EVANSTON, Ill. _ Michigan-Northwestern will always conjure one memory for NU basketball fans: Taphorn-to-Pardon. Layup. Buzzer. And to quote Gus Johnson: Earthquake!
The new Welsh-Ryan Arena came alive Tuesday night for the first time in the brief history of the building. Northwestern rallied from 15 points down to take the lead against the undefeated Wolverines after back-to-back Vic Law 3-pointers.
But NU's final possession was a mess, and it resulted in Ryan Taylor taking a long, guarded 3 at the buzzer. It clanked off the glass, hit the rim and refused to go down.
Fifth-ranked Michigan escaped with a 62-60 win.
The loss means that the 1978-79 Wildcats can breathe easy. Their achievement stands.
This would have marked NU's first victory over a top-5 team since 1979, when Magic Johnson was running the show for Michigan State and the home venue was named McGaw Hall.
Northwestern (6-3, 0-2 Big Ten) came close this time, getting 20 points from Dererk Pardon and 19 from Law, along with seven rebounds. Pardon shot 9-for-10 from the floor but made just 1 of 5 from the line.
Michigan was led by freshman Ignas Brazdeikis, who scored 23 points and made three 3-pointers.
The matchup featured former high school teammates Law and Charles Matthews, a swingman for Michigan.
"I think I know his game now like the back of my hand," Law said at Big Ten media day. "We've been playing since before high school _ AAU and middle school."
Law got the best of Matthews on Tuesday, making four 3-pointers. One was a long buzzer-beater at the half.
Matthews scored three points, shooting 1-for-7.
