1991–92 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team

American college basketball season From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 1991–92 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team represented the University of Michigan in intercollegiate college basketball during the 1991–92 season. The team played its home games in the Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and was a member of the Big Ten Conference.

CoachesNo. 16
APNo. 15
Record24–8 (25–9 unadjusted) (11–7 Big Ten)
Quick facts Michigan Wolverines men's basketball, NCAA tournament, Runner-up (vacated) ...
1991–92 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Runner-up (vacated)
National Championship Game,
L 51–71 vs. Duke (vacated)
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 16
APNo. 15
Record24–8 (25–9 unadjusted) (11–7 Big Ten)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
MVPJalen Rose
CaptainFreddie Hunter
Home arenaCrisler Arena
Seasons
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More information Conf., Overall ...
1991–92 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
No. 3 Ohio State153 .833266  .813
No. 5 Indiana144 .778277  .794
No. 15 Michigan117 .611249  .727
No. 14 Michigan State117 .611228  .733
Iowa108 .5561911  .633
Purdue810 .4441815  .545
Minnesota810 .4441616  .500
Illinois711 .3891315  .464
Wisconsin414 .2221318  .419
Northwestern216 .111919  .321
Rankings from AP Poll
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Under the direction of head coach Steve Fisher, the team finished tied for third in the Big Ten Conference.[1] The team earned an invitation to the 1992 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament where it was national runner up.[2] Although the team compiled a 25–9 record during the season, the NCAA has adjusted the team's record to 24–8 due to sanctions revolving around the eligibility of Chris Webber resulting from the University of Michigan basketball scandal.[3] The team was ranked for the entire eighteen weeks of Associated Press Top Twenty-Five Poll, starting the season ranked twentieth, rising as high as number eleven and ending ranked fifteenth,[4] and it ended the season ranked seventeenth in the final USA Today/CNN Poll.[5] The team had a 6–6 record against ranked opponents, including the following victories: January 9, 1992, against the number sixteen ranked Iowa Hawkeyes 80–77 (overtime) at Carver–Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa, January 29 against the number thirteen ranked Michigan State Spartans 89–79 (overtime) at the Breslin Student Events Center in East Lansing, Michigan, March 8 against the number two ranked Indiana Hoosiers 68–60 at Crisler Arena, March 27 the number eleven ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys 75–72 in the 1992 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament at Rupp Arena, March 29 the number three ranked and archrival Ohio State Buckeyes 75–71 at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky, and April 4 against the number twelve ranked Cincinnati Bearcats 76–72 at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis.[6]

The team had rotating captains on a game-by-game basis, and Chris Webber earned team MVP.[7] The team's leading scorers were Jalen Rose (597 points), Chris Webber (528 points), and Juwan Howard (377 points). The leading rebounders were Webber (340), Howard (212), and Rose (146).[8]

During the season, the team won the Big Ten Conference statistical championships in rebounding and rebounding margin with at 38.2 average and 5.8 average margin in conference games, respectively.[9] Chris Webber became the first freshman to lead the Big Ten in rebounds with a 9.8 average in 18 conference games and 10.0 average in 34 overall games.[10][11] However, his 340 rebounds in 34 games fell short of Phil Hubbard's school freshman single-season record of 352 rebounds set as a member of the 1975–76 team that still stands as the school record as of 2010.[12]

Jalen Rose set the current school record for points scored by a freshman 597.[13] Rose also set the school single-season record for minutes played with 1132 minutes. The following season, four players surpassed this total.[14]

The team set the school record for single-season team blocks with 182 in 34 games, surpassing the 1986 teams total of 146 in 33 games. The following season the team would rebreak the record.[15]

The Wolverines 25–9 record was an improvement on the previous year's record of 14–15.[16] Due to the success of the Fab Five, athletic royalties increased from 2 million dollars in 1990 ($4.9 million today) to 4.4 million dollars ($10.1 million) in 1992.[17]

The team, coached by Steve Fisher, is best remembered for the entry of a talented freshman class, known as the Fab Five, that would become the starting lineup:

Reserve point guard Rob Pelinka would go on to greater fame as an agent for numerous NBA stars, most notably Kobe Bryant, and as General Manager for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Although the Wolverines would make the NCAA title game that season, losing to defending national champion Duke, they vacated their Final Four appearance in the wake of a major scandal which resulted in Webber being ruled ineligible due to him receiving improper payments from a major booster.

