ROSEMONT, Ill.-Revenge, they say, is sweet.

Just eight days after a 9-point loss to Michigan in Ann Arbor, Northwestern turned the tables and posted a 9-point win, 61-52, over the No. 20 Wolverines at Allstate Arena for its first signature victory of the season.

After an another cold-shooting start, the Wildcats went on a 10-0 run in the second half to take control of the game as they outscored Michigan 32-20 over the final 20 minutes. The offense executed as well as it has all the season, while the defense contested just about every shot and limited Michigan to just five field goals and 25 percent shooting after halftime.

It was an NCAA Tournament-quality win for Northwestern. And while a ticket to the Big Dance seems like a longshot at this point, head coach Chris Collins said that his team still has a lot to play for with six games remaining.

Bryant McIntosh scored 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting and added five assists to lead Northwestern in both categories. Scottie Lindsey also turned in one of his best performances of the season, scoring 19 points to go along with seven rebounds.

Michigan was led by Mo Wagner, who had 20 points and a game-high 9 rebounds, while Muhammad Ali Abdur-Rahkman added 11 points.

It was the Wolverines’ third straight road loss to the Wildcats - and if you're a Northwestern fan, you likely remember last year’s contest.

Here are our three pointers on the win that improves Northwestern to 15-10 overall and 6-6 in Big Ten play.

What a difference a week makes: Last week, Northwestern turned the ball over 16 times against Michigan, and Collins blamed those turnovers and poor overall decision making for the loss. He said that the team spent a lot of time studying that game film in the last week, and tonight the Wildcats turned it over a grand total of six times, including just twice in the first half. McIntosh credited better spacing and dribble penetration for the turnaround, along with just “being smarter” with the ball. The reduction in turnovers also cut down on the number of easy run-out baskets for Michigan. Defensively, Northwestern’s matchup zone was ferocious, holding Michigan without a field goal for more than nine minutes in the second half. Collins was especially proud of the Wildcats’ defensive effort in holding a powerful offensive team like Michigan to just 20 points in the second half and 52 for the game.

Northwestern came out smoking in the second half: The Wildcats trailed 33-29 when they turned up the heat on both ends of the floor. By the time the smoke cleared, Northwestern had a 39-33 lead it wouldn’t relinquish the rest of the way. It started with a Gavin Skelly dunk, just moments after he sent Abdur-Rahkman to the floor with a hard foul on the other end. Pardon hit one of two free throws, and then Vic Law, who made just 1 of 7 shots in the first half, nailed a 3 from the corner to give NU its first lead of the game, 35-33. Northwestern’s best offensive possession came next, when three passes around the perimeter from Pardon to Lindsey to Law to McIntosh opened up a driving lane for McIntosh. He dribbled into the lane, waited for Wagner to commit, and then dumped the ball off to Pardon for a layup. A Lindsey layup closed out the run and gave NU a six-point bulge that Michigan could never overcome.

Not dead yet: A somewhat feisty Collins made it clear that this season isn’t yet the disaster that has been described in stories by the media. He asked how many Wildcat teams in history have been 15-10 overall and .500 in league play in early February (answer: very few), and he made it very clear that the team is using slights like those, whether perceived or real, as motivational fuel for their stretch run. He also pointed out that Michigan was also 5-6 in the Big Ten last season – just as Northwestern was entering this contest – before the Wolverines got hot and won 12 of their next 14 to claim the Big Ten Tournament title and a Sweet 16 berth. “I know we're dead, I know we’re bad,” said Collins facetiously. “We're just going to keep playing.” McIntosh agreed. “Our goals aren’t quite out of reach yet,” he said.