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`M'-Gopher contest ugly as it gets

A clinic of ... well ... horrendous basketball.

The Wolverines won, 65-62, but it was hardly cause for celebration, considering they made just 19 field goals while clanging 41. If you take away Maceo Baston (7-for-10 shooting), Michigan was an icky 12-for-50 from the field. Albert White was one of the Wolverines' stars, finishing with 15 points. But 11 of those came from the charity stripe -- he went just 2 for 11 from the field.

The Golden Gophers shot the ball a little better (25 for 57, 44 percent), but lost because they kept sending the Wolverines to the free throw line. Michigan finished 23-27 from the charity stripe.

"The difference in the game was free throws," Minnesota coach Clem Haskins said. "We had some critical turnovers and they made their free throws down the stretch."

Saturday's game had the excitement of C-SPAN. The game was a bore even when it was close down the stretch.

When Michigan coach Steve Fisher called timeout to set up an inbounds play with 4.5 seconds left and his team up three, the crowd booed -- and for good reason. Fisher was delaying the end of a terrible basketball game.

The last 20 seconds felt like they took about 20 minutes.

The Wolverines led by five with 21 seconds to go and their 17th victory was all but wrapped up. But then Minnesota got back in the game, thanks to Michigan's friendly defense. The Wolverines twice let Bobby Jackson travel the length of the court for layups.

Each time Jackson took about 0.5 seconds.

"We did not do a good job with 20 to 25 seconds to go," said Fisher in the understatement of the night.

The Golden Gophers climbed to within one on Jackson's 3-pointer with six seconds left, but then Louis Bullock mercifully brought the game to an end with a couple of free throws.

As a Michigan fan after the game, you probably felt like you had just gotten over a sickness. You were relieved that it was over and knew that it was something you never wanted to go through again.

Indeed, both teams played like they were sick.

The Golden Gophers are 15-11 this season, but watching them Saturday night, it was hard to believe they had won more than a handful of games all season.

Michigan isn't much better. The Wolverines are painful to watch. They blow layups. They miss wide-open jumpers. They commit silly fouls. Their best player, Maurice Taylor, has scored nine points total in the past two games.

The Wolverines continue to struggle offensively for many reasons. The two most obvious -- Travis Conlan and Willie Mitchell.

Conlan, who earlier this season provided steady play at the point and could hurt you with the 3-pointer, can barely make a layup these days. He made one of six shots Saturday.

Remember the Willie Mitchell who played big in wins over Northwestern and Michigan State? That guy is long gone. Mitchell used to have Steven Seagal's trigger finger. Now the sophomore is hesitant to shoot, which isn't necessarily bad for Michigan.

Quite simply, Mitchell cannot shoot the ball.

He was two for six Saturday which is actually a good day for him. On the season, he is shooting 31 percent.

If you were in attendance at game's end, you are a true fan. You watched two mediocre teams slug it out for two-plus hours. You saw college basketball at its worst.

You deserve a medal.