ANN ARBOR, Mich. — This is life on the bubble, bouncing between earning a bid and squandering one. For the Wolverines, it’s also life in the bubble, playing huge games every other day, playing without their head coach, without much room to breathe.
Competing hard is one thing, and Michigan generally doesn’t have a problem with that. But to hang with the best in the mighty Big Ten, it takes perhaps more than the Wolverines can handle. The pattern hasn’t changed — win, loss, win, loss, win, loss — and on Sunday they alternated sloppy play with sharp play and ended up back where they started.
Michigan’s 93-85 loss to Illinois shoves them right back to the edge, with three regular-season games remaining. At 15-12 (9-8 Big Ten), the Wolverines presumably need to win two of three — home against Michigan State and Iowa, at Ohio State — to have a reasonable shot at an NCAA Tournament bid, regardless of what happens in the Big Ten tourney. Obviously, the next one is the biggest one, Tuesday night against the Spartans (19-9, 10-7), who could deal their rival a staggering blow.
