Yes, it’s a co-championship, shared with the two rivals, but it’s a championship. It means a banner in the rafters of the Crisler Center. It means a place in the Michigan and Big Ten record books. It means Novak, Douglass, Hardaway, Burke, and Morgan accomplished something Rose, Webber, Howard, King, and Jackson never did.

Not a player on this team was alive the last time Michigan won a Big Ten basketball title and John Beilein was at the helm of Division II LeMoyne College. Yet this gritty group of misfits and underdogs earned a piece of the regular season championship in the toughest conference in college basketball this season.

The Big Ten Tournament is on deck and the Big Dance will follow, but now is the time to celebrate. Congratulations to the 2011-12 Michigan basketball team. The Big Ten champions.

It got hairy at the end, but Michigan pulled out its fourth consecutive road victory to stay alive in the Big Ten title race, setting up a scenario in which Michigan is forced to root for one bitter rival to beat the other.

Michigan looked as if it was going to cruise to an easy victory, opening up an 18 point lead in the first half. Penn State closed the half with a 7-0 run to head into the locker room trailing by 11. Michigan shot 14-for-20 in the first half and 7-of-10 from three-point range.

The second half was similar as Michigan widened the lead to 54-35 with 11:43 to play. But Penn State went on a 15-2 run over the next six minutes to pull within six. The lead was cut to  four with 2:40 remaining but Trey Burke took his man baseline for a layup to stop the run. From there, Michigan got a jumper from Tim Hardaway and 5-of-6 free throws to hold on for the win.

Burke led the way for Michigan with 19 points while Evan Smotrycz had his best game of the Big Ten season with 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting, 3-of-4 from three. Hardaway added 13 and Novak scored 11 to give Michigan four players in double figures. Stu Douglass was just one away with nine points.

Aside from the first 15 minutes of the game when Michigan was unconscious from the field, it wasn’t pretty, but any road win in the Big Ten is a good one, even against the last place team. Most importantly, it put Michigan in position to have a shot at its first Big Ten championship in 25 years.

We now turn our attention to the Michigan State-Ohio State game at 4pm Eastern time, needing Ohio State to win in order to result in a three-way tie for the Big Ten title.

It all comes down to Super Sunday. For the first time in 25 years, Michigan can win a Big Ten basketball championship but today it will take not one game but two to do so. Michigan visit State College for its final game of the regular season needing a win to keep its title hopes alive.

#16 Michigan v. Penn State
	Sunday, Mar. 4 1 p.m. ET ESPN State College, Pa.
22-8 (12-5)	Record	12-18 (4-13)
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 Northwestern 67-55 OT Illinois 72-61	Wins	Hartford 70-55 Radford 62-46 LIU 77-68 USF 53-49 Youngstown St. 82-71 Boston College 62-54 Mount St. Mary’s 72-43 Cornell 74-67 Purdue 65-45 #25 Illinois 54-52 Nebraska 67-51 Iowa 69-64
#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 Purdue 75-61	Losses	#2 Kentucky 47-85 St. Joseph’s 47-65 Mississippi 70-72 Lafayette 57-61 Duquesne 59-66 #16 Michigan 53-71 Northwestern 56-68 #12 Indiana 82-88 Nebraska 58-70 Minnesota 66-80 #13 Indiana 54-73 #3 Ohio State 54-78 #20 Wisconsin 46-52 Iowa 64-77 #12 Michigan St. 57-77 #17 Wisconsin 55-65 Northwestern 66-67 Purdue 56-80
66.5	Points Per Game	61.8
60.5	Scoring Defense	65.3
720-for-1,577 (45.7%)	Field Goal %	654-for-1,660 (39.4%)
657-for-1,554 (42.3%)	Def. Field Goal %	623-for-1,444 (43.1%)
247-for-705 (35.0%)	3-point %	187-for-616 (30.4%)
177-for-521 (34.0%)	Def. 3-point %	239-for-637 (37.5%)
309-for-430 (71.9%)	Free Throw %	359-for-529 (67.9%)
10.3	Free Throws Made/Game	12.0
31.1	Rebounds Per Game	34.1
31.5	Opp. Rebounds Per Game	31.9
13.1	Assists Per Game	10.9
10.6	Turnovers Per Game	12.3
4.9	Steals Per Game	6.7
2.1	Blocks Per Game	2.3
G – Trey Burke (14.5) G – Tim Hardaway (14.5)	Leading Scorer	G – Tim Frazier (18.8) G – J. Marhshall (10.3)
F – Jordan Morgan (5.7) F – Evan Smotrycz (4.8)	Leading Rebounder	G – Tim Frazier (4.8)

