Michigan rebounds--literally--to beat Northwestern

A positive response to adversity isn't called a "rebound" for nothing. The Michigan Wolverines--losers of three straight Big Ten games--returned to the win column because they really did rebound against Northwestern on Saturday night in Ann Arbor.

 
Coach John Beilein's roster posted a 68-59 victory over the Wildcats because they outrebounded Bill Carmody's kids by a 40-20 margin. Ditching the timid, tip-toe style that got them waxed over the past few weeks, the Wolverines brought their lunch pail to Crisler Arena and rediscovered the toughness they'll need to steady the ship and secure the program's first NCAA Tournament bid since 1998.
 
While it's true that Michigan once again launched a lot of threes (27 out of 52 field goal attempts), the Maize and Blue did commit themselves to crashing the glass. Instead of allowing their long-distance shooting to rob them of much-needed aggressiveness, the Wolverines generated their own energy. Clearly motivated by the desire to not only snap a losing skid, but to shed their label as a soft team that simply hoisted threes and then ran for cover, the men in the home white jerseys proved that they were willing to do the dirty work in the pursuit of loose balls.

In hindsight, one of the things that really helped Michigan in this game was the fact that Northwestern uses the same 1-3-1 zone employed by Beilein. Since Michigan practices the 1-3-1 every day, the Wolverines knew how to rebound against this particular defensive alignment. Moreover, UM found itself as the more athletic team in a matchup of identical defensive styles. The Wolverines' 1-3-1 was a more active zone, and that helped explain why--in addition to their rebounding prowess--they prevented the Wildcats from using passes or dribble penetration to bust into the zone. Northwestern actually had modest success with three-point shots (10-of-27 on the evening), but aside from forward Kevin Coble, no other Wildcat had any success within six feet of the rim.
 
It took awhile, but against an opponent that used a similar defensive approach, Michigan finally found a comfort zone and a much-needed return to the win column. If the Wolverines can continue to rebound the way they did against Northwestern, John Beilein will be able to say that his team's recent struggles provided the wake-up call necessary to shake this team out of its state of complacency.

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