EAST LANSING — Charles Matthews was a full participant in pregame warmups for Michigan's contest against Michigan State on Saturday. After missing the Nebraska and Maryland games with an ankle injury suffered during the first meeting between the in-state rivals, it appeared that the Wolverines could have Matthews at its disposal as he was in uniform for the first time in weeks. Knowing what we know now, Matthews' being in uniform and participating in pregame warm-ups was simply a smokescreen, a bit of gamesmanship from U-M head coach John Beilein, if you will. While Matthews wouldn't be able to play against the Spartans, he's certainly inching closer to returning to the court. His return would come at the perfect time for the Wolverines as the Big Ten Tournament is looming this week. After the game, Beilein was asked about Matthews' status going forward and he appeared hopeful that his return is near. "I was hoping he'd be back today," Beilein said of Matthews. "I really thought there was a realistic chance at it. Yesterday he was trying and it just doesn't feel right. We're not going to let that man go out there unless it feels right. We'll see what it does. I thought he'd be able to play but there's no way he could play on it. He's working so hard to come back. As everyone knows, we're not very deep (at Matthews' position). I am proud of the way our freshmen played in the first half. To have, really, three of our top forwards sitting on the bench is really not good for us in the first half." With the amount of foul trouble U-M had in the first half of the loss to the Spartans, utilizing an extra body at the forward position would've been helpful. Even if it were in some sort of emergency situation, Beilein would not entertain the thought of Matthews being used in an emergency situation. With that being said, however, Matthews is making strides in the right direction. "No but he probably would've been in there because of foul trouble (if he were healthy enough to play)," Beilein said. "I'm all for it. He's going to tell us how his body feels. He ran (in practice), he did some fastbreak drills yesterday and he made a beautiful three in traffic. He did everything but he just couldn't cut the way he wanted to cut. We didn't want to put him out there because he's going to be a liability defensively and offensively. He's such a good defensive player. When they got some of those layups, Charles would've been right there standing in there. Not an excuse, they could've had Ward in there. They're a little deeper than we are at a couple of positions. That's the way it goes."<doc-sep>ANN ARBOR -- The last time Michigan played Michigan State, 12 days ago, Charles Matthews was limited after spraining his ankle in the first half. Whether he suits up for Saturday's rematch remains unclear. Matthews, according to Michigan head coach John Beilein, will be a true game-time decision for the regular season finale that will determine the Big Ten champion. "Charles was able to practice a little bit today," Beilein said on Friday. "He practiced a little bit yesterday. He'll be out there; he'll go through warmups. He'll let us know how he feels." Tipoff is scheduled for 8:05 p.m. at the Breslin Center. Matthews rolled his ankle on Feb. 24 in what was a 77-70 home loss to the Spartans. He came out of the game for an extended stretch and was limited to 28 minutes. He has not played in Michigan's two games since, both victories, including Sunday's at Maryland. Sophomore Isaiah Livers has started at small forward in his place and played well. In 32 minutes against Nebraska on Feb. 28, Livers tallied 12 points and 10 rebounds. Against Maryland, he scored 11 in 37 minutes. He made three 3-pointers in each game, giving Beilein a better outside shooting lineup. But without Matthews, Michigan has lost his 12.8 points and 5.1 rebounds per game as well as elite wing defense. Beilein was asked whether, should Matthews suit up, he'd be counted on for his usual heavy minutes. "We'll see what level he can go at," he said. "Maybe he can just give us a rest or maybe he can go full-go. So that would be the expectation. We're being very careful with him." Before the Maryland game, Beilein had told CBS he hoped Matthews, a redshirt junior, could return by the postseason. Unprompted on Friday, he addressed that. “You guys, by the way, read way too much into what I say. When I said, ‘We have to get him ready for postseason,’ I didn’t say, ‘Because he’s not playing against Michigan State.’”