Michigan Basketball: 3 keys for the Wolverines against Northwestern
By Adam Childs
Don’t let up
Michigan has done a great job all year of taking every opponent seriously and just completely dominating them on the defensive side. Whether they played Norfolk State or North Carolina, they have come out with an intensity unmatched in college basketball this year.
This has been a good sign of things to come and has allowed them to jump into the number five-spot in the rankings this week. But with the high-ranking, they are going to now start taking the best shot from everybody they play. The other teams will want to be the one that breaks the defensive code and score the most points on them this year.
WIth that Michigan needs to keep it rolling. The schedule eases up the rest of the month after a tough three-week stretch and they must not relax looking ahead. If Michigan plays well they could easily enter the New Year still undefeated and possibly a top three ranking. It’s human nature to relax when the schedule softens, but Northwestern is tough at home and it is a conference game. The start of the year for Michigan will look a little less impressive if they go in and drop the game to Northwestern. Beilein will no doubt have his guys ready to play, they just need to keep the intensity up.
Northwestern has been a pesky team at home in big ten conference play and Michigan has struggled there in the past. But this is a different Michigan team. They are off to their best start since 2012 when they went 16-0. They seem to have a chemistry rarely seen this early in the season and have an edge about them. They having taken their defense very seriously.
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Northwestern can be a tricky team, but Michigan is just playing too well for them. Simpson frustrates Law all game long and Michigan pulls away in the second half for another double-digit win.