INDIANAPOLIS — Joe Lunardi was a popular name in the Michigan basketball team's locker room Friday afternoon.

The ESPN NCAA tournament bracket prognosticator — the most well-known of a gaggle of those people around the country — has been moving the Wolverines all over the place the past two weeks.

The Wolverines are hesitant to admit they are following what he’s saying. But if they watch ESPN, they can’t avoid him at all. So they knew, kind of, what Friday’s 60-55 Big Ten quarterfinal win over Illinois might have meant.

“Yes and no. I have no idea,” Michigan junior guard Stu Douglass said. “Only Lunardi knows that. Maybe. Who knows.”

Every Michigan player except for one, freshman guard Tim Hardaway Jr. has admitted they at least keep a cursory eye on what’s going on with their potential tournament placement.

How does Hardaway do that? He said he’s been hiding from ESPN, CBS and everything else.

“It’s very hard,” Hardaway said. “Watch movies, don’t watch ESPN. Just try to get out.

“Go out and walk around. Just don’t stay in your room watching TV all day, trying to figure out if you’re going to make it or not.”

Going through the maze Generously listed at 6-foot-3, Douglass is never the tallest player on the court. He can’t jump the highest. But the Michigan junior guard grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.

“Guys, little plays here and there are going to get it done,” Douglass said. “Even in the first half, things weren’t looking good. Just a little play, a little rebound so they won’t get two more second-chance points, keeps us close in the end.”

By this point in the season, having guards rebounding isn't too surprising for Michigan. It has been part of the strategy that has carried the Wolverines to the brink of the NCAA tournament. The forwards box their men out and allow the guards to collect the rebounds.

Playing good defense When Michigan last played Illinois, it watched as a struggling Demetri McCamey find his rhythm and score 18 points in a 54-52 win.

The senior from Chicago had been a major reason the Illini beat Michigan in Champaign, so when Michigan had to deal with him this time, coaches put Douglass on him.

“He’s been rolling with a lot of confidence, shooting the ball real well and aggressive like they need him to be,” Douglass said. “There are still some lapses I had that I wasn’t happy with.”

Douglass will take it, though. He held McCamey to 10 points on 4 of 10 shooting, including 2 of 7 from the 3-point line.

Having dad call the game Sitting on the second level of press row, across from the Michigan bench, Tim Hardaway Sr. watched his son play basketball. He also talked about it every step of the way.

Hardaway Sr. called the Michigan-Illinois game for Compass Media, the first time this season the former NBA All-Star has done a Michigan game.

Afterward, his son seemed unconcerned his father was on the air.

“It was all right,” Hardaway Jr. said. “It was cool. It was fine.”

This and that Michigan wore new blue warmup shirts with "The Team, The Team, The Team" in maize on the back. ... Saturday’s Big Ten semifinal between Michigan and Ohio State will occur one year to the day from when Evan Turner's 35-foot shot at the buzzer beat Michigan in a Big Ten quarterfinal and ended the Wolverines' season.

Michael Rothstein covers Michigan basketball for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at 734-623-2558, by e-mail at michaelrothstein@annarbor.com or follow along on Twitter @mikerothstein.