Nobody wants to try surviving non-functional Livers in the heat of March Madness.

Michigan stands 0-1 in the attempt. Its margin for error the rest of the way?

Zero.

The No. 1-seed Wolverines suffered an early exit from the Big Ten Tournament Saturday, courtesy of an old, irksome foe. No. 5 seed Ohio State hung on to win, 68-67, at Lucas Oil Stadium.

The Buckeyes advance to the conference tournament title game, while the Wolverines sequester in their hotel headquarters in Indianapolis, awaiting their next assignment — in the NCAA Tournament — amid a flood of what-ifs.

What if senior captain Isaiah Livers hadn’t suffered a stress fracture of his foot, putting him in a boot and rebooting Michigan’s lineup? What if the Wolverines held together just a little more, not falling behind 63-50 with 4:19 to play?

And what if grad transfer guard Mike Smith’s last-seconds three-point attempt hit home, rather than sliding cruelly off the rim?

Michigan faces too much time to think, but perhaps not enough time to get healthy.

Livers acknowledged after the game, he has already faced a cold, devastating reality. His Michigan career may be over.

“That was the instant thought I had,” Livers admitted. “It was a very emotional evening yesterday, for me and my family, my teammates, my brothers. You could just kind of tell.

“I can tell by just walking on it right now. That thought did cross my mind. But you never know. This world is full of possibilities. I could be back out there. I don’t want people to write me off yet.”

He said he’s going to work hard to rehab, for the Michigan NCAA run he knows is coming. He did not sound convinced that he’ll be a part of it, other than cheering on his teammates, like he did against OSU.

The Wolverines almost booked passage to Sunday’s championship game, despite shooting 35.1 percent against the Buckeyes, including 31.6 percent (6-for-19) from three-point range. OSU, paced by a dozen threes, along with furious efforts from Duane Washington Jr. (24 points, six rebounds, four assists) and EJ Liddell (18) points, looked ready to run Michigan off the court in the closing moments.

Howard’s crew wasn’t having it. A Liddell hammer-jam that rattled out helped spur a rally almost all the way back.

Freshman center Hunter Dickinson’s tip-strip of Liddell and subsequent layup left jaws agape. His strong finish — 15 second-half points, after only six in the first 20 minutes — helped spur the comeback.

Senior transfer guard Chaundee Brown Jr. nailed a three with 48 seconds remaining, pulling the Wolverines within one, 68-67. He’d missed his first five attempts, but this comeback looked meant to be…

For a fleeting few seconds, that is. Eschewing an entry pass to the 7-1 Dickinson, Smith — Michigan’s first-game tournament hero, with 18 points and 15 assists — couldn’t find the bottom of the net.

He wound up 1-for-11 for the game. Michigan winds up watching, waiting, and wincing.

“We got exactly what we wanted,” Howard assured, when asked about the final shot. “We got a good look at it.”

Dickinson wouldn’t have changed it, he insisted.

“It was a high ball screen for Mike,” Dickinson said. “Basically, everybody else was in the corners, or lifted. That’s the play we went with. Everybody was confident in it. If we had the opportunity to go back, I would not be hesitant at all with letting Mike shoot that next one.

“We were all confident in Mike. I told him after the game, I’d let him shoot that one again if he had the chance.”

Bottom line is this — the loss to the Buckeyes does not compare to the potential long-term loss of Livers. Michigan already had a regular-season Big Ten championship tucked in its back pocket.

A Big Ten Tournament title would have been icing on the cake, and even a berth in the finals would have assured a No. 1 seed in The Big Dance. As it is, the Wolverines will be scrambling harder to win now, whatever number the selection committee sticks by their name.

Livers remained all smiles early in the game, cheering on those who stepped in for him. He even leaped in the air (in his walking boot, no less) to exult during the comeback.

The Wolverines all would have been smiling and jumping around if those who stepped in for Livers not gone a combined 1-for-10 from the floor. Junior forward Brandon Johns Jr. (0-for-3) proved the best of the bunch, making 7 of 8 free throws, grabbing eight rebounds and making two assists.

Brown also chipped in with the clutch three. Sophomore forward Franz Wagner tried to pick up the slack, but wound up 2-for-10 from the field, with eight points and his first foul-out of the season.

Remove one of Michigan’s best three-point shooters and free-throw shooters from the lineup, and life changes. Livers transplants are never easy, or simple.

“I’ve got one year of eligibility left, and I’m going to file it with the NCAA,” Howard quipped. “I’m going to hurry up and try to get in shape for these next few days. One thing I can’t do is, I can’t shoot the ball as extremely well as Isaiah Livers.”

Few can — and Howard knows it all too well.

“We’re all collectively going to do our part — me as a coach, every player, all hands on deck,” he said. “Every player’s going to step up and do their job.”

They’ll have to do it two points better than they did it on Sunday, when the going gets tough — and it’s about to do just that.

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