Season Review: 2017-18 Men's Basketball
6/25/2018 1:55:00 PM | Men's Basketball
• Team Captains: Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman, Duncan Robinson, Moritz Wagner
• Record: 33-8 overall, 13-5 Big Ten (Tie-4th place)
• Big Ten Tournament: Champions (back-to-back)
• NCAA Tournament: National Finalist
Head coach John Beilein guided the 2017-18 Wolverines to their second Final Four and national title game appearance in the last six seasons, as U-M continued to prove its elite status within college basketball.
The Wolverines compiled an 11-2 non-conference record that included an overtime victory over UCLA and a pair of wins in the Maui Invitational. As the calendar flipped to 2018, the Maize and Blue recorded an impressive 82-72 victory in East Lansing against then fourth-ranked Michigan State, just the third win for the Wolverines at the Breslin Center since 1998.
A number of close losses, including two against top-five ranked Purdue by a combined four points, left U-M at 8-5 in Big Ten play coming down the home stretch. A victory at Wisconsin, just Michigan's second in Madison since 2000, helped propel the Wolverines to five-straight wins to close the regular season. Included in that five-game stretch was a 12-point win over No. 8/9 Ohio State in the home finale to cap a 15-1 season at Crisler Center.
The defending Big Ten Tournament champions, Michigan went to the Big Apple intent on retaining its crown. After slipping past Iowa in overtime in their opening game, the Wolverines ran past Nebraska (77-58), Michigan State (75-64) and Purdue (75-66) to capture U-M's second straight title at Madison Square Garden.
Sent to Wichita, Kansas, as a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, U-M downed No. 14 seed Montana in its tournament opener, 61-47, before reaching the Sweet 16 with a 64-63 victory over No. 6 seed Houston on a remarkable buzzer-beater from Jordan Poole.
Moving on to Los Angeles, the Wolverines dominated No. 7 seed Texas A&M, 99-72, as U-M knocked down 14 3-pointers. Reaching the Elite Eight, U-M battled with No. 9 seed Florida State until the final minutes as the Maize and Blue used a 58-54 victory to advance to its second Final Four in the last six years.
Reaching San Antonio for the Final Four, the Wolverines trailed by seven at the half against Cinderella Loyola-Chicago in the national semifinal. But a 24-point effort by Moritz Wagner led a second-half comeback, outscoring the Ramblers by 19 points (47-28) to move on to the national title game with a 69-57 victory.
Facing No. 1 seed Villanova, the Wolverines battled for most of the first half before the Wildcats pulled away late and never looked back, going on to win their second national title in three years with a 79-62 victory. Despite the loss, U-M closed with a 33-8 record, which set the program's mark for most wins in a season.
Team Highlights
• With the help of a 14-game win streak from mid-February to the national title game, Michigan finished the 2017-18 season with a 33-8 overall record, setting a new program record for wins in a season. It marked the fourth 30-plus win season in program history and the second under head coach John Beilein, who went 31-8 during the 2012-13 campaign.
• U-M finished the Big Ten regular season with a 13-5 mark, which was good for a fourth-place tie with Nebraska. The 13 wins marked the third straight season with 10-plus wins and sixth time in the last seven seasons. Overall, it was the 32nd time in program history with 10 wins or more -- six of which belong to Beilein.
• Winning four games in four days for a second straight year helped U-M repeat as Big Ten Tournament champions. After a narrow 77-71 OT win over No. 12 seed Iowa in the second round, U-M defeated No. 4 seed Nebraska (77-58), No. 1 seed Michigan State (75-64) and No. 3 seed Purdue (75-66) for back-to-back titles. The Wolverines became just the third team to win the conference tournament in two straight years. Additionally, the win over the No. 1 seed Spartans made it three-straight years the Wolverines defeated the top seed.
• For the second time in six years, Michigan advanced to the NCAA Final Four and the national title game. With the third straight selection and eighth in the last 10 seasons, Beilein's Wolverines advanced to their fourth Sweet 16 and third Elite Eight in the last six years.
• Normally known for its offensive prowess, Michigan led the Big Ten in scoring defense for first time since 1964 and was eighth nationally in scoring defense (63.3 points per game allowed). Overall, U-M was third in Defensive Efficiency according to the KenPom ratings (90.5).
Individual Highlights
• All-Big Ten second teamer Moritz Wagner had 33 double figure games and led U-M in scoring with 14.6 ppg. He has posted 10 games with 20 points or more, including that career-best 27 in the upset win at Michigan State (Jan. 13). In addition to his scoring, Wagner also led U-M with 7.1 rebounds per game and recorded eight games with 10 boards or more, which led to seven double-doubles.
