Saturday night was a matchup between two teams who certainly gave their fans reason to doubt the upside of the season at some point this year.

For Michigan, the Wolverines have now lost nine times by single digits.

They've had some gut-wrenching losses to good teams.

And at home now, they've fallen by two to Virginia, by five to Purdue, and by

one to Indiana. If one of those games goes a different direction, Michigan's right in the NCAA

tournament bubble picture. If two of them, they're probably on the right side of the bubble.

If all three, Michigan is certainly in a tremendous

spot in the Big Ten race and in the NCAA tournament conversation. Whereas Indiana, after a

big offseason with the return of Trace Jackson Davis, they started one and four. After a

seven and a zero start, they dropped six of nine, and they lost three in a row

at Iowa by two, at home against Northwestern by one, and then, like Michigan, a blowout loss

at Penn State, they fell to Nittany Lions by 19 back on January the 11th. But the reason why college basketball is the way that it is,

is because there are chances to redeem yourself down the stretch, especially in a conference

like the Big Ten. And what Indiana has done that Michigan has been unable to do is to truly

string together weeks upon weeks of high-level basketball.

Indiana, with the win over Michigan on Saturday, has won three straight after just one loss,

which followed a five-game winning streak. They have claimed eight of the last nine to go from

one and four to the only true threat to Purdue at the top

of the Big Ten standings. Michigan, they still are without a four-game winning streak since that

Big Ten championship season two years ago. They had a chance to win this game. They were right

there with Indiana, like they were against Purdue, like they were against Virginia,

and even in some games away from Chrysler Center.

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