Penn State is in a battle of its own, for the bottom of the barrel in the Big Ten, needing a win to finish a game ahead of Nebraska for last place. The Nittany Lions enter with a 12-18 record, 4-13 in the Big Ten, the only wins over Purdue, Illinois, Nebraska, and Iowa.

PSU is led by junior guard Tim Frazier who averages 18.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. In the first meeting against Michigan on December 29, Frazier scored 20 points on 8-of-18 shooting. His season high was 30 against Nebraska and his low was three against Lafayette when he missed all 12 shots from the field. In Big Ten play, he’s virtually guaranteed to get his 20 points, but thankfully for the opponent, he’s about all Penn State has.

The only other Nittany Lion in double figures is sophomore guard Jermaine Marshall who averages 10.3. He scored nine against Michigan in December, hitting both of his three-point attempts, and has a season high of 22 against Boston College.

Penn State is last in the Big Ten in three-point percentage at 30.4 percent, but senior guard Cammeron Woodyard hits at a 36.8 percent clip. By comparison, only Evan Smotrycz has a better percentage for Michigan, but he has attempted 33 fewer threes. Woodyard averages 8.7 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.

In addition to not shooting well from the outside, Penn State is second to last in the conference in defensive three-point percentage, giving up threes at a 37.5 percent rate. In the first meeting, Michigan hit just 8-of-25 but still won handily.

In that meeting, Tim Hardaway Jr had his highest scoring game of the season with 26 points on 11-of-18 shooting, despite hitting just 1-of-7 threes. Also in that game, Smotrycz recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Trey Burke added 13 points and seven assists. Michigan won 71-53.

It shouldn’t be a tall task for Michigan to pull off its fourth straight road win. With a chance to shrug off the weight of the last 25 years, Michigan will be energized. Expect a lot of Hardaway who is coming off a great game against Illinois.

If Michigan wins, the focus will then turn to East Lansing where the Maize and Blue will be forced to root for one rival to beat the other. An Ohio State win would give Michigan a share of the Big Ten title along with Ohio State and Michigan State. It would also give Michigan a 2-seed in next week’s Big Ten Tournament. A Michigan State win would give State the Big Ten title alone and Michigan would take second place. It would also give Michigan the 2-seed.

Regardless of what happens in the Michigan State-Ohio State game, Michigan gets the 2-seed in the BTT with a win over Penn State. That would slot Michigan against the winner of the 7/10 game on on Friday at 6:30 EST. The 7/10 game will likely feature Northwestern and Minnesota.

Tim Hardaway Jr found his shooting stroke, leading Michigan with 25 points and 11 rebounds (photo by John Dixon, AP)

On January 17, 1995, Boyz II Men had the number one hit, “On Bended Knee.” Also on that day, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake his Japan, killing over 6,000 people, and Michigan beat Illinois in Assembly Hall behind Jimmy King, Maurice Taylor, Maceo Baston, and Makhtar N’diaye. That flash from the past happens to be the last day Michigan beat Illinois in Champaign – until tonight.

It took 17 years and 14 tries but Michigan knocked off the Illini 72-61 to keep its hopes of ending an even longer drought – winning the Big Ten title for the first time since 1986 – alive.

Michigan got off to a fast start with a three-pointer by Stu Douglass and a dunk by Jordan Morgan before Illinois finally got on the board. Tim Hardaway Jr’s first three of the night put Michigan ahead 10-4 but Illinois scored seven of the next nine to cut the lead to one.

