wildcats are led by senior forward John Shurna who became Northwestern’s all-time leading scorer on Saturday, and junior guard Drew Crawford. Shurna leads the Wildcats with 20.2 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, while Crawford ranks second with 16.6 and 4.5. They stand #1 and #4 in the Big Ten in scoring and both rank in the top 12 in three-point shooting, both over 40 percent.

While they’re the big two, the Wildcats have a solid point guard in freshman Dave Soboleski who averages 9.4 points per game. He scored nine against Michigan in the first matchup.

Michigan could use another big game out of big man Jordan Morgan who played the best game of his career on Saturday against Ohio State. Wildcat center Luka Mirkovic averages just under six points per game and was held to two in Ann Arbor. The Wildcats like to go small, and are the only team in the conference that Michigan holds a rebounding advantage over on both ends.

I think it’s safe to expect a close, low scoring battle in which Shurna and Crawford will get their points. If Michigan shoots like it did in the January matchup, Northwestern will win, but don’t expect that to happen.

Michigan has just one home game remaining, against Purdue, with the Boilers being the only remaining opponent in the top half of the conference. Michigan State has a pair of should-wins against Minnesota and Nebraska before finishing up at Indiana and home against Ohio State. The Buckeyes have home tilts against Illinois and Wisconsin before traveling to Northwestern and Michigan State.

For Michigan to win at least a share of the Big Ten, the Wolverines will need Michigan State to lose one of its remaining games. State’s visit to Bloomington, Ind next Tuesday looks to be the best chance. But that alone won’t wrap up the title. Michigan will need to win out, which is a tough task with three of the final four on the road. The toughest test should be Tuesday night’s contest at Northwestern. If Michigan can escape the purple trap, we could be looking at the first Big Ten title in 25 years.

[Ed: Standings updated Monday morning to reflect Sunday night results].

Novak and the Wolverines took five charges to stymie Sullinger and the Buckeyes (photo by Tony Ding, AP)

Michigan capped off an incredible day with a prime-time, nationally televised win over 6th-ranked Ohio State. The day began with ESPN College Game Day broadcasting live from the Crisler Center, continued with six football commitments for the 2013 class (more on that to follow), and culminated with a 56-51 win over the Buckeyes.

Michigan scored the first six and never looked back, holding the lead for the rest of the game. The lead grew to as much as 10 in the second half and the closest Ohio State ever got was one at 17-16 with five minutes left in the first half.

It was clear from the onset that John Beilein’s game plan was to control the tempo offensively and jump the high screens and double-team Jared Sullinger in the post, forcing the Buckeyes to settle for shots from the outside. And it worked to perfection.

Michigan held OSU to just 10-of-26 shooting (0-for-9 from three) in the first half, but the Wolverines shot just 37.5 percent themselves from the field, allowing the Buckeyes to stay within striking distance. In the second, Michigan hit 13-of-23 and held the Buckeyes to just nine field goals.

The Buckeyes turned to Sullinger in the second half, and he finished the game with 14 points, but the Michigan defense harassed him all game, drawing a pair of charges and keeping him out of rhythm. It was Deshaun Thomas who almost singlehandedly kept the Buckeyes in the game, scorign 25 points and grabbing 13 rebounds while Sullinger struggled and William Buford was held to just six points on 3-of-12 shooting.

For Michigan, it was the Trey Burke show as the freshman dominated Ohio sophomore point guard Aaron Craft, scoring 17 points and five assists while holding Craft to just four points, three turnovers, and two assists. With Ohio State trying to claw back in the final minutes, Burke hit a layup with 1:20 remaining and a jumper with 14 seconds remaining, both to put the Wolverines back up by two possessions.

On the former, Burke pulled Craft out near midcourt and beat him off the dribble to the left, drove the lane and converted a layup. On the latter, he drove through traffic to the right and lofted up a floater that kissed off the glass to seal the win.

Tim Hardaway Jr added 13 and hit both threes he attempted, while Jordan Morgan played perhaps his best game of the season, scoring 11 points and pulling down 11 boards.

The win was Michigan’s first over Ohio State since a 73-64 victory on Jan. 3, 2010 and keeps Michigan in contention for its first Big Ten title since 1986. The Wolverines stand a game behind Michigan State in the loss column with four games to play. The Spartans remaining schedule includes road games at Purdue, Minnesota, and #20 Indiana, and home tilts with Nebraska and current-#6 Ohio State. Michigan returns to action on Tuesday at Northwestern and will look to close out the home portion of its schedule undefeated next Saturday against Purdue.

Stay tuned by the end of the week for our final recruiting profile, the secondary.

This year’s defensive line haul contains three ends and three tackles, led by five-star tackle Ondre Pipkins. This is a very important position group to watch heading into fall camp as it will need to replace starters Mike Martin and Ryan Van Bergen. There will be plenty of opportunity to step in and grab some playing time as Hoke and Mattison look for suitable replacements. Let’s take a look at the guys who may do so.

Stay tuned in the next day or two for the profile of Michigan’s linebacker class.

Come back tomorrow for a look at the defensive line commitments.

Mario Manningham enters his first Super Bowl Sunday with a touchdown in all three playoff games to this point, including the game-winner in the NFC Championship game in San Francisco. Manningham has a chance to be the standout player, taking advantage of a weak Patriots secondary that will be focusing on Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks.

Zoltan Mesko (Patriots punter) and David Baas (Giants center) also make their first Super Bowl appearances.

The halftime show also features a Michigan connection. Madonna briefly attended Michigan before dropping out in 1977 to move to New York to pursue a singing/dancing career.

Come back on Monday to learn more about the receivers and tight ends in this year’s class.