Men's hoops reporter Tom Keller writes about his overnight trip to Ann Arbor.

With no class Wednesday, I trekked over to Ann Arbor a day before the MSU-Michigan game and spent the night at a friend's place. Why, you might ask? Why would I subject myself to one more second than necessary in that godforsaken hellhole? Well, I like to think of myself as an open-minded guy. Plus, my friend offered free food.

Here's how some of my impressions of Wolverine Land changed.

Downtown Ann Arbor: UPGRADE — All these road trips make me wish East Lansing had a more expansive downtown. You can walk around Ann Arbor (and Madison, Wis. and Columbus, Ohio) for hours and still have stuff to discover. You can walk from Blockbuster to 24/7 on Grand River Avenue and be home in time for SportsCenter.

Crisler Arena: DOWNGRADE — Yawn. Definitely the most boring venue I've been to this season. And not really that loud until the second half.

Daniel Horton: UPGRADE — I was not a Horton fan at all coming into this game. And while his pregame jawing made my blood boil, I respect his game a little bit more after he tallied a floor-high 23 points. He's very strong and not quite as turnover-prone as in years past, but I still question his ability to carry a team in the postseason.

Courtney Sims: DOWNGRADE — Those who have played a pick-up game with me know that despite my diminutive frame, I love to operate in the low post. So imagine how disappointing it is for me to watch someone like Sims, who's big and smooth and talented, but plays with the aggressiveness of a sedated animal. When my uncle (a U-M fan) called me later to complain about Sims' four-point performance, he assumed that Sims' lack of assertiveness must come from his being a freshman. "Nope," I told him. "He's a junior." What a waste.

Chris Hunter: UPGRADE — X-factor alert! How many teams have someone who's 6-foot-11, can block shots and shoot from behind the arc? Not many. He's a big matchup problem.

Maize Rage: DOWNGRADE — You really rushed the floor? After beating MSU for the second time in 14 meetings? In a five-point, probably-wouldn't-have-won-on-the-road-or-with-a-different-officiating-crew game? Way to act like a ranked team, idiots.