A missed free throw invited groans, which rumbled through the first Crisler Center crowd in a while, as what should have been a joyous evening veered toward peril.
No. 6 Michigan basketball had blown a tire in the second half against Buffalo, the plucky MAC favorites who whittled a 24-point deficit to five with under six minutes remaining. A glorious first half in which the Wolverines shot 57.6% from the floor and registered 11 assists on 19 field goals had given way to foul-induced slop. The absence of point guard DeVante’ Jones, whose third foul sent him to the bench with 17:23 remaining, exposed a potential weakness for Juwan Howard’s club as veteran Eli Brooks shifted out of position and the offense balked.