It was the Crisler Arena then, Crisler Center now.
It was otherwise on the same court in the same building, 28 years ago to the day, that a young Michigan team hosted No. 1 Duke. The Fab Five were freshmen. The place was packed. So it was on Saturday, when an old Michigan team that still feels young hosted No. 10 Oregon.
"Today's energy in the building, today's crowd, reminded me of that moment," said Juwan Howard.
For Howard, the result was the same, an overtime loss decided in the final seconds -- and a pit in his stomach afterward.
"All the guys in that locker room, they're hurt right now," said Howard. "So am I."
And so we have arrived at Howard's first gut check as Michigan's head coach. Back in 1991, the Wolverines had the luxury of returning to the floor, and to the win column, two days later. These Wolverines must wait until next Saturday to wash this week away. That includes Wednesday's loss at Illinois, part of a 1-3 stretch for Michigan after its scintillating 7-0 start.
No one said this would be easy.
"It's going to be a tough week, man," said Howard. "It's going to be a tough week for all us, because we all care. We care about one another, we care about the results, whether it's a win or a loss. And when you lose two in a row, it's going to sting, because we're human. I'm not going to sit up here and just give you some type of politically correct answer.
"We have Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, to think about two losses, and it's going to be painful."
Friday, too. Within those six days, the Wolverines have to heal. They have to rest -- and find some time to study for finals. And they also have to find an answer to a growing question as Big Ten play looms: who's this team's go-to guy?
Senior Zavier Simpson? Freshman Franz Wagner? Junior Isaiah Livers? It wasn't really clear on Saturday, when with 10 seconds remaining in overtime and Michigan trailing by one, Howard called a play for Livers. Or was it for Simpson?
Whatever the case, the ball ended up in Simpson's hands, and Simpson ended up driving to the basket and missing that patented hook shoot, and Livers and Brandon Johns ended up missing as the buzzer sounded, and we ended up here, not really sure who's taking the wheel for the Wolverines at those crucial turns.
Johns said the play was drawn up for Livers, with the goal of getting to the basket for a layup, a foul or a put-back. Howard suggested it was drawn up for Simpson.
"We got the ball in the hands of the right person we wanted to have it, and I love the look that we had," Howard said. "He had an opportunity to either drive it for a basket, or throw it back to Isaiah if they came to help. They brought everyone to the paint, so great decision on his part and we live with the results.
"And, by the way, we had a chance to tip it in and it just didn't fall for us."
It was generally that kind of day for Michigan. It couldn't get shots to drop early, shots it expects to make, while Oregon was hitting everything it threw up. Led by Payton Pritchard and their terrific backcourt, the Ducks raced out to a 16-point first-half lead that would be the difference in the game.
"They made some bombs," Howard said.
Then Michigan made some bombs of its own, four of them by Wagner. He was the team's leading scorer with 21, and its best player in the second half. He may well be its best player, period. That's something the Wolverines have to figure out in the months ahead. They're an old team facing a late growth spurt. Their experience -- and their shot-making -- carried them early on.
And here they are in mid-December, right where they probably should be, still trying to find themselves in a new system under a new coach.
That 7-0 start was fun, and doubly impressive. It also made the task at hand likely seem lighter than it is. Now comes the heavy lifting, for Howard and for his players, who lost two games in a week and have to wait another week to play again.
"It stings a lot," said Johns. "We thought we had it, we all thought we had it, that tip-in looked so close. But obviously everything happens in life for a reason, and we just need to bounce back."
