Tim Hardaway Jr. injury: Michigan guard's status unknown for Northwestern game

Michigan Wolverines guard Tim Hardaway Jr. may miss the team's Big Ten conference opener against the Northwestern Wildcats on Thursday night due to an ankle injury, MLive's Nick Baumgardner reports. The junior's status is unknown for the match-up after the same injury caused him to miss his first ever game last Saturday night.

While Hardaway has still been practicing, he's mostly been doing individual drills to build strength in the ankle, Baumgardner writes. Wolverines coach John Beilein says that he wants Hardaway to get as much rest as possible before the game, which explains his limited participation in practice throughout the week.

A starter since his days as a freshman, Hardaway's absence from Michigan's 88-73 win over the Central Michigan Chippewas snapped an 81-game streak of starts for the guard. Emerging as a star for the Wolverines this season, he's posted per game averages of 15.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists over Michigan's first 12 games.