The Wolverine

October 2020

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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30 THE WOLVERINE OCTOBER 2020 der's group appeared tight in the first round, a 59-55 win over Fairleigh Dick- inson, barely avoiding the upset, and didn't play well in a second-round loss to Villanova by the same score. The Wildcats would eventually win it all by upsetting Georgetown in the final, leaving U-M's group to wonder what might have been. 7. 1991-1992 NATIONAL RUNNER-UP The first Fab Five squad announced its presence against Duke, taking the defending national champions to over- time at Crisler Arena in the non-confer- ence season before falling. They finished third in the Big Ten behind loaded champion Ohio State and runner-up Indiana, but like the 1989 squad, they'd get their shot to avenge two losses to the title-winner in the NCAA Tournament. Vowing to "Shock the World," the sixth-seeded and young Wolver- ines ousted Temple in a first-round game and also got a break when No. 2 seed Arizona fell to East Tennessee State. They won their second-round matchup against ETSU handily but struggled with a talented Oklahoma State team the next week due to Web- ber's foul trouble. Veteran center Eric Riley came off the bench to spark U-M to a 75-72 victory. The stage was set for an Elite Eight rematch with the Buckeyes for a berth in the Final Four. U-M prevailed, 75-71, in overtime. Senior James Voskuil then sparked Michigan to a semifinal win over Cincinnati, scoring eight points down the stretch. In the title game, Duke overcame a halftime deficit in Minneapolis to beat the Wolverines for the second time that year. 8. 2017-18 NATIONAL RUNNER-UP, BIG TEN TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS The 2017-18 squad entered the sea- son with modest expectations after los- ing point guard Derrick Walton, the catalyst in the Wolverines' first Big Ten Tournament title run since 1998. Sophomore Zavier Simpson — who struggled adjusting to Big Ten basket- ball in his freshman year — took over at the point, got better as the year went on and led U-M to one of the more im- probable postseason runs in the nation. Kentucky transfer Charles Mat- thews was one of the big reasons for their success, which included a sec- ond straight Big Ten Tournament title and a Final Four (and national cham- pionship game) appearance. He, Simpson and senior guard Muham- mad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman formed an outstanding defensive trio, while junior forward Moritz Wagner emerged as a proficient scorer. The Wolverines handed Big Ten champion Michigan State two of its five losses, one in East Lansing and one in a Big Ten Tournament semi- final, and played a tough brand of basketball that started with their de- fense. They ripped off nine straight postseason wins, including a Big Ten title win over Purdue in New York and rallied to beat Cinderella Loyola- Chicago in a Final Four game in San Antonio, but ran out of gas in the fi- nal against a loaded Villanova team. 9. 1963-64 FINAL FOUR, CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS The first great Michigan team in school history reached the Final Four before falling to Duke, 101-90, in the semifinals and winning the consola- tion game over Kansas State to finish third nationally. Russell led the team with a 24.8 points-per-game average, while the late, great Buntin added 23.2. Buntin would set two Michigan records that year — field goal per- centage in a game after he made all 11 shots in a win over Butler and 151 free throws for a season — while Russell set the single-season mark with 670 points. U-M started the season No. 8 and finished No. 2 in the final AP poll. The Wolverines shared the Big Ten cham- pionship with Ohio State, posting an 11-3 record, their first conference title since the 1947-48 season. 10. 2013-14 ELITE EIGHT, CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS Michigan returned plenty of talent even after losing Burke and Hard- away to the NBA Draft. Stauskas' emergence from role player to Big Ten Player of the Year helped keep the Wolverines at the top of the confer- ence and allowed them to improve on the previous year's finish. They captured the championship by three games over second-place Wisconsin, finishing the Big Ten slate 15-3 for U-M's second championship in three years and the first outright title since 1986. The Wolverines beat rival Michigan State twice before falling to the Spar- tans in the Big Ten Tournament finale. They won three NCAA Tournament games before losing to Kentucky, 75- 72, in the Elite Eight on a last-second three-pointer. Stauskas, a unanimous first-team All-Big Ten selection, led the team with 17.5 points per game, while second-team all-conference selection LeVert added 13.1. Robinson (Big Ten honorable mention) and Walton (Big Ten All-Freshman) also earned conference honors, and John Beilein was named Coach of the Year by the league media. ❏ Michigan's 2017-18 team entered the season with modest expectations, but caught fire in the postseason and claimed its first Big Ten Tournament championship since 1998, then reached the national title contest. PHOTO BY SAMUEL MOUSIGIAN

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