Michigan and Duke battled it out in a top-three matchup that felt like a Final Four game. It was a defensive battle, as expected, but the Blue Devils got more stops and rebounds.
That was the difference in the game. Duke was better on the offensive glass. The Blue Devils shot the 3-ball a little better, too. Michigan shot 6-of-25 from deep. There were good looks, and Yaxel Lendeborg knocked down three of them.
Early foul trouble for Aday Mara and Morez Johnson didn't allow Michigan to play with its three-big lineup. There were other uncharacteristic mistakes, especially from Trey McKenney.
It needs to be a learning experience, because if the Wolverines play in the NCAA tournament as they did on Saturday, they won't be winning the national championship. With that in mind, here are three things we learned from Michigan's 68-63 loss to Duke.
Michigan made too many mistakes
In games like this, every single possession matters. That will be a good lesson moving forward. McKenney made a huge mistake late in the first half. Michigan had the ball and held for the last shot in a tie game.
The Wolverines missed the shot. McKenney, and others, aggressively went after the rebound, and the freshman was called for a foul that gifted Duke two points.
Those points loomed large in the final minute. Even so, the Wolverines were down three, with under a minute to go. They got a stop but didn't secure the rebound.
Game over.
This Michigan team still needs to improve if it wants to get where it needs to go. Saturday was a reminder of that.
3-point shooting will make or break Michigan in March
Duke's guards were stellar defensively. Their interior defense held up well enough, partially because Mara only played 22 minutes due to foul trouble. He finished 4-for-4 from the field.
But Michigan basketball still got plenty of good looks from 3-point range. Whether they didn't like the Wilson basketball compared to the Nike one is a different debate, but the Wovlerines shot 56 percent from 3-point range against Purdue. Against Duke, it was 24 percent.
The offensive rebounds made a huge difference. Duke won the interior battle, but if Michigan shoots just 30 percent from deep, it wins the game.
3-point shooting will determine what happens in the NCAA tournament. Michigan shot just 32 percent against Wisconsin in its only other loss this season, but there were also games against TCU and Wake Forest that were ugly earlier this season because the Wolverines only shot around 20 percent from three.
If this team does lose in the NCAA tournament, poor 3-point shooting will be the culprit, just like on Saturday night in Washington, D.C.
Elliot Cadeau, McKenney, Nimari Burnett, and L.J. Cason shot a combined 2-of-14 from deep. That's not going to cut it in March.
The Wolverines are right there
As frustrating as the 68-63 loss was to Duke, Michigan basketball fans should take solace in the fact that the Wolverines played poorly, and still had a chance to win the game.
Just about everything that Michigan worried about going wrong, did. Mara got two fouls in the first six minutes. He had three before halftime. Johnson had two in the first half as well.
That threw a wrench into the defensive gameplan and took away Michigan's second-best offensive weapon outside of Yaxel. They also shot the ball poorly, rebounded poorly, and made some mistakes that can be corrected.
Michigan had its C or D game, didn't get a friendly whistle, and still had a shot to beat what could be the best team in the country.
Michigan also got some help from Illinois, which lost to Minnesota. The Wolverines need just one win to clinch a share of the Big Ten title, and two to take it outright. So that's a positive, plus, Michigan learned it can go toe-to-toe with Duke.
Michigan just learned it will need to be better to beat them. That will be incredibly valuable heading into March.