"U-M lays an egg"

Anytime you turn the ball over as many times as the number of field goals you make, you're probably going to lose.

You're probably going to lose by a big margin.

Such was the case for the University of Michigan basketball team Saturday afternoon, as it was drilled by No. 1 UCLA 92-55 in Los Angeles.

This game was supposed to be U-M's chance to prove to the nation that it was a legitimate team, an NCAA tournament team. The Wolverines had a full week to prepare for the Bruins compared to just three days for UCLA. The team even arrived in L.A. on Thursday. Exams were over. The players would get a couple days off upon returning home.

But, instead, the Wolverines took much of Saturday's game off.

Sloppy ballhandling. Awful passes. Poor offensive execution. They were all a part of Michigan's performance (if you can call it that) at Pauley Pavilion.

UCLA, meanwhile, converted each Michigan miscue into an easy layup on the other end. The Bruins had to work hard for maybe 12 of their 33 field goals.

Still think this Michigan team is NCAA tournament material? Well, one game definitely doesn't decide a season, but consider this: The Wolverines have played four teams with winning records, going 2-2. The rest of the teams have been walkovers. Michigan has played on the road just three times, going 1-2. Its only victory came when it eked out a six-point win over 4-7 Miami (Ohio).

It should be interesting to see how the Wolverines handle road games versus No. 3 Ohio State, No. 5 Wisconsin and No. 25 Michigan State. Add in games at upstart Purdue, and Illinois and Indiana (whom Michigan hasn't won at in what seems like an eternity) and the only roadies I'd actually pick Michigan to win are against Northwestern and Minnesota - by no means gimmes.

The only Big Ten team Michigan has routinely defeated on the road during Tommy Amaker's six-year reign as coach is Penn State. The Wolverines only face the Nittany Lions at home this year.

Yes, the forecast is not so bright anymore. An 8-8 Big Ten record would likely get Michigan into the NCAA tournament, but unless it suddenly starts winning road games, that would mean winning at least six of eight home games - a very tough task.

Maybe Saturday was nothing more than an aberration. Maybe this team will come out against Army (on Thursday) and Georgetown (on Saturday) and finish off the non-conference season on a high note. But even that wouldn't prove much.

What this team has proven over the past few years is that just when things are starting to look rosy, it can find a way to ruin the season, to banish itself to the ignored NIT tournament. It took a 2-7 finish to last season after a 16-3 start and a Top 25 ranking. What is in the cards for the 2006-07 version of the Wolverines?

We'll have to wait and see. But if Saturday was any indication, these Wolverines don't have any more bite than Amaker's past teams.