A healthy Chase Audige has the Northwestern Wildcats on pace for just their second-ever NCAA Tournament berth with 10 games remaining in the regular season, including Thursday’s Big Ten matchup against the visiting Michigan Wolverines.
Audige dealt with an assortment of injuries last season that limited his and the Wildcats’ effectiveness, but now he is leading the team on both ends of the court.
The senior guard from New York is one of two players in the country averaging better than 15 points, three rebounds, three assists and 2.5 steals this season.
He is also setting the tone on defense for the Wildcats, who have notched four Quad 1 wins this season and have held 16 of their 20 opponents under 70 points.
“I don’t want anybody scoring on me,” Audige, who leads the Big Ten in steals, told the media. “I do take pride in being one of those defenders people don’t want to see.”
The Wolverines are in dire straits, having dropped four straight road games – all in Big Ten play – with the latest a 22-point blowout Sunday at the Penn State Nittany Lions.
Michigan, which went 12-4 in the last four NCAA Tournaments, including reaching the Sweet 16 last year, is in danger of missing the big dance for the first time since 2015.
“It’s all about this day, and not what could happen in two weeks or what happened over the last two weeks or last two games,” Phil Martelli, Michigan associate head coach, told the media. “You have to make use of every single opportunity.”
Let’s check the latest college basketball news, stats, injury reports and college basketball lines for Michigan vs Northwestern. We’ve got plenty of NCAA basketball picks for you to consider.
Buie Shining in Conference Play
Boo Buie, a 1,200-point scorer in his career at Northwestern, has upped his production in Big Ten play by producing five 20-point games, including four in the last five games.
The senior guard from Albany, NY, is averaging 18.4 points in conference play, up 2.5 points for the season, while shooting 44 points higher on two-point attempts.
Buie is taking fewer 3-pointers than earlier in the season, with good reason, as he is hitting just 28% on them for the season and 24% in conference play.
Audige and Buie are the only teammates in the Big Ten scoring better than 15 points per game, and if that were to hold for the season, they would be the first pair of Northwestern guards to do so since at least the 1992-93 season.
Bufkin Working His Way Out of Funk
Kobe Bufkin is critical to Michigan as the team’s No. 3 scorer, but he has been in a funk of late, and the Wolverines have dropped five of their last seven games as a result.
In seven games between Dec. 4 and Jan. 4, the sophomore averaged 15 points and 2.7 assists while shooting 52.4% from 3-point territory, but in the seven games since, those numbers have dropped to 11.7 points per game and 18.2% from beyond the arc.
“Bufkin needs to keep working,” Michigan freshman guard Dug McDaniel told the media. “It’s a lot of behind-the-scenes action, just being confident in yourself. We just keep reassuring him like, ‘you’re a leader, we look up to you, you’re our guy.’”
Bufkin, whose turnovers are also up in the last month, and McDaniel have combined for 130 assists and 53 steals this season, which is nearly half of the team total.
Michigan vs Northwestern Game Injuries
Michigan vs Northwestern Head-to-Head
The Wolverines edged the Wildcats 85-78 on Jan. 15 to record their fifth straight win in the series. Michigan, which has won two straight at Northwestern, leads the series 118-59.
Michigan vs Northwestern Information
- Game: Michigan (11-10, 5-5 Big Ten) vs Northwestern (15-6, 6-4)
- Location: Welsh-Ryan Arena, Evanston, IL
- Day/Time: Thursday, Feb. 2, 7:00 p.m. ET
- Michigan vs Northwestern Live stream: TBS.com
Michigan vs Northwestern Betting Lines
Michigan vs Northwestern Picks and Prediction
The Wildcats, who are 8-7 against the spread (ATS) at home, are favored by 3 points on the NCAAB lines. Michigan is 3-5 ATS on the road and as an underdog.
The over has cashed in five straight Northwestern games but just four times in 15 home games overall for the Wildcats. The over is 6-2 in Michigan road games.
Northwestern is listed at -165 in our Las Vegas college basketball lines. This means that if you wager $100 on the Wildcats, you have a chance to win $61. Michigan is +145, offering a chance to win $145 on a $100 wager.
The implied probability attached to the betting lines gives Northwestern a 62.26% chance to win, with the Wolverines 40.82%.
Michigan vs Northwestern Trends
Michigan vs Northwestern Edge
Michigan vs Northwestern Results
Michigan vs Northwestern Game Summary
