Michigan @ Northwestern preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 13, 2019 ) Northwestern 60, Michigan 80

Michigan looks to build off one of its best wins of the season when it visits Northwestern in Big Ten play on Wednesday. The Wolverines knocked off then No. 14 Michigan State 77-68 on Sunday to register their third win in their last four games after dropping five of their previous six contests, and they hope to beat the Wildcats for the third consecutive time.

“We can only control what we can control and that’s us so we’ll continue to keep playing and growing,” Wolverines coach Juwan Howard told reporters. “When you play a road game it’s always a dog fight and game by game it’s always super competitive.” Northwestern is left to pick up the pieces after blowing an 18-point lead in the 77-73 overtime loss to Rutgers on Sunday. The Wildcats were held to one field goal in the final seven minutes of regulation en route to their seventh consecutive loss, and they hope to turn their fortunes around by taking down the Wolverines for the first time in over two years. “We have to stay the course and we have to keep on fighting,” Northwestern coach Chris Collins told reporters. “Sometimes when you’re trying to build and you’re playing a lot of young kids you have to go through this part of it which isn’t fun.”

TIME: 9 p.m. ET. TV: Big Ten Network

ABOUT MICHIGAN (14-9, 5-7 Big Ten): Zavier Simpson knocked down a season-high four 3-pointers en route to 16 points and dished out eight assists to help the Wolverines end a three-game losing streak in the instate rivalry. Isaiah Livers added 14 points and four rebounds after missing the previous three games with a groin injury while Eli Brooks narrowly missed out on a double-double after finishing with 11 points and nine rebounds against Michigan State. David DeJulius provided a spark off the bench with 10 points while Franz Wagner finished with eight points and seven rebounds as the Wolverines held the Spartans to 33.3 percent shooting from the floor.

ABOUT NORTHWESTERN (6-16, 1-11): Boo Buie matched his career high with five 3-pointers to finish with a team-leading 19 points and four assists in the loss to Rutgers. Miller Kopp added 16 points on 4-of-5 shooting from 3-point range while Jared Jones scored a career-high 11 points in a reserve role, but the Wildcats couldn’t hold on to a double-digit lead with under seven minutes remaining. “We had some shots down the stretch, me specifically, that I didn’t make,” Buie told reporters. “If I hit one basket then we win the game.”

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Michigan is 10-4 when Livers is in the lineup.

2. Northwestern has lost seven games by five or fewer points this season.

3. Simpson is second nationally in assists per game (8.2).

PREDICTION: Michigan 75, Northwestern 70