Michigan Trips Northwestern 72-70 In OT In Big Ten Tourney
JEFF WASHBURN, Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Zak Irvin scored 19 points, including the game-winner from the right wing with 3.3 seconds remaining, lifting No. 8 seed Michigan to a 72-70 overtime victory against No. 9 seed Northwestern on Thursday in the Big Ten tournament.
The Wolverines (21-11) trailed 70-67, but Duncan Robinson's 3-pointer with 46.5 seconds remaining tied it at 70. Northwestern (20-12) missed an opportunity to retake the lead, and Michigan ran the clock down from 29.3 seconds to set up Irvin's game winner.
Robinson led Michigan with 21 points and Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman added 14. The Wolverines advance to play No. 1 seed Indiana in Friday's first quarterfinal.
Tre Demps led Northwestern with 21, Alex Olah had 20 and Bryant McIntosh scored 19.
Olah's 3-pointer with 17 seconds to play in regulation pulled Northwestern to within 59-58. Robinson made one of two free throws with 14.3 seconds left for a 60-58 lead, and Olah's rebound basket just ahead of the final horn forced overtime, tied at 60.
After a McIntosh 3-pointer gave the Wildcats a brief 55-54 lead at the 3:27 mark, Derrick Walton, Jr. made two free throws and Mark Donnal's layup pushed Michigan back on top, 58-55.
An Abdur-Rahkman 3-pointer to open the second half gave Michigan a 37-25 lead, but Northwestern countered with a 9-0 run that included three consecutive Olah field goals to close to within 37-34.
Ricky Doyle scored six quick points, and Abdur-Rahkman added another 3-pointer, pushing Michigan's lead to 46-38.
Fueled by a 16-0 run after Demps opened the scoring with a 3-pointer, Michigan led 34-25 at halftime, getting 14 points from Robinson, including three 3-pointers.
After Michigan took a 23-11 lead on an Andrew Dakich 3-pointer, McIntosh and Demps led a Northwestern charge that sliced the Wolverines' advantage to 23-21 with 7:36 remaining in the half.
But with Robinson scoring Michigan's next nine points, the Wolverines closed the first 20 minutes on an 11-4 run.
Michigan shot 40.7 percent in the first half (11 of 27) and limited Northwestern to 25 percent (8 of 32). The Wolverines also enjoyed a 25-17 rebounding advantage.
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TIP-INS
Northwestern: The Wildcats entered the Big Ten tournament with a three-game winning streak ... Northwestern won 20 regular-season games for the first time in school history ... The Wildcats entered 1-1 all-time in Big Ten tournament games against Michigan, beating the Wolverines 58-56 in 2005 in Chicago. Michigan shot 38 percent and Northwestern shot 37 percent.
Michigan: The Wolverines won the first Big Ten tournament in 1998, defeating Purdue 76-67 in Chicago's United Center ... Michigan entered the Big Ten tournament 1-4 in its final five regular season games ... The Wolverines entered averaging 74.9 points a game, the second highest in coach John Beilein's tenure, just behind the 2012-13 team's 75.2.
UP NEXT
Northwestern waits for post season tournaments to select fields.
Michigan meets league champion Indiana in Friday's quarterfinals.
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