Stu Douglass said he had nothing to say after starting his first game since Dec. 28.

He was joking.

Douglass was inserted into the starting lineup in place of freshman forward Evan Smotrycz, the first non-discipline switch in the Michigan basketball team's starting five this season.

Michigan junior Stu Douglass works around Northwestern freshman JerShon Cobb. Douglass was part of Michigan's starting lineup and finished with five points.

Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com

“Coach told us (Tuesday),” Douglass said. “He just thought that we had been getting off to some tough starts and they have good guard play, bring a lot of motion. So he just thought I could come in, and we had a good start defensively.”

For Douglass, it was a little weird. The junior guard was used to coming off the bench and providing an offensive pick-me-up — a role Michigan coach John Beilein said often this season he relished having Douglass provide.

So starting in a game that ended with a 75-66 victory against Northwestern provided a bit of a change for Douglass. The Wolverines still struggled early, making five of their first 17 shots and scoring just 11 points 12 minutes into the game.

But Northwestern wasn’t much better, making five of its first 15 shots.

The switch was made for another reason. Beilein anticipated Northwestern starting star junior forward John Shurna, who scored 22 points in the first half against the Wolverines in a 74-60 Wildcats win on Jan. 18.

Shurna ended up not starting Wednesday as he continues to recover from a concussion suffered against Minnesota on Jan. 26. He came in at the first official timeout, but Beilein elected to stick with his new starters.

“We really thought with the way Shurna shot it before that Evan has never really had to play perimeter defense like that,” Beilein said. “Shurna is an atypical four and when he didn’t start, we said ‘Let’s go with it.’

“We just wanted to get off to a better start, too, and sometimes we just want to bring a guy off the bench to loosen him up.”

Smotrycz scored all five of his points in the first half, including a 3-pointer where he was fouled.

“I don’t think it hurt me at all,” Smotrycz said. “I tried to contribute what I could when I was out there.

“It was different, a little hard to get into the groove, into the rhythm of the game but I don’t’ think it hurt me that much.”

Beilein said the change may not be permanent and that he is planning on evaluating the move before playing Indiana on Saturday.

Let's get physical As much as redshirt freshman Jordan Morgan did in Michigan's win, there was some speculation what the 6-foot-8, 240-pound center did or didn't do in battling Northwestern's Michael Thompson. Chatter both on the Big Ten Network broadcast and on social media sites suggested Morgan connected on a low blow against Thompson.

Afterward, Thompson said it didn't happen, saying instead, Morgan connected with his lower back and not in the groin.

Asked for his version, Morgan smiled and rolled his eyes and said the physical nature of the post play was just part of the game. But then he followed with this admission.

"I didn't do nothing that they didn't do," Morgan said.

Double-double As freshman guard Tim Hardaway Jr. continues to evolve within his first year at Michigan, he first discovered the scoring, where he has hit double figures for six straight games after scoring 17 points against Northwestern.

For the first time, though, he grabbed double-digit rebounds, having a career-high 10 boards and a career-high nine defensive rebounds.

“I haven’t been waiting at all,” Hardaway Jr. said. “Our big man, (Jordan Morgan), has been doing a great job of boxing out and us guards are cleaning up the rebounds, whoever wants it more.

“I was just out there trying to get us possessions.”

He also had the two most athletic plays of the night, a one-handed dunk off the dribble and then a two-handed dunk where he jumped almost vertically from under the basket with no run-up to slam the ball and give Michigan a 51-38 lead.

“As you can see on his one dunk, he’s pretty athletic now and he can go up and get things,” Beilein said. “As an 18-year-old, he’s going up and he’s learning he can do more by going to the backboard.”

This and that Sophomore guard Josh Bartelstein did not dress Wednesday due to a head injury. … With his seven assists Wednesday, Darius Morris moved into 18th place on the career assist list with 256, passing Ricky Green. He needs 14 to pass Dan Pelekoudas, who is 17th on the career mark. He also is tied for Gary Grant for seventh all-time for the single-season mark with 172.

Jeff Arnold contributed to this article

Michael Rothstein covers University of Michigan basketball for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at (734) 623-2558, by e-mail at michaelrothstein@annarbor.com or follow along on Twitter @mikerothstein