The No. 25 Michigan men's basketball team got a taste of its own medicine Saturday night against Ohio State. The Wolverines, who run a rare 1-3-1 zone defense, ran into another unorthodox scheme.

The Buckeyes played a 1-2-2 matchup zone all game, stalling Michigan's offense and helping the Buckeyes steal a Big Ten road game, 65-58.

Ohio State also played spoiler to the 1989 NCAA Championship team, which was honored at halftime.

The Wolverines (3-3 Big Ten, 13-5 overall) have made coming out to slow starts a habit, one that cost the Wolverines a shot at their arch-rivals.

They dug themselves into a whole early, trailing by as many as 11 in the first half. The zone prevented Michigan from getting any good looks from the perimeter, but like in any zone, the middle was open, meaning junior DeShawn Sims would have plenty of open looks. Sims had the chances, but couldn't produce. He made just four shots against Illinois on Jan. 14 and was almost as bad on Saturday. The Big Ten's third-leading scorer was a mere 4-for-13 from the field despite having numerous good looks at the rim. Sims said they were shots he normally makes.

Without the play of sophomore Manny Harris and the stellar shooting of freshman Stu Douglass, Saturday's game could have been much worse.

Down nine with two minutes left in the first half, Harris hit a 25-footer. Two free throws by Harris and a basket by Sims cut the lead to four and Michigan went into the lockerrom with momentum. Harris, the Big Ten's second-leading scorer, played a great "floor game" according to Michigan coach John Beilein. He scored 21 points while grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out six assists. To start the second half, Harris scored seven of Michigan's first 11 points. He helped push the Wolverines to their first lead of the game and had help from Douglass. The guard hit one of his season-tying high four 3-pointers to put Michigan up 44-40 with eight minutes left.

But it was downhill from there.

Despite a spirited effort that cut a ten point lead to four in less than 20 seconds, Michigan couldn't get over the final hump.

Ohio State's frontline, which featured 6-foot-7 Evan Turner, 6-foot-8 Dallas Lauderdale and 7-footer B.J. Mullens, exploited Michigan's lack of size. The Buckeyes made 16 shots in the paint to the Wolverines' nine, and often got layups whenever they wanted.

Unable to score inside, Michigan had to produce from the perimeter, but a 3-for-13 performance from behind the arc in the first half was just too much for the Wolverines to overcome.

The Buckeyes (3-2, 13-3) had lost two straight to ranked opponents on the road. Beating a ranked Michigan squad at Crisler will certainly look good come March.

For the Wolverines, it was a loss to an unranked opponent at home — not something the selection committee will be pleased to see.

Beilein sounded concerned about Michigan's upcoming schedule, and he has reason to be. The Wolverines will travel to Penn State, Ohio State, Purdue and Connecticut in the next two weeks. The second-year coach is giving his team the day off tomorrow, something he normally doesn't do with just two days before the next game.

Aside the disappointing loss, there was much to celebrate about at Crisler. At halftime, the 1989 NCAA Championship team took the floor to a screaming crowd. Before the game, members of the team gathered to take a team photo and speak with the media.

Most of the team, including Sean Higgins, Mark Hughes, Glen Rice and Rumeal Robinson, met for the first time as a group in Ann Arbor since graduating from Michigan. Each player reminisced about their greatest memories wearing the Maize and Blue, including what Rice referred to as the best speech he's ever heard from a coach.

Bo Schembechler, who had been serving as Michigan's the Athletic Director since July 1988, gave a speech for the ages. After he fired coach Bill Frieder for taking the head coaching position at Arizona State, Schembechler famously said "A Michigan man will coach Michigan, not an Arizona State man," and hired assistant Steve Fisher on an interim basis. On the eve of the NCAA Tournament, Schembechler met with the team on the south baseline of Crisler Arena and told them what needed to be done.

How fired up was Schembechler? Rice compared his demeanor to a "blowtorch."