But Trey Burke hit back-to-back threes and a breakaway dunk to pull Michigan ahead 22-14 and draw an Illinois timeout. Michigan widened the lead to 13 over the next eight minutes before Illinois scored five straight. Michigan took a 35-27 lead into the half.

In the second, Illinois vowed to make it a game, using an 12-5 run to start the half and pull within one. Hardaway then decided to take over. He scored the next 11 points, including three straight three-pointers, to give Michigan a comfortable lead at 51-44 with eight minutes to play.

From there on, Illinois could only pull within five as Michigan made the most of its free throws, hitting 21-of-23 for the game. Seventeen of Michigan’s final 19 points during the last seven minutes of the game came from the free throw line, the only non-free throw a Morgan jumper which was followed up by a free-throw to complete a three point play.

Hardaway led Michigan with 25 points, hitting all four of his three-point attempts, 6-of-7 total shots from the field, and 9-of-10 free throws. He also led the Wolverines with 11 rebounds to complete his second double-double of the season. Most importantly, it was a refreshing departure from his struggles over the past two months. If his slump is indeed over, it comes at just the right time, heading into the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments, and will make Michigan very tough to beat.

Burke also shined for the Wolverines, scoring 21 points and recording five assists to break Gary Grant’s Michigan record (140) for assists by a freshman, which occurred in 1984-85.

No other Michigan player scored in double figures. Zack Novak struggled from the field, hitting just 1-of-7 field goals, but scored eight points as a result of making all six of his free throws. Morgan added seven points and seven rebounds.

The win brings Michigan’s record to 22-8 overall and 12-5 in the Big Ten and sets up what should be a thrilling Sunday. If Michigan wins at Penn State (12-18, 4-13) at 1pm, it will then be forced to root for Ohio State to beat Michigan State at 4pm. If that scenario plays out, Michigan will capture a share of the Big Ten title along with Michigan State and Ohio State.

Michigan missed out on a perfect home record on its own Senior Night on Saturday and now travels to Illinois hoping to keep its Big Ten title hopes alive and spoil the Illini’s Senior Night.

#16 Michigan v. Illinois
	Thursday, Mar. 1 7 p.m. ET ESPN Champaign, Ill.
21-8 (11-5)	Record	17-12 (6-10)
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 Northwestern 67-55 OT	Wins	Loyola 67-49 SIU-Edwardsville 66-46 Lipscomb 79-64 Richmond 70-61 Illinois State 63-59 Chicago State 90-43 Maryland 71-62 #18 Gonzaga 82-75 St. Bonaventure 48-43 Coppin State 80-63 Cornell 64-60 Minnesota 81-72 2OT Northwestern 57-56 Nebraska 59-54 #5 Ohio State 79-74 #10 Michigan St. 42-41 Iowa 65-54
#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 Purdue 75-61	Losses	UNLV 48-64 #8 Missouri 74-78 Purdue 60-75 Penn State 52-54 Wisconsin 63-67 Minnesota 72-77 OT Northwestern 70-74 #23 Indiana 71-84 #25 Michigan 61-70 Purdue 62-67 Nebraska 57-80 #9 Ohio State 67-83
66.3	Points Per Game	66.2
60.4	Scoring Defense	63.8
699-for-1,532 (45.6%)	Field Goal %	698-for-1,572 (44.4%)
636-for-1,500 (42.4%)	Def. Field Goal %	647-for-1,510 (42.8%)
238-for-686 (34.7%)	3-point %	171-for-554 (30.9%)
173-for-507 (34.1%)	Def. 3-point %	186-for-492 (37.8%)
288-for-407 (70.8%)	Free Throw %	353-for-494 (71.5%)
9.9	Free Throws Made/Game	12.2
31.1	Rebounds Per Game	32.8
31.7	Opp. Rebounds Per Game	31.0
13.2	Assists Per Game	12.7
10.6	Turnovers Per Game	13.8
4.9	Steals Per Game	5.3
2.1	Blocks Per Game	4.2
G – Trey Burke (14.2) G – Tim Hardaway (14.1)	Leading Scorer	G – Brandon Paul (14.8) C – Meyers Leonard (13.4)
F – Evan Smotrycz (5.6) F – Jordan Morgan (5.0)	Leading Rebounder	C – Meyers Leonard (8.1) G – Brandon Paul (4.6)

Illinois is on a free-fall and is likely playing its last home game under head coach Bruce Weber. After beginning the season 15-3 with wins over 18th-ranked Gonzaga and 5th-ranked Ohio State, the Illini have dropped nine of 11. One of those two wins was a 42-41 victory over Michigan State, so despite all of the problems, Illinois is capable of beating anyone in the Big Ten.

