Road wins have been incredibly difficult to obtain not just for the Michigan Wolverines' basketball program this season, but for the Big Ten in general.

Last night's 79-54 victory at Northwestern was only the Maize and Blue's second road triumph of the year (a Jan. 28 win at Nebraska was the other), and it came by a margin that has seldom been seen on the road over the last 30 years or so.

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The 25-point win was tied for Michigan's eighth largest on the road since the Fab Five era began during the 1991-92 season, further exemplifying how difficult it is to obliterate opponents in their home building.

Some may not put much stock into U-M's performance when considering Northwestern was just 6-16 and 1-11 in conference action entering play last night; it's important to note, however, that there are Big Ten bottom feeders similar to the Wildcats' caliber every year, and those cellar dwellers rarely receive home beatdowns like the one Michigan handed out last night.

A quick glance at the box score doesn't reveal anything complicated, but instead that U-M basically executed at a high level in all of the game's most important facets to come away with the win — its offense was efficient (46.9 percent) and its defense was stifling (Northwestern shot 32.2 percent), while it won the battle on the glass (45-32) and took outstanding care of the ball (only eight turnovers).

Executing at a high level in all of the aforementioned areas is the perfect formula for winning on the road (or anywhere, for that matter), though the Maize and Blue have been excelling in one particular phase more than any other as of late — defense.

The Wolverines have now held each of their last four opponents to 42.1 percent shooting or lower, and three of the four to 33.3 percent or worse.

Defense has oftentimes been the calling card for Michigan in its biggest road blowouts over the last 30 years, holding seven of the 10 opponents on the list below to 61 points or fewer.

Former head coach John Beilein (2007-19) holds five of the 10 largest road margins of victory since 1991-92, including the two biggest (a 36-point win at Nebraska in 2017 and a 31-point destruction at Illinois in 2014).

Steve Fisher (1989-97) is close behind Beilein with four, including a 100-74 win at Detroit on Dec. 2, 1991, marking the first game of the famous 1991-92 season and the beginning of the Fab Five era.

Tommy Amaker (2001-07) and Brian Ellerbe (1997-01), meanwhile, never obtained any road triumphs in emphatic fashion during their tenures at Michigan (or at least none that occurred by 23 points or more).

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