The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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12 THE WOLVERINE APRIL 2022 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS Men's Basketball Keeps Decade-Plus Postseason Pedigree Alive Michigan never quite rounded into the team it was expected to be in the preseason but did enough throughout the year to build an NCAA Tournament résumé. The Wolverines are heading back to March Madness for the 10th time in the last 12 seasons, keeping the program in the spotlight during college basketball's biggest month. Michigan's two postseason misses in recent history came in wildly different circumstances. Injuries and youth crippled the team during the 2014-15 season, dropping U-M to its first sub .500 record in conference play since the 2009-10 campaign. Head coach John Beilein missed the NCAA Tournament for the only time in his final nine seasons on the job. The most recent miss came at a time when the entire sport was laid off. Juwan Howard's first season at the helm was cut short before the 2020 Big Ten Tourna- ment began due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The good news for the Wolverines is that early tournament losses are an out- lier. They were upset at the hands of the Ohio Bobcats in 2011-12, prematurely ending a season where they shared the Big Ten title. The other early exit came in 2015-16 in a loss to Notre Dame in the First Four. Time will tell where the Wolverines ultimately finish in The Big Dance, but they have advanced to the Sweet 16 or further in six of the program's last seven tournament appearances. There is plenty of U-M history to suggest a run through The Big Dance is never out of the question. Season Coach Overall Big Ten Finish Postseason 2010-11 John Beilein 21-14 9-9 T-4 NCAA third round 2011-12 John Beilein 24-10 13-5 T-1st NCAA second round 2012-13 John Beilein 31-8 12-6 T-4th NCAA runner-up 2013-14 John Beilein 28-9 15-3 1st NCAA Elite Eight 2014-15 John Beilein 16-16 8-10 9th — 2015-16 John Beilein 23-13 10-8 8th NCAA first round 2016-17 John Beilein 26-12 10-8 T-5th NCAA Sweet 16 2017-18 John Beilein 33-8 13-5 T-4th NCAA runner-up 2018-19 John Beilein 30-7 15-5 3rd NCAA Sweet 16 2019-20 Juwan Howard 19-12 10-10 9th No postseason (COVID-19) 2020-21 Juwan Howard 23-5 14-3 1st NCAA Elite Eight 2021-22 Juwan Howard 17-14 11-9 T-7th TBD Head coach Juwan Howard has guided the Wolverines to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL MAIZE AND BLUE NOTEBOOK THREE FOOTBALL ALUMS CRACK PFF'S TOP 101 LIST Three former U-M football players were among the very best in the NFL this year, according to Pro Football Focus. Tampa Bay Buccaneers quar- terback Tom Brady, Green Bay Packers pass rusher Rashan Gary and New Eng- land Patriots offensive guard Michael Onwenu were represented on PFF's list of the top 101 players in the league. Brady, who ranked ninth among all players, played 1,240 snaps in 2021 and graded out with a 92.0 mark this season. It was a bit of a slide for the for- mer Michigan quarterback, who was No. 4 in 2020. "The greatest of all time finished his NFL career still among the best in the NFL, earning a 92.0 PFF grade at 44 years old," PFF noted. "Brady led the NFL in big-time throws (42) in the regular season and was one of just two passers who registered a turn- over-worthy play rate of less than 2.0. Brady even went out on the back of a spectacular comeback that fell short when Tampa Bay's defense lost track of [Rams wide receiver Cooper] Kupp one time too many." Gary thrived in his role with an op- portunity for an extended run with the Packers. Injuries helped him get on the field more and provided the chance for a breakout. Gary's play earned him a season grade of 89.8 and made him the 34th-best player on PFF's list. He was unranked last year. "Gary's overall PFF grade and pass- rush grade (90.1) were both career- highs and massive jumps from last sea- son," they wrote. "He finished the year with 87 pressures when including the playoffs and had a dominant outing in the team's playoff defeat to San Fran- cisco, doing everything in his power to try and secure a win." Onwenu, a sixth-round pick in 2020, finished inside the top 101 but did slip compared to last year, where he ranked No. 60 overall. His playing time decreased, but he was still able to walk out of the season with an 88.3 grade and No. 84 overall ranking. "For some reason, Onwenu was the player forced to make his way to the bench when everybody got healthy on the New England offensive line,"