Northwestern Puts Hammer Down on No. 20 Michigan, 61-52

2/6/2018 7:45:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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McIntosh paces Wildcats with 24 points

By: Amit Mallik

ROSEMONT, Ill. – Northwestern earned a statement win over No. 20 Michigan, 61-52, on Tuesday night at Allstate Arena behind a backcourt explosion from Bryant McIntosh and Scottie Lindsey.

The two senior guards combined for 43 of the teams' 61 points, with McIntosh dropping a season-high 24. Lindsey added 19 points and seven rebounds and sank four 3-pointers, his most in conference play.

McIntosh shot a scorching season-high 73.0 percent from the field and was a perfect 3-of-3 from deep.

Vic Law added seven points and seven rebounds, while Gavin Skelly snagged nine rebounds.

The defense spurred the Wildcats forward in the second half, and held the Wolverines without a field goal from 12:15 to 2:46. The 52-point output on the game was tied for the lowest of the season for Michigan.

The #B1GCats evened their conference record at 6-6 and notched their first ranked win of the season.

Michigan came out of the gate strong and jumped out to a 10-1 lead. The 'Cats roared back behind two three pointers from Lindsey to cut it to 19-17.

Northwestern kept battling to keep the score close and Lindsey's third three-pointer just before the half made it a three-point game at 32-29.

The 'Cats took their first lead of the game came at 35-33 when Vic Law drained a left-wing three late in the shot clock on a crosscourt feed from McIntosh. Dererk Pardon sent two Wolverines flying out of bounds with a pump fake on the next possession down, and finished his easy lay-up. The two plays were part of a 10-2 run that flipped the score to 39-35 in Northwestern's favor.

Bryant McIntosh took over the end of the game to put Michigan away, scoring 12 of his 24 points in the last ten minutes. The senior shot 5-of-6 from the field and 2-of-2 from the line to shut down any hope of a Michigan comeback.

Chicago's Big Ten Team is back in action on Saturday against Maryland in the first matchup of a two-game road swing on the East Coast. Tip-off is set for 11 a.m. CT.

Northwestern Notes vs. Michigan – Feb. 6, 2018
• This was Northwestern's third straight home win over Michigan. The Wildcats have won five of their last seven home games against the Wolverines. Two of NU's last three losses to Michigan on its home court have come in overtime.
• Ranked No. 20 in this week's Associated Press poll, Michigan represents Northwestern's first victory over a ranked opponent this season and the first for the Wildcats since a 72-64 win over No. 25 Maryland March 10, 2017 in the Big Ten tournament.
• Bryant McIntosh paced the Wildcats with a game-high 24 points. It's his fourth 20-point game of the season and the 23^rd of his career. The point total matches his season high previously achieved against Creighton (Nov. 15) and Lewis (Dec. 19).
• Scottie Lindsey scored 19 points in the contest, raising his career total to 1,140. In the process, he moved past Tavaras Hardy and Hal Grant into 27^th place on Northwestern's all-time scoring list.
• Gavin Skelly recorded a game-high 9 rebounds. Skelly's season high is 10 rebounds vs. Valparaiso Dec. 14.
• Michigan's five second-half field goals are a low for a Northwestern Big Ten opponent in a half this season. The previous low was six by Minnesota in the first half Jan. 10.
• Former Northwestern guard Reggie Hearn was recognized on the court during the second half. Hearn, a 2013 NU graduate, appeared in his first NBA game with the Detroit Pistons the previous night and connected on his first career field goal attempt, a 3-pointer.
• Michigan is the eighth straight opponent that Northwestern has held to 71 points or less.
• Northwestern has held each of its last three opponents under 60 points. The last time NU held three straight Big Ten foes below 60 was Chris Collins' first season as head coach when it held Wisconsin (56), Minnesota (54) and Nebraska (53) below the mark (Jan. 29-Feb. 8, 2014).