The Illini are really a two-headed monster with guard Brandon Paul and center Meyers Leonard. Paul, a 6’4″ junior, averages 14.8 points and 4.6 rebounds per game but his biggest clame to fame this season was his 43-point performance against Ohio State in which he hit 8-of-10 three-pointers. He also hit 6-of-10 against Northwestern and shoots at a 34.2 percent clip on the season. In Michigan’s 70-61 win over Illinois on Feb. 12, Paul scored 21 points, hitting 4-of-8 from three. He also turned the ball over seven times.

Leonard is a 7’1″ sophomore averaging 13.4 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. He has a season high of 22 against Richmond and last week against Iowa, however, Michigan held him to his second lowest total of the season, five.

Junior guard D.J. Richardson is the only other Illini averaging in double figures at 12.1 points per game. He matched that with 12 against Michigan, but hit just 1-of-8 three-pointers. He leads the team in three-point percentage at 35.5 percent.

In that first meeting, Michigan held the Illini to 38.9 percent shooting and shot 50 percent itself. It was a closely played game but Michigan got 15 points from Hardaway, 14 from Trey Burke, 13 from Evan Smotrycz, and 12 from Zack Novak. Hardaway and Smotrycz combined to hit 4-of-4 three-pointers in the first half to help Michigan build a six point halftime lead and Michigan held on from there.

Illinois is not a great shooting team, ranking eighth in the Big Ten at 44.4 percent from the field and second to last in the conference at 30.9 percent from downtown. The Illini also give up the best three-point percentage in the conference, which bodes well for Michigan.

It will be an emotional night for the Illini, honoring seniors Sam Maniscalco and Jean Selus. Maniscalco is a transfer from Bradley who averages 6.5 points per game and just under 25 minutes of action. Selus is a walk-on who has played a total of seven minutes all season.

Michigan is looking for its first win at Assembly Hall since 1995, where the Illini have beaten Michigan 13 straight times.

Expect Illinois to come out strong and play a close, passionate game for the final time this season in front of the home crowd. Michigan will need the kind of production it got from its four stars if it is to win.

Welcome to our new weekly column, Arbitrary Michellanea. It’s arbitrary because it won’t be all-encompassing; what is covered will be subject to what I choose to be most newsworthy or compelling based on what happens each week. It’s Michellanea because, well, it’s a varied collection of material with a Michigan twist. It will be similar to The Rear View Mirror column from football season, but this will become a permanent feature in and out of season. Essentially, it will serve as a roundup of the events from the past week that didn’t fit into some sort of game column, but aren’t necessarily worthy of a full post on their own. These will typically be midweek and will always focus on Michigan football, basketball, or other sports as deemed important (see: Lion Kim, Masters), as well as rivals and opponents as they apply to Michigan.

So you’re telling me there’s a chance…

Michigan’s loss to Purdue on Saturday narrowed the Wolverines’ Big Ten title hopes to very slim. But the first of four remaining hurdles to that goal was cleared last night when Indiana beat Michigan State 70-55 in Bloomington. Michigan State could have wrapped up the outright Big Ten title with a win and could still do so with a win on Sunday against 11th-ranked Ohio State, but for now, Michigan still has a chance to capture a share of its first title since 1986.

