I'm guessing many fans would have accepted a two and one showing this week when it started.

Michigan was on the road in a sneaky game at Penn State,

then back-to-back home games against top 20 clubs in Purdue and Ohio State.

You win Tuesday, sneak out of there with a one-point win, and you get a little bit greedy.

Then you blow out Purdue and hold one of the most dynamic offenses we've

seen in college basketball this century to a season low in points, and you get really greedy.

A three and a week was on the brink, but Michigan couldn't get the job done. Wolverines, did they

run out of gas? Maybe the players won't admit that. This is a program that is for competitors only, but I do think

in the second half, there was a little bit of that. Michigan struggled shooting from the floor.

They were just 10 of 29 after halftime, only two of 10 from downtown. When this offense, this team

as a whole was really starting to sizzle before that. Still, a two-and-one week, it's a little bit sour because of the fact

that they lost the last game. It came against a rival in Ohio State. I get all of that.

But anything below two-and-one would have made things very challenging. Michigan put itself

in position to be in position. Now, this one hurts because quad one home opportunities are so, so valuable.

So yes, I understand why there is some disappointment, why the expectations change,

why the hopes changed, because Michigan had a lot of momentum. That does not mean that this

is a nail in the coffin. Michigan will still be projected to be out of the NCAA

tournament picture

after this game. They might have still been out if they would have won this game, but Michigan

got a quality win. They were unable to get another, but they have a lot to work from during this

stretch. Sometimes you just tip your cap to your opponent, and you tip your cap to a team that

try to grit its way to a third win in five days.

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