BLOOMINGTON — An all-too familiar scene painted the hardwood of Assembly Hall.
Kobe Bufkin sat squatted at halfcourt, perfectly centered on the Hoosier logo, weight on his heels. Seconds removed from turning the ball over in transition on the final play of overtime, Bufkin’s outstretched arms came in toward his body and his head slumped forward into his hands.
Once again, the Michigan men’s basketball team let one slip away.
After failing to execute in the game’s most crucial moments, the Wolverines added another entry to their growing list of ones that got away.
But minutes later, when Juwan Howard took his seat at the postgame press conference, he appeared strangely nonchalant. As if the realization that his team’s NCAA Tournament hopes just shrunk significantly had yet to set in.
“We are in a great position to now start a new, second part of our season,” Howard said. “There’s no other way but to now have an opportunity to hold up the trophy. And it’s going to take one game at a time.”
The same message Howard has preached all season long: “One game at a time.” He’s repeated that mantra after wins and losses throughout conference play. But now, after 31 regular-season games, there is no “one more” for the Wolverines. Entering postseason play, they are what they are — a talented team that just can’t win close games.
Take Sunday night against No. 15 Indiana, for example. After succumbing to a 14 point first-half deficit, Michigan peeled itself off the mat and got back in the fight, gaining a 10-point advantage midway through the second half.
Freshman wing Jett Howard came out of the intermission hot, knocking down a pair of 3-pointers in the opening minutes. Bufkin flared his shot-creating prowess and scoring instincts. Junior center Hunter Dickinson went toe-to-toe with Hooiser forward Trayce Jackson-Davis, finishing with 24 points and 14 rebounds.
But for all the talent that shined during the Wolverines’ run, it ultimately didn’t amount to anything. A dagger from Indiana guard Jalen Hood-Schifino sent the game to overtime and from there Michigan imploded, letting a 6-0 Hoosier run to start the extra frame bury it.
Those types of devastating losses are commonplace at this point in the season for the Wolverines. In games decided by five points or fewer, they are a meager 3-9. Further, 12 of Michigan’s 14 losses are by single digits. The Wolverines are capable of playing with anyone in the country. They just aren’t capable of beating them.
Last Thursday against Illinois, a similar scene played out. Michigan squandered a seven-point lead with 1:49 left in the game’s first overtime period. Yeah, the Wolverines forced overtime after trailing by seven with 2:35 left in regulation. And yeah, they built a wagon of momentum once they got there. But eventually the wheels came off and Michigan careened out of Champaign with a double-overtime loss.
“The year is not over for us,” Juwan said after the Wolverines lost to Illinois. “We’re going to keep clawing and we’ve got another tough game that’s on the road in Indiana.”
While Michigan’s loss to Illinois was alarming, it could point to the first game in its recent trilogy of overtime nail biters which ended with it outscoring Wisconsin by eight points in overtime. Although, it took a prayer of a shot from Dickinson — on a poorly executed inbound play — to get there.
In that instance, Michigan won. That capped off a streak that saw the Wolverines win six of eight games, playing undoubtedly their best basketball of the season.
That win proved to be a mirage, wiped away by the sheer ugliness of Michigan’s close losses to Indiana and Illinois. Those losses also served as a reminder. A reminder that the Wolverines lost to Virginia by two, Kentucky by four, Purdue by five and, in their home matchup earlier in the year, Indiana by one.
Every time Michigan plays a truly great opponent, it plays a damn good game. Because the Wolverines are a talented group. But no matter how many 20-point performances Dickinson clocks, no matter how far Bufkin and Jett soar up draft boards and no matter how dedicated Michigan is to taking it one game at a time, it doesn’t win those close games.
Because after 31 outings, that’s just who Michigan is.