Remaining Schedule
	Thursday at Illinois – 7pm Sunday at PSU – 1pm
	Sunday v. #11 Ohio State – 4pm
	Wednesday at Northwestern – 8:30pm Sunday at #5 Michigan State – 4pm

To do so, Michigan has to beat Illinois on the road on Thursday and Penn State on the road on Sunday. If both of those happen, Michigan will then be forced to root for Ohio State to beat Michigan State in East Lansing on Sunday afternoon. In that scenario, the three teams would all share the Big Ten title. If Michigan loses a game, it is out of the running. The timing is such that Michigan will be able to win it’s final two games (Sunday’s game is at 1pm) and then sit back and watch OSU-MSU battle it out beginning at 4pm.

Spartan fans are already throwing out the line about Michigan “backing into” a Big Ten title just like it did a BCS bowl game, but let’s be very clear: in a tough and rugged Big Ten, Michigan held its own and if it ends up with a share of the title, it was earned. Yes, Michigan stumbled against Iowa and Purdue, but Michigan State lost to Northwestern, who Michigan swept, and Illinois, who Michigan has a chance to sweep on Thursday. Michigan also split the series against MSU, Ohio State, and Indiana (who MSU just lost to). Of course, this will all be for naught if Michigan falters on Thursday or Sunday, so the goal this week is to take care of business and then find it inside you somewhere to root for Ohio.

Stocking up for war

Over the weekend, despite the basketball loss to Purdue, Michigan did get some good news. Wexford, Penn. offensive lineman Patrick Kugler gave Brady Hoke his commitment on Saturday, adding to the long list of four-star recruits who have already pledged to Michigan for the 2013 class. Kugler is the 54th-ranked player in the Rivals 100 and the fifth four-star offensive lineman in the class. Add that haul (assuming they all hold their commitment until next February) the four that will be suiting up this August and Hoke has the foundation to carry the Michigan offense for years to come.

Urban Meyer has been stocking his own barracks with highly rated recruits ever since he took over, leading some to suggest the rivalry is headed back to the good old days. With Hoke’s insistence on referring to them simply as “Ohio” and Meyer continuing the name game by calling Michigan “That school up north,” not to mention his silly academic comparison last week, the rivalry certainly appears to be ramping back up to the days of old. Another ten year war could be in the making.

Stock is rising

S

Junior Hemingway stood out among receivers at the NFL Combine (photo by Dave Martin, AP)

The NFL Combine wrapped up yesterday and each of the three Michigan players in attendance helped his Draft stock with a solid performance. While Mike Martin fell short of his goal of breaking the all-time Combine bench press record, he still finished in the top four in every category among defensive tackles. His 36 reps were tied for second, his 4.88 40-yard dash ranked third, his 7.19 three-cone drill ranked third, his 4.25 20-yard shuttle ranked second, his 33.5 inch vertical ranked fourth, and his 113 inch broad jump ranked first.

Center David Molk beat Martin on the bench, completing 41 reps, which was seven better than the next closest offensive lineman, Stanford’s David DeCastro. Receiver Junior Hemingway also impressed, running a 4.5 40-yard dash, which was faster than most expected he was. He also tied for third among receivers with with 21 bench press reps, behind only Missouri’s Jerrell Jackson and California’s Marvin Jones, led all receivers in the three-cone drill and 20-yard shuttle, ranked second in the 60-yard shuttle, and ranked eighth in broad jump. It’s safe to say Hemingway turned some heads and his stock will rise thanks to his performance. He’s still a late round pick, but some team will take a chance on him in April.

30 years is a long time

Last week, senior guard Zack Novak was selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America to the 2012 Capital One All America third team, becoming the first Michigan basketball player to do so since 1982. In order to be eligible for the honor, one has to be either a starter or a key reserve, achieve at least a 3.3 grade point average, participate in at least 50 percent of the team’s games, and reached at least sophomore status. He was one of just three Big Ten players to receive the honor, along with Northwestern’s Drew Crawford (second team) and Ohio State’s Aaron Craft (first team). Novak was among John Beilein’s first recruits at Michigan and helped restore Michigan basketball to a regular NCAA Tournament contender and this year, a Big Ten title contender.

