Michigan vs. Northwestern: Wolverines trying to stay perfect

The No. 2 Michigan Wolverines will likely be without Tim Hardaway Jr. on Thursday against the Northwestern Wildcats, but they've managed just fine without him thus far. They're sitting at 13-0 on the season, and face a 9-4 Northwestern team.

On top of the potential absence of Hardaway, the Wolverines are playing on the road and it's the first of their Big Ten matchups on the season.

Despite those things, there are still some positives in their favor, like the fact that the Wildcats' four losses came at home, and the fact that they'll be without Reggie Hearn as well. That is on top of the injury that ended Drew Crawford's season in December. They'll look to freshmen Alex Olah, Tre Demps and Kale Abrahamson to step up.

For the Wolverines, Trey Burke is averaging 17.8 points per game, and he hasn't slowed down since Hardaway's injury. The team will likely once again look to freshman Caris LeVert in Haraway's spot, after he scored nine points in an 88-73 win over Central Michgan on Saturday.

The game is set for 7 p.m. eastern and can be watched on ESPN 2.