No. 2 Michigan trailed by 16 points in the second half Wednesday night. The Wolverines looked like they had just rolled out of bed for an 8:30 p.m. Eastern tip at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Then they remembered they’re the best team in the Big Ten and dropped 52 second-half points to escape Evanston with an 87-75 win.
The result keeps Michigan atop the conference at 23-1, but the manner of victory raises questions Dusty May’s squad hasn’t had to answer since their lone loss to Wisconsin a month ago.
Michigan’s Second-Half Formula Masked a Troubling First 20 Minutes
The box score shows five Wolverines scoring between 12 and 18 points. L.J. Cason led the way with a career-high 18, Yaxel Lendeborg posted another double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds, and Morez Johnson Jr., Aday Mara, and Trey McKenney each added 12. That’s the kind of balance that wins games in March.
But the first half was a disaster. Michigan shot 35% from the field and committed too many careless turnovers against a Northwestern team sitting at 10-15 overall and 2-12 in Big Ten play. Jayden Reid carved up the Wolverines’ defense, scoring 12 first-half points on 5-for-5 shooting. The Wildcats led 44-35 at the break, Michigan’s largest halftime deficit of the season.
The Wolverines fell behind by 16 early in the second half before flipping a switch. They closed the game shooting 55% and went on a scorching 11-for-12 stretch from the field capped off by consecutive dunks to seal it.
WOLVERINES TURN IT AROUND FOR THE WIN 🐺
No. 2 Michigan uses a 21-point swing in the second half to defeat Northwestern and improve to 23-1 🔥 pic.twitter.com/TZoIUqxoMe
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) February 12, 2026
“We have a team that’s unfazed by any moment,” May said after the game. “The bigger the stage, the better they perform.”
That’s true. But the bigger concern is how often Michigan has needed that gear this season. Earlier this season at Penn State, the Wolverines nearly blew a 15-point second-half lead before surviving, 74-72, on a missed Nittany Lions three-pointer at the buzzer. Against Wisconsin in January, they coughed up a 14-point first-half cushion and lost, 91-88, when the Badgers went nuclear from three.
A pattern is forming. Michigan’s elite talent and depth bail them out, but the lapses in focus and defensive intensity are becoming harder to dismiss as the calendar flips toward March.
Can the Wolverines Fix Their Three-Point Defense Before It Costs Them?
The Wisconsin loss provided the clearest blueprint for how to beat Michigan. The Badgers hit 15 three-pointers, including seven consecutive makes to start the second half. They scored 54 points after halftime against a defense that ranks first nationally in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency.
Northwestern doesn’t have the shooters Wisconsin does, which is why the Wolverines survived Wednesday. But better teams will take that same approach. Nick Martinelli, one of the Big Ten’s leading scorers averaging over 22 points per game, finished just 5-for-22 from the floor. Michigan’s length bothered him all night. Still, Reid and the Wildcats’ perimeter movement found soft spots early before Michigan’s adjustments took hold.
May acknowledged the defensive struggles after the game, noting that too many turnovers in the first half put his defense in difficult positions. The Wolverines cleaned that up after halftime, and their nine-man rotation eventually wore Northwestern down.
“We can squeeze out every drop and wear teams down over time,” May said.
That’s been Michigan’s calling card all season. The Wolverines have won all their games away from Ann Arbor, remain unbeaten in Big Ten road games, and have now won 19 games by double digits. Few programs in the country have more blowouts. The depth is real. When Cason stepped up Wednesday, May praised his growth and noted, “There are four guys on our bench that can start on a lot of quality programs.”
That’s not hyperbole. McKenney, a five-star freshman, would start almost anywhere else. Roddy Gayle Jr. has shown flashes of being a closer. The pieces are there for a deep March run.
But the Wisconsin film still exists. The Northwestern first half still happened. And somewhere in the Big Ten Tournament bracket, a team will catch Michigan on an off night and test whether 52 second-half points can always be summoned on command. The Wolverines host UCLA on Saturday before a brutal finish that includes trips to Purdue and Illinois. The next few weeks will reveal whether Wednesday’s escape was a championship-caliber response or a warning sign they ignored.