After gutting loss to Michigan State, Michigan has no choice but to respond

At approximately 7:45 p.m. on Friday, everything was looking great for Michigan. On a six-game winning streak and at 12-2 in the Big Ten, the Wolverines had a path to a regular-season conference championship right in front of them. Winning their four remaining home games would put them in a stellar position, and stealing one of two on the road would guarantee the Big Ten title.

Coach Dusty May was having a good day for himself, too. Around noon, he was named to the Naismith Men’s College Coach of the Year Watch List, alongside 14 others among the nation’s best coaches. By 5:45, he agreed to a multi-year extension, locking him in for the future with Michigan amid speculation that he’d have interest in the open head coaching job at his alma mater, Indiana, at season’s end. An announcement in Crisler Center drew raucous cheers, with fans thrilled that May was fully committed to the Wolverines.

May’s extension, coupled with a chance to take down rival Michigan State at home, left Friday shaping up to be one of the program’s better days in recent history. All Michigan had to do was to extend its undefeated home record one more game, defeating the Spartans.

But just two and a half hours later, the scene in Crisler painted a very different picture. Chants of “Go Green, Go White,” rang out among the remaining fans as the game ended. Despite leading by four points at halftime, the Wolverines fell apart in the second half to ultimately lose 75-62. It was a gut-check loss for Michigan, one that sucked all the air out of its high-flying fan base.

“(I’ll) begin by giving Michigan State credit,” May said postgame. “I thought the second half, they were able to answer every run. They were the aggressor, and tonight we didn’t look like a championship-caliber program.”