"Nah," said Charles Matthews. "Hell nah."
His smile didn't come naturally, as one might expect. And when it did, Matthews seemed intent on biting it back.
"I mean, I’m happy," he allowed, "but I don’t feel like we played that well today."
A few minutes later, his coach would say the same thing. In fact, one could have stumbled into John Beilein's press conference and reasonably assumed his team had lost. His voice was subdued and his shoulders sagged. He used the word 'disappointed' in his opening remarks.
If there was any thrill for Beilien in Matthews' buzzer-beater, it had long since worn off by the time he stepped to the podium.
"We usually have one or two of these a year where I come in and tell you how blessed we are to shoot 3-22 from three, (63 percent) from the foul line, seven assists in the game, shoot 30 percent and still win," Beilein said, before crediting Michigan's defense. "Really disappointed in how we handled ourselves in the closing minutes."
The Wolverines -- who weren't much better to start the game -- managed to build a 57-47 lead with less than four minutes to play. The night looked over. But a team that usually steps on its opponent's throat lacked its killer instinct. Michigan missed its next four shots, plus two free throws, to allow Minnesota to go on a 10-0 run.
It took Matthews' shot at the last second to avoid overtime -- and a potential second consecutive loss.
After breezing through the first couple months of the season, No. 5 Michigan has lost some steam. Tuesday marked its second game in a row scoring fewer than 60 points. They were averaging over 73 points in Big Ten play before that.
Some obvious culprits are to blame, starting with a sudden dip in three-point shooting. Beilein alluded to a couple others: stagnant ball movement and a lack of rhythm. But he didn't stop there.
"And here’s another thing," he said, wanting it to be clear. "Sometimes fast breaks, we shouldn’t even do it, because we’re jogging up the court. We have to sprint. We don’t run. (Minnesota's) numbers in defensive transition aren't great, but we jog up the court. We can’t do it, and this is what they get.
"You end up getting scores in the 50's and 60's if you’re not willing to really bust your butt and get up the court."
Many of the same offensive issues that led to the season's first loss, Saturday at Wisconsin, nearly cost the Wolverines again Tuesday night. Beilein acknowledged he was expecting to see more growth out of his team between games.
"I was. I’d be lying if I said I’m not disappointed, but we’re going to grow from it," he said.
"Probably foolish of me to think, 'Jeez, we watched two days of film and it’s just going to carry over,'" he added.
Beilein trusts the culture the basketball program has built, he said, and he trusts the intelligence of his players to make the necessary adjustments. And he'd be equally foolish to not trust the first 17 games of the season.
But a team that once looked infallible is starting to look human. Time for its coach to roll up his sleeves.