Ann Arbor — You could see it in the red, watery eyes of Franz Wagner and hear it in the solemn tone of Juwan Howard, as he tried to process his most-crushing loss as Michigan’s coach. And you could sense it in the eerie silence in Crisler Center when Isaiah Livers crashed to the floor, his groin injury aggravated, his immediate future back to uncertain.
This was as tough as it gets for the Wolverines, their season now teetering after a fourth straight loss, 64-62 to Illinois on Saturday. It was a classically tight Big Ten game in the midst of an incredibly tight Big Ten season.