Zack Novak hit four threes on Senior Night, but it wasn't enough (photo by Carlos Osorio, AP)

A day that began as festive with Zack Novak, Stu Douglass, and Corey Person being honored on Senior Night turned sour pretty quickly as Michigan dug itself a hole that it couldn’t climb out of against Purdue. With a chance to wrap up a perfect home record for the first time in 35 years and remain in the Big Ten title hunt, Michigan fell 75-61.

Purdue scored the first two baskets of the game as Michigan missed its first five shots before finally getting on the board nearly three minutes into the game on a Jordan Morgan dunk. But Purdue reeled off eight straight to build a 12-2 lead. Michigan pulled within three, but in what would be come a theme of the night, Purdue answered the charge with a run of its own, scoring seven straight to take a 19-9 lead.

Michigan battled back once again, playing the final ten minutes of the first half evenly before going into the locker room trailing 32-28.

Morgan got the second half scoring started with a layup but Purdue’s Terone Johnson scored six straight to widen the Boiler lead to eight. Michigan then went on a 12-2 run over the next four minutes to take its first lead of the game, 42-40, with 12:19 remaining. However, Purdue wouldn’t let Michigan take over, recapturing the lead and building it to seven.

A Tim Hardaway jumper with pulled Michigan to within four with 4:36 to play, but back-to-back threes by Robbie Hummel sealed the game for the Boilers. Michigan was forced to launch threes and foul in an attempt to come back, but it was not to be.

Purdue got a career high 22 points out of sophomore guard Terone Johnson who entered the game averaging 7.6. His previous high was 16 against Wisconsin on January 12, but on this night he hit 9-of-12 from the field and all four free throws to steal the thunder from the Michigan seniors.

Novak and Trey Burke led the way for Michigan with 12 points apiece while Hardaway added 10. Novak hit 4-of-10 three-point attempts, but Hardaway missed all six of his tries.

Purdue shot 50 percent from the field and 7-of-15 from three-point range, and the Big Ten’s worst free throw shooting team hit 14-of-16 from the line. The Boilers came in with a great offensive game plan that Michigan was unable to solve. On nearly every possession, the Purdue guards used the high ball screen to draw a mismatch with Morgan guarding a guard up top, who then drove to the basket. Rather than switch to a zone, Michigan had no answer.

At 21-8 overall and 11-5 in the Big Ten, Michigan still has an outside shot at a share of the Big Ten title, but it would require Michigan State to lose both of its final games, at #24 Indiana and home against #9 Ohio State, and Michigan would have to win its final two. The next one is Thursday at Illinois before closing the regular season at Penn State next Sunday.

Michigan overcame a major hurdle on Tuesday night by beating Northwestern in overtime on the road. It was a trap game following an emotional victory over rival Ohio State and against a team fighting for its first ever trip to the NCAA Tournament. Tonight, Michigan returns home for the last time this season looking to complete a perfect home record for the first time since the 1976-77 season. It’s Senior Night, but it won’t be easy.

#13 Michigan v. Purdue
	Saturday, Feb. 25 6 p.m. ET Big Ten Network Ann Arbor, Mich.
21-7 (11-4)	Record	18-10 (8-7)
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 Northwestern 67-55 OT	Wins	N. Illinois 96-34 High Point 67-65 Iona 91-90 Temple 85-77 W. Michigan 80-37 Coppin State 78-57 Miami 76-65 W. Carolina 65-60 E. Michigan 61-36 IPFW 81-56 Iowa 79-76 Illinois 75-60 Minnesota 79-66 Iowa 75-68 Northwestern 58-56 Northwestern 87-77 Illinois 67-62 Nebraska 83-65
#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	#15 Alabama 56-65 #11 Xavier 63-66 Butler 65-67 Penn State 45-65 Wisconsin 62-67 #9 Michigan State 58-83 #22 Michigan 64-66 #20 Indiana 61-78 #3 Ohio State 84-87 #8 Michigan State 62-76
66.5	Points Per Game	71.5
59.9	Scoring Defense	65.2
674-for-1,472 (45.8%)	Field Goal %	708-for-1,634 (43.3%)
609-for-1,446 (42.1%)	Def. Field Goal %	644-for-1,469 (43.8%)
229-for-654 (35.0%)	3-point %	222-for-610 (36.4%)
166-for-492 (33.7%)	Def. 3-point %	171-for-468 (36.5%)
286-for-403 (71.0%)	Free Throw %	365-for-569 (64.1%)
10.2	Free Throws Made/Game	13.0
31.1	Rebounds Per Game	33.4
31.7	Opp. Rebounds Per Game	34.3
13.3	Assists Per Game	13.5
10.6	Turnovers Per Game	8.7
5.0	Steals Per Game	6.9
2.1	Blocks Per Game	3.6
G – Tim Hardaway (14.3) G – Trey Burke (14.3)	Leading Scorer	F – Robbie Hummel (16.5) G – Lewis Jackson (10.3)
F – Evan Smotrycz (5.6) F – Jordan Morgan (5.0)	Leading Rebounder	F – Robbie Hummel (6.9) G – Kelsey Barlow (3.7)