<doc-sep>ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The last time Michigan saw Charles Matthews on the floor in uniform, it was in his 4-point affair as the Wolverines hosted Michigan State on Feb. 24 — a game in which he played just shy of 28 minutes, but was relatively ineffective all game, due to his injured ankle. From there, he’s been in street clothes, including in trips to Maryland and as Michigan hosted Nebraska, when he was the lone player honored for Senior Day. Now the big question is: will Matthews be available to play in the Wolverines season finale, a rematch against MSU? And on the eve of the game, with head coach John Beilein meeting with the media on Friday afternoon, we hoped to get some answers about Matthews’ availability, but, as expected, the Wolverines will be in wait-and-see mode when it comes to their star guard. “Charles was able to practice a little bit today, practiced a little bit yesterday,” Beilein said. “He’ll be out there. He’ll go through warmups, see how he feels.” Matthews’ production this season hasn’t quite been as seemingly consistent as last year, despite him scoring roughly the same amount — 12.8 points-per-game this year compared to 13 points a year ago. The injury sustained vs. MSU came at a bad time for the fourth-year shooting guard, as he was just starting to establish himself as the Wolverines primary option offensively in the three games previous. Of course, he wasn’t the primary scorer this year, nor last year — with freshman forward Ignas Brazdeikis getting the distinction this year and now-Los Angeles Lakers forward Moe Wagner leading the team a year ago. But the team, offensively, has tended to revolve around a steady diet of Matthews, who creates a lot of his own shots. This season, it’s been inconsistent. Should Matthews return to the lineup healthy on Saturday, it would be a big boon for a Michigan team that’s looking to secure a Big Ten regular season championship. The winner of the game at the Breslin Center on Saturday night will secure at least a share, with Purdue currently having a stake, which would continue to be the case if the Boilermakers win at Northwestern on Saturday afternoon in Evanston. This story has been updated with the full John Beilein quote and the video of him speaking about Charles Matthews.<doc-sep>
EAST LANSING -- As the fouls piled up for Michigan, sending multiple starters to the bench, it became clear Charles Matthews was not available to play. The "break glass in case of emergency" moment had come and gone with Matthews remaining on the bench. The redshirt junior missed his third straight game because of an ankle injury as Michigan lost 75-63 at Michigan State on Saturday. The loss cost the Wolverines a share of the Big Ten title and the top seed in next week's Big Ten Tournament. "I was hoping he'd be back today," Michigan coach John Beilein said afterwards. "I really thought there was a realistic chance at it. But he just couldn't go. Yesterday he was trying and it just doesn't feel right. We're not going to make that young man go out there unless it feels right." Matthews sprained his ankle in the first half of the first meeting with Michigan State, in Ann Arbor on Feb. 24. He returned to that game but was limited, and missed Michigan’s subsequent games against Nebraska and Maryland, both victories. For the third straight game, Isaiah Livers started at small forward in Matthews’ place. Livers picked up his second foul with 10:45 left in the first half and went to the bench for the remainder of the half. Forty-four seconds later, Michigan’s other starting forward, Ignas Brazdeikis, committed his second foul and also sat for the rest of the half. Brazdeikis, who led Michigan with 20 points, was whistled for his third foul seven minutes into the second half and fouled out with 5:10 left. He was limited to just 22 minutes. "To have three of your top forwards sitting on the bench at one time is not good in the first half," Beilein said. He was asked if Matthews, who was dressed and participated in warmups, could have played in an emergency. "No, because of (the) foul trouble he probably would have been there," Beilein said. "But, and I'm all for it, he's going to tell us what his body feels. He actually ran, he did some fast break drills yesterday, he made a beautiful 3 in traffic -- he did everything. But he couldn't cut the way he wanted to cut. And we're not going to put him out there -- he's going to be a liability defensively, offensively." Michigan State shot 47 percent from the field and grabbed 11 offensive rebounds. Matthews, who Beilein called "one of the best defenders in the country," could have helped Michigan perform better in both of those areas. "When they got some of those layups, Charles would have been standing in there," Beilein said. "Not an excuse. They could have had (injured starter Nick) Ward in there. But they're a little deeper than we are at a couple of positions." Michigan stuck to the plan outlined by Beilein on Friday, as Matthews went through warmups. "He was trying to do Charles things -- jump high, shoot," Livers said. "He just wasn't feeling it. And we don't blame him at all." Michigan will next play on Friday night (tipoff time is approximately 9:30 p.m. ET) in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament, an event the Wolverines have won the past two years. It is being played in Matthews’ native Chicago. Beilein is hoping Matthews can play. Of course, he was hoping he'd be out there on Saturday. No promises were made after the game regarding Matthews' availability. “We’ll see,” Beilein said.