Michigan Down to Last Strike

Michigan's NCAA tournament hopes took a big blow in Iowa City.

The Wolverines made a gutty comeback on the Hawkeyes, before letting Iowa tie the game in the final seconds and send it to overtime. But in the extra frame, Michigan's fight, and its leading scorer were nowhere to be found. Manny Harris, the Wolverines leading scorer was stuck on the bench in overtime, apparently for something that upset Coach John Beilein, as Michigan fell 70-60.

And they might have lost more than just the game.
The loss drops Michigan to 7-8 in the Big Ten with three games to play in the regular season. The Wolverines' RPI was 50 before tip-off, and that number is certain to worsen after losing to the Big Ten's second-worst team. So despite wins against UCLA and Duke, the Wolverines probably need to finish at least 9-9 in the conference and pick up a win in the Big Ten tournament to sit comfortably on Selection Sunday.

Getting to 9-9, however, could be a problem. The Wolverines' last three games are against Purdue, at Wisconsin and at Minnesota. Michigan probably needs to win two of those three. The good news, though, is that two wins will make the Wolverines' argument quite convincingly, so if ever there were an instance of holding destiny in your own hands, this is it.