• After leaving early for the NBA Draft, Wagner was selected with the 25th overall pick by the Los Angeles Lakers. He becomes the ninth NBA selection under Beilein since 2013, the seventh first-round pick and gives him a player selected in each of the last three drafts.
• In his first active season after transferring from Kentucky, NCAA West Regional MVP Charles Matthews averaged 13.0 points per game, with seven 20-plus-point games and a career-best 31 points against Alabama A&M (Dec. 21) -- the first game with a U-M player scoring 30 points or more in nearly three years (two years, nine months, 14 days by Aubrey Dawkins). Matthews balanced his scoring with 5.5 rebounds (second on the team) and 2.4 assists (third) and added four double-doubles.
• After starting the first 18 games, Duncan Robinson made the move to come off the bench at the start of the Big Ten schedule. The change worked as he became the Big Ten's Sixth Man of the Year, as he made a team-best 78 3-pointers and averaged 9.2 points per game. Overall, with 237 3-pointers, he ranks fourth all-time at U-M and is the ninth player to reach the 200 plateau in a career.
• Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman (1,313), Duncan Robinson (1,072) and Moritz Wagner (1,114) reached the 1,000 point mark during the season. The last time U-M had three 1,000-point scorers playing at same time was the 2006-07 season, when the Wolverines featured three 1,000 point scorers -- Dion Harris (1,599; 2004-07), Courtney Sims (1,329, 2004-07) and Lester Abram (1,275; 2003-07).
• Zavier Simpson played in all 41 games, starting the final 25. Averaging 7.3 points per game, he led U-M in assists (150, 3.7 per game) and steals (53, 1.3 per game). After posting only one double-figure scoring game over the first nine games of the season, Simpson added 17 over the final 32 games, including a career-high 16, twice -- both road games against top-five opponents -- at No. 4/4 Michigan State (W, 82-72) and at No. 3/3 Purdue (L, 92-88).
• John Beilein and his Wolverines joined together with Team IMPACT to sign Jude Stamper to a National Letter of Intent early in the season. A 12-year-old from Monroe, Michigan, Stamper was born with Arthrogryposis Multi-Congenital disorder with Escobar Syndrome. This condition prevents him from getting normal bend in his joints (ankles, knees, hips, neck, etc.). An immediate impact for the Maize and Blue, Stamper became an integral part of the team attending practices, home games as well as the NCAA run to the Final Four.
Honors and Awards
Muhammad-Ali
Abdur-Rahkman
Charles
Matthews
Duncan
Robinson
Zavier
Simpson
Moritz
Wagner
National Awards
NCAA All-Final Four: Moritz Wagner
NCAA West Regional Most Outstanding Player: Charles Matthews
NCAA All-West Regional: Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman, Charles Matthews and Moritz Wagner
USBWA All-District: Moritz Wagner (District V)
NABC All-District: Moritz Wagner (second team)
Conference Awards
All-Big Ten: Moritz Wagner (second team), Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman (honorable mention)
Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year: Duncan Robinson
Big Ten Sportsmanship Honoree: Duncan Robinson
Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Player: Moritz Wagner
All-Big Ten Tournament: Moritz Wagner and Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman
Preseason All-Big Ten: Moritz Wagner
Academic Awards
Academic All-Big Ten
Austin Davis, So., Undeclared, Onsted, Mich.
Charles Matthews, Jr., General Students, Chicago, Ill.
Duncan Robinson, 5th-Sr, Sport Management, New Castle, N.H.
Jaaron Simmons, Gr., Social Work, Dayton, Ohio
Moritz Wagner, Jr., Sport Management, Berlin, Germany
Michigan Academic Achievement
C.J. Baird
Austin Davis
Rico Ozuna-Harrison
Austin Hatch
Charles Matthews
Duncan Robinson
Jaaron Simmons
Jon Teske
Moritz Wagner
Luke Wilson
Team Awards
Bill Buntin Most Valuable Player: Moritz Wagner and Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman
Wayman Britt Outstanding Defensive Player: Zavier Simpson
Travis Conlan Sportsmanship Award: Duncan Robinson
Rudy Tomjanovich Most Improved Player: Zavier Simpson
Sixth Man Award: Duncan Robinson
Steve Grote Hustle Award: Zavier Simpson
Thad Garner Leadership Award: Duncan Robinson
Iron Man Award: Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman
Award for Outstanding Free Throw Shooting: Duncan Robinson
Morgan/Bodnar Brothers Award for Academic Achievement: Moritz Wagner
Gary Grant Award for Most Assists: Zavier Simpson
Loy Vaught Rebounding Award: Moritz Wagner