Similar to Northwestern, Purdue enters looking to secure a spot in the Big Dance. The Boilermakers hold a 18-10 record, 8-7 in the Big Ten. More than likely, they’re in, but they can’t afford to falter down the stretch. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has the Boilers a current 9-seed, while CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm has them an 8-seed. With wins over Michigan, Penn State, and Indiana to close the regular season, the Boilers could cement a spot and avoid the waiting game on Selection Sunday that Michigan has found itself playing the past few years.

Purdue enters having won three of four, most recently an 83-65 win over Nebraska. The only loss during that span was a 76-62 home loss to 8th-ranked Michigan State. In that one, Purdue held a 38-35 halftime lead before going ice cold, missing 22 of their first 23 shots in the second half. Star forward Robbie Hummel was held to just six point in the second half (he had 18 in the first) and the Boilers had no answer for Draymond Green who recorded 20 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists.

Purdue isn’t a great team, but by no means are the Boilers a bad or even below average team either. Of their 10 losses, eight were to teams either ranked at the time or currently ranked. Only Butler and Penn State stand out as bad losses. They played Michigan tough in the January 24 meeting, but Michigan pulled it out 66-64. In that game, Michigan rebounded from a road loss to Arkansas, getting 19 points out of Tim Hardaway Jr on 8-of-15 shooting and 12 points apiece from Jordan Morgan and Stu Douglass. Michigan was hot from the field, hitting 54 percent and also outrebounded Purdue 30-24.

Even so, it went down to the wire. Michigan held a 65-64 lead in the closing seconds and Purdue got off a pair of threes that would have won the game, but neither would fall. Hummel scored 16 on 6-of-14 shooting while guard Lewis Jackson led the Boilers with 17.

Purdue guard Kelsey Barlow was dismissed from the team a week ago following a bar fight, but he didn’t play much of a factor in the first meeting. In nine minutes of action, he went 0-for-2 from the field and didn’t score a point, though he averaged eight points a game on the season.

The Boilers average five more points than Michigan does, but also give up five more. They shoot slightly worse at 43.3 percent, but are slightly better from three. The main area of weakness is from the free throw line where Purdue shoots just 64 percent. If it comes down to the wire, Michigan has the advantage.

A win would keep Michigan in contention for the Big Ten title. The Wolverines currently stand a game back of Michigan State, which hosts Nebraska tonight at 8pm. Michigan is also tied with Ohio State, which hosts #15 Wisconsin tomorrow at 4pm. A Michigan win would also secure its first unbeaten home record in 35 years.

Tonight’s game is also Senior Night and Zack Novack, Stu Douglass, and Corey Person will each be honored for their contributions to the program over the last four years. Novack and Douglass were among John Beilein’s first recruits when he took over the Wolverines in 2008 and despite not being highly recruiting, the pair have been crucial to Michigan’s resurgence.

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.

With four games remaining in the regular season, Michigan travels to Northwestern hoping to keep its Big Ten title hopes alive. However, Northwestern will be fighting for its NCAA Tournament life in what some in the greater Chicago area have dubbed the biggest game in Northwestern history.

#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.