The Michigan men’s basketball team may have calmed its recent shooting slump.

In last night’s 68-59 win over Northwestern, the Wolverines (4-4 Big Ten, 14-6 overall) shot 42.3 percent overall including 9-for-27 from behind the arc.

The small spark was a stark contrast to the three straight games Michigan had shot below 40 percent.

The Wildcats (2-5, 10-7) entered Crisler Arena fresh over their stunning 70-63 upset over No. 7 Michigan State last Wednesday in East Lansing. But Northwestern could not muster the same lights-out shooting and had just three players account for 83 percent of its offense.

With the win, Michigan coach John Beilien earned his 500th career victory as a head coach at a four-year school.

And it took a complete effort from his team to do it.

Junior forward DeShawn Sims scored Michigan’s first nine points in the game’s first three minutes.

But Sims would rely on his teammates to lead Michigan to its first win in four games.
Nine players scored for the Wolverines. Sims finished with a team high 15 points, but five of his teammates finished with eight points or more.

Sophomore forward Manny Harris, who leads the Wolverines in scoring, was one of those players with eight points. But he contributed 12 rebounds and four assists.

Michigan coach John Beilein said he wasn’t concerned with Harris’s recent scoring slide (12 total points in his last two games), insisting it’s Harris’s complete all-around effort that’s needed.
Even when the Wolverines weren’t scoring, they attacked the glass with the intensity that’s been missing the last few games.

Outrebounding the Wildcats 41-22, Michigan relied on freshman guard Zack Novak to do the garbage work. Novak grabbed seven rebounds, including three on the offensive end.

During the Wolverines’ three-game losing streak, Michigan played four games in nine days, but will have its games spread out over the next few matchups. They will return to action Jan. 28 to take on Ohio State in Columbus.