STORRS, Conn. — After fielding questions about the Michigan men's basketball team's apparent "moral victory" in its 69-61 loss at No. 1 Connecticut, fifth-year senior guard David Merritt made his real opinion known to his teammates in the locker room.

"You play to win the game," he told them.

The co-captain understood the implications riding on Saturday's game at Gampel Pavilion. A victory at Connecticut would have given Michigan a better shot at an NCAA Tournament at-large bid.

"It hurts a little worse because you had a chance to beat the No. 1 team at their house and we let it slip away," said Michigan sophomore guard Manny Harris, who had 15 points and five assists.

With just seven games remaining, Michigan now must find another way to impress the NCAA Selection Committee, and it has to start tomorrow against Michigan State.

If Saturday's game is any indication, the Wolverines should be in good shape. Michigan has played to its opponents’ level all season, beating big-time teams like UCLA and Duke, while failing to show up to winnable games, like in its 15-point loss at Penn State on Jan. 20. The Spartans are the best team in the Big Ten, so if history says anything, Michigan will come ready to play.

There's no doubt that Michigan coach John Beilein and his team knew how important the game was, but it took his team a little while to get comfortable. The Huskies' 7-foot-3 center Hasheem Thabeet comically won the tip with ease over 6-foot-10 Michigan center Zack Gibson.

Connecticut started with a quick 8-1 run in the first two minutes. But Gibson hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to four, and from then on, Michigan competed with the nation's top-ranked team.

"We definitely looked at it as an opportunity to get it one step closer to where we want it to be," fifth-year senior guard C.J. Lee said. "And we just didn't have enough to pull out the victory."

Freshman guard Stu Douglass certainly gave his best effort. The 3-point specialist exploded from long range, connecting on a career-high six 3-pointers, including a couple from well behind the line. His 20 points were a career- and game-high.

“He is a guy that not only shoots from three but can shoot from (deep) range,” Beilein said. “And that is a huge thing for us. Without him tonight, it would have been a 15- or 18-point game.”

Despite being overmatched athletically and physically, the Wolverines (5-6 Big Ten, 15-9 overall) controlled the first 30 minutes after their shaky start and nearly pulled off their biggest win of the year.

Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun knew the matchup would be difficult. The two coaches shared the same sideline five times while Beilein coached at West Virginia, but Beilein was just 1-4 against Calhoun.

“Coming home from Louisville (where Connecticut won 68-51 on Feb. 1), I said (to myself) ‘What did you do?’ ” Calhoun said of his decision to schedule Michigan. “You know it's going to be tortuous. You know he’s going to put you through a root canal. And sure as heck, they did.”

The Huskies had trouble adjusting to Michigan’s defense, which shifted from its traditional 1-3-1 zone to a new-look, 2-3 zone throughout the game.

In the first half, Connecticut (10-1 Big East, 22-1) shot just 11-for-30 from the field. The Huskies missed plenty of easy buckets inside, where they had a distinct height advantage with Thabeet, who had 17 points, 12 rebounds and six blocks.

The Wolverines handled Connecticut’s full-court press perfectly, committing just 10 turnovers while forcing 17. They battled in the paint and even knocked Thabeet out of the game for a few minutes in the second half. Gibson and junior forward DeShawn Sims both used their bodies to force Thabeet and senior forward Jeff Adrien into tough shots, and the Michigan duo did all it could to keep the Connecticut front line off the boards.

Going into the game, Michigan, a 17-point underdog, had nothing to lose. But in the end, its "moral victory" just felt empty.