You couldn't fault the effort this time, but the execution still wasn't there.
Just like that - two straight turnovers by Louis Bullock with less than a minute to play - and the game was over. An upset-in-the-making turned into a disaster for the Wolverines and a party for No. 2 Minnesota, which wrapped up its first Big Ten championship since 1982 with a 55-54 win over Michigan yesterday.
Now the Wolverines, mired in a four-game losing streak, probably have to win their final three games to receive an invitation to the NCAA tournament.
"We probably have to run the table," Michigan coach Steve Fisher said. "We've got to see just how we can drum up the energy and the toughness to go in to Champaign ... Whether we're going to be good enough to win down there, I don't know."
That's just one of many questions Fisher is trying to answer after his Wolverines let a four-point lead slip away in the game's final two minutes.
The story of the game was as simple as it was frustrating: Michigan shot 39 percent from the free-throw line and couldn't find anything that worked in its half-court offense.
If it weren't for 17 offensive rebounds - including seven from sophomore center Robert Traylor - the Wolverines would have looked much worse. Michigan shot a paltry 33 percent in the second half, good enough for only nine baskets.
What makes the loss even tougher to take for No. 21 Michigan (7-8 Big Ten, 17-10 overall) is that it had a great chance to knock off the second-ranked Golden Gophers (14-1, 25-2).
The Wolverines appeared in control after Traylor sunk the second of two free throws to give Michigan a 54-50 lead with 1:49 remaining. But Minnesota guard Eric Harris blew past Bullock for a layup with 1:45 left. Traylor fouled him, but Harris missed the free throw.
On the next trip down the floor, Bullock threw the ball away with the shot clock winding down, and Minnesota guard Bobby Jackson took advantage, nailing a 15-foot jumper from the baseline with 39 seconds left to tie the game at 54.
Michigan looked like it would have the last shot in regulation, but Bullock coughed up the ball again when he ran into Minnesota forward Courtney James at the top of the key.
Jackson came up with it at mid-court with an open path to the basket. Only a Brandun Hughes foul with 2.9 seconds left stopped Jackson, who promptly hit the first of two free throws to give Minnesota the win.
After the game Fisher closed the lockerroom to the media for the first time this season. Only the team captains, Traylor and Travis Conlan, addressed the media.
"You're not human if this one doesn't hurt," a dejected Conlan said after the game. "We worked so hard. To come up a little short is frustrating. It's hard to take."
Want frustration? The Wolverines made just two baskets in the final 10 minutes of the game, allowing Minnesota to erase a 47-39 Michigan lead and go up 50-49 on a Quincy Lewis jumper with just less than four minutes remaining.
Yesterday's win marks only the second time the Gophers have ever beaten Michigan in Crisler Arena. The only other time Minnesota beat the Wolverines in Crisler was in 1982 when the Gophers won their last Big Ten title.
"In life, you've got to have goals and dreams," said Minnesota coach Clem Haskins, who wore one of the Crisler Arena nets around his neck to compliment his Big Ten champions T-shirt and hat. "And tonight was one of those dreams that came true."
Haskins went out of his way to plug Jackson for Big Ten player of the year honors. Jackson had 18 points, 9 rebounds and three steals yesterday and helped hold Bullock to 12 points on 4-of-11 shooting.
Michigan staked a 17-6 lead after consecutive 3-pointers from Conlan and Bullock with 8:46 left in the first half. But Minnesota reeled of a 14-0 run of is own to take a 20-17 lead.
But the Wolverines came back with an 11-3 spurt to take a 31-25 lead into halftime. The Gophers got as close as one in the early stages of the second half, but Michigan never trailed before a John Thomas jump hook with 5:57 left gave Minnesota a 48-47 lead.
SARA STILLMAN/Daily
Guard Louis Bullock found little room to maneuver in Michigan's loss yesterday's to No. 2 Minnesota. Bullock managed just 12 points on 4-of-11 shooting and coughed up the ball on each of the Wolverines' last two possessions.