Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg, Aday Mara after beating Ohio State 82-61
Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg and Aday Mara speak with reporters after beating Ohio State 82-61 on Feb. 8, 2026.
For Michigan basketball, what appeared to be a rather mundane mid-week game against a bottom-tier team in the league suddenly has a bit more juice.
The No. 2 Wolverines (22-1, 12-1 Big Ten) travel to Northwestern (10-14, 2-11) for their third road game in the past four contests on Wednesday, Feb. 11 (8:30 p.m., Big Ten Network). It is an opportunity for U-M to stay atop the Big Ten and move to No. 1 in the country in the college basketball rankings.
Previously undefeated Arizona lost its first game of the season at No. 9 Kansas on Monday, which could drop the Wildcats (23-1) from the top spot in next week’s USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll (Arizona had 774 points, Michigan had 745 points and Houston came in at a distant third with 667 points).
Michigan coach Dusty May, however, says this game won’t be some free square.
“Northwestern is a team that is very, very capable,” May said Monday in Ann Arbor. “[Yes], they’re young, they’re inexperienced, but they’re well coached, they obviously have most the potent returning scorer in the Big Ten in [Nick] Martinelli.
“We have a lot of respect for Northwestern and know it’s going to be an extremely difficult game.”
May’s final game of his Florida Atlantic tenure came against Northwestern in the 8-seed vs. 9-seed matchup in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, a game the Wildcats ultimately won 77-65 in overtime. Though May’s team is indescribably more talented and this Wildcats group does not have the same caliber of players, the tenets of a Chris Collins-coached team are still there.
“Physicality, role-definition, the thing that jumps out is screening − they’re elite screeners,” May said. “They really don’t beat themselves … rarely do they have an older group that’s been together, and when they do, they’re really, really good.”
Northwestern has lost nine of its past 11 games. Its only two wins were against USC − on the road, its best win of the year − and against lowly Penn State at home. The Wildcats have hung relatively tight in a handful of games: More than half of the losses have come by seven points or fewer, but rarely has Martinelli had enough help.
The senior wing leads the Big Ten scoring 22.7 points per game, with Arrinten Page (10.9) and Jayden Reid (10.2) also scoring in double digits. Martinelli is also the team’s leading rebounder. It’s one of the Wildcats’ biggest weaknesses, ranked No. 277 in offensive rebounding and No. 306 on defense.
One of the few things the Wildcats do truly well is protect the ball, at No. 4 in the Big Ten in fewest turnovers committed (12.5% of possessions). They rank No. 2 in the league in assist rate on made field goals (65.3%), however with an effective field goal rate of 48.4%, they don’t shoot well enough to capitalize on the ball movement.
This is an opportunity for the Wolverines to roll, but May will not be taking this game lightly as U-M continues to try take strides late in the regular season.
“My wife and I turned on the Super Bowl [on Sunday], and I popped on Northwestern and Iowa,” May said. “That’s our Super Bowl, our next game, Northwestern.”
Michigan vs Northwestern basketball prediction
The Wolverines have won eight straight and haven’t lost away from Crisler Center this season. U-M has a massive fanbase in Chicago and could flood Welsh-Ryan Arena with more fans than the home team. U-M has made a point to shutdown team’s top players and force those on the periphery to beat them. The Wildcats simply don’t have enough outside of Martinelli. He’ll get his points, but expect it to be inefficient with Yaxel Lendeborg and Morez Johnson Jr. likely taking their turns defending him. Don’t be surprised if this is an Elliot Cadeau game on offense, going against a solid but freshman point guard in Reed. The pick: Michigan 87, Northwestern 66.
Tony Garcia is the Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
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