Drew Crawford figured it’d take time to adjust to college basketball. As a freshman from nearby Naperville, Ill., there was a good chance he’d get playing time at Northwestern - but perhaps not like this.

Crawford has emerged as one of the better players on a Wildcats team trying to make the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history. It was against Michigan on Jan. 10 that Northwestern learned how much it can count on Crawford

Trailing by 17 points in the first half against Michigan 10, Northwestern looked to Crawford. Crawford scored his team’s next 11 points and started a comeback in what ended up being a 68-62 Wildcats win.

Michigan (11-10, 4-5 Big Ten) gets to see Crawford again today when it visits Northwestern (14-7, 3-6) for a 7 p.m. game (Big Ten Network)

“He made us win that game in Ann Arbor earlier in the year,” Northwestern coach Bill Carmody said. “He’s a freshman who has his ups and downs.”

Michigan clearly saw an up game from Crawford.

It also doubled as a confidence boost for the 6-foot-5 inch guard who was searching for his role in Northwestern’s Princeton-based offense and trapping 1-3-1 zone defense.

“I think (it) is when I got most comfortable,” Crawford said. “It’s not like I was scared on the court before but it was, I was a little timid, I guess you could say. Afraid to make a mistake.

“The Michigan game was a turning point for me. It was a big boost for me in terms of my confidence and that I could be a big-time contributor on the team.”

He finished with 25 points against Michigan and is third on Northwestern in scoring at 11.1 points a game.

He’s also the Wildcats’ most versatile player. He can shoot from the outside, is improving on defense and can slash inside. Against Michigan, he grabbed offensive rebounds over taller players and impressed Wolverines coach John Beilein with his hustle.

That versatility is part of what made Crawford a high-level Division I recruit.

“I try to do a little bit of everything,” Crawford said. “I try to defensive rebound for my team and knock my shots down when they come to me and then also when I have the ability to get to the basket. I like to do that, too.”

Beilein knows it well. When he watched Michigan’s game against Crawford and Northwestern, he often saw his team confused as to who was guarding the freshman.

“He’s probably the Rookie of the Year so far,” Beilein said. “I guess we haven’t played against all the freshmen, but I don’t know a freshman that has done better than he has done.”

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.