GAME NOTES: The Michigan Wolverines try to bring an end to a three-game slide on Thursday night, as they tangle with Big Ten Conference foe Illinois at the State Farm Center.

Michigan, which has lost four of the last five overall and is set to meet up with a couple of tough foes over the next 10 days (Michigan State and Ohio State), is sporting a 6-6 conference mark and was alone in ninth place in the Big Ten as of Wednesday evening. The team, which continues to struggle without leading scorer Caris LeVert (14.9 ppg), out following foot surgery, was barely beaten by Indiana last Sunday, 70-67, on the road.

Just ahead of Michigan in the standings are the Fighting Illini with a conference mark of 6-5. Illinois, which will play host to nationally-ranked Wisconsin on Sunday afternoon, has won three in a row and four of the last five thanks to a 59-54 triumph over Michigan State last Saturday in East Lansing.

According to Michigan sources, the Wolverines trail the all-time series by an 85-79 margin, although they've won eight straight over Illinois to close the gap considerably. On December 30, Michigan kicked off the conference slate with a 73-65 overtime win versus the visiting Illini.

Down by seven at the break in Bloomington, the Wolverines made things interesting as they connected on 53.8 percent from the floor in the second half, but still came up short in the three-point decision on the road. Zak Irvin tallied 23 points in 39 minutes of action, followed by Ricky Doyle and Spike Albrecht with 15 and 12 points, respectively, the latter also handing out seven of the unit's 13 assists.

With LeVert out of the picture, the Wolverines are not only missing their leading scorer, but also the top man on the glass (4.9 rpg), one of the better passers (67 assists) and a solid defender (32 steals), which makes him very difficult to replace. Irvin checks in with 13.6 ppg by hitting on a team-best 57 3-pointers, but still he is shooting less than 40 percent from the floor. Derrick Walton (10.7 ppg, 4.7 rpg) is also missing in action due to a foot injury.

Illinois led by as many as seven in the second half against Michigan State the last time out, but the team then went cold in the final minutes of regulation, allowing the hosts to grab the victory at the Breslin Center. Malcolm Hill tallied a team-best 19 points for the Illini, hitting on 5-of-11 shots from the floor and all but one of his nine attempts at the free-throw line, followed by Kendrick Nunn and Nnanna Egwu with 14 and 12 points, respectively, the latter clearing a game-high nine rebounds along the way.

Like the Wolverines, Illinois also is missing a key part of the program after losing Rayvonte Rice (17.2 ppg, 6.9 rpg) to injury a little over a month ago. Hill, one of only two players to have started all 24 games, has tried to fill some of that void with his 14.8 ppg, shooting 41.7 percent beyond the arc while pulling in 5.4 rpg, but it hasn't been easy. Nunn checks in with another 11.5 ppg as he too shoots the ball well out on the perimeter at 41.6 percent, affording the team a scoring advantage of 8.7 ppg.

With time winding down in the regular season, the Illini cannot afford to allow games like this to slip through their hands. Getting into the postseason won't be easy for either side, but a win by the hosts will certainly increase their visibility.