Schedule

More information Date time, TV, Rank# ...
Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Non-conference regular season
December 2*
No. 25 at Detroit W 100–74  1–0
Cobo Arena 
Detroit
December 7*
No. 25 at Cleveland State W 80–61  2–0
Wolstein Center 
Cleveland
December 9*
No. 18 Chicago State W 112–62  3–0
Crisler Arena 
Ann Arbor, Michigan
December 12*
No. 18 Eastern Michigan W 91–77  4–0
Crisler Arena 
Ann Arbor, Michigan
December 14*
3:45 p.m.
No. 18 No. 1 Duke
Duke–Michigan rivalry
L 85–88 OT 4–1
Crisler Arena 
Ann Arbor, Michigan
December 16*
No. 15 Central Michigan W 86–70  5–1
Crisler Arena 
Ann Arbor, Michigan
December 21*
No. 15 Rice W 87–70  6–1
Crisler Arena 
Ann Arbor, Michigan
December 28*
No. 11 vs. BYU
Red Lobster Classic
W 86–83  7–1
Orlando Arena 
Orlando, Florida
December 30*
No. 11 vs. Virginia Tech
Red Lobster Classic
W 63–51  8–1
Orlando Arena 
Orlando, Florida
Big Ten Conference regular season
January 9
No. 11 at No. 16 Iowa W 80–77 OT[18] 9–1
(1–0)
Carver-Hawkeye Arena (15,500)
Iowa City, Iowa
January 11
No. 11 at Minnesota L 64–73  9–2
(1–1)
 
Minneapolis
January 15
No. 15 Purdue L 60–65  9–3
(1–2)
Crisler Arena 
Ann Arbor, Michigan
January 18
No. 15 at Illinois W 68–61  10–3
(2–2)
Assembly Hall (15,985)
Champaign, Illinois
January 21
No. 16 at No. 4 Indiana L 74–89  10–4
(2–3)
Assembly Hall 
Bloomington, Indiana
January 25
No. 16 Wisconsin W 98–83  11–4
(3–3)
Crisler Arena 
Ann Arbor, Michigan
January 29
No. 15 at No. 13 Michigan State
Michigan–Michigan State rivalry
W 89–79 OT 12–4
(4–3)
Breslin Center 
East Lansing, Michigan
February 2
No. 15 No. 10 Ohio State
Michigan–Ohio State rivalry
L 58–68  12–5
(4–4)
Crisler Arena 
Ann Arbor, Michigan
February 5
No. 15 Northwestern W 81–58  13–5
(5–4)
Crisler Arena 
Ann Arbor, Michigan
February 9*
No. 15 at Notre Dame W 74–65  14–5
Edmund P. Joyce Center 
South Bend, Indiana
February 12
No. 17 Iowa W 79–74  15–5
(6–4)
Crisler Arena 
Ann Arbor, Michigan
February 15
No. 17 No. 12 Michigan State
Michigan–Michigan State Rivalry
L 59–70  15–6
(6–5)
Crisler Arena 
Ann Arbor, Michigan
February 19
No. 20 Minnesota W 95–70  16–6
(7–5)
Crisler Arena 
Ann Arbor, Michigan
February 22
No. 20 at Northwestern W 76–63  17–6
(8–5)
 
Evanston, Illinois
February 26
No. 17 at Wisconsin L 78–96  17–7
(8–6)
 
Madison, Wisconsin
March 3
No. 18 at No. 5 Ohio State
Michigan–Ohio State rivalry
L 66–77  17–8
(8–7)
St. John Arena 
Columbus, Ohio
March 8
No. 18 No. 2 Indiana W 68–60  18–8
(9–7)
Crisler Arena 
Ann Arbor, Michigan
March 11
No. 14 at Purdue W 70–61  19–8
(10–7)
Mackey Arena 
West Lafayette, Indiana
March 14
No. 14 Illinois W 68–59  20–8
(11–7)
Crisler Arena (13,605)
Ann Arbor, Michigan
NCAA tournament
March 20*
(6 SE) No. 15 vs. (11 SE) Temple
NCAA tournament • First round
W 73–66[19]  21–8
The Omni 
Atlanta
March 22*
(6 SE) No. 15 vs. (14 SE) East Tennessee State
NCAA Tournament • Second Round
W 102–90  22–8
The Omni 
Atlanta
March 27*
(6 SE) No. 15 vs. (2 SE) No. 11 Oklahoma State
NCAA Tournament • Regional semifinals
W 75–72  23–8
Rupp Arena 
Lexington, Kentucky
March 29*
(6 SE) No. 15 vs. (1 SE) No. 3 Ohio State
NCAA Tournament • Regional Final
Michigan–Ohio State rivalry
W 75–71 OT[20] 24–8
Rupp Arena 
Lexington, Kentucky
April 4*
CBS
(6 SE) No. 15 vs. (4 MW) No. 12 Cincinnati
NCAA Tournament • National semifinals
W 76–72  25–8
Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 
Minneapolis
April 6*
CBS
(6 SE) No. 15 vs. (1 E) No. 1 Duke
NCAA Tournament • National Championship
Duke–Michigan rivalry
L 51–71  25–9
Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 
Minneapolis
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
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[21]

Regular season

As Michigan celebrated Midnight Madness on October 15, 1991, there was already talk that at least four of the five freshmen would be starting before the season ended.[22] (The five eventually started in a combined 304 of a possible 350 man-games among them during their first two seasons.)[23] In the Elite Eight round of the 1992 NCAA Men's Division I basketball tournament, Michigan earned a rematch against a Jimmy Jackson-led Ohio State Buckeyes team that had beaten them twice during the regular season by double digits.[24] Michigan won the rematch, during which the Fab Five scored all but two Wolverines points.[25] When the 24–8 Wolverines reached the Final Four round of the tournament, they found themselves matched against a 29–4 Bob Huggins-coached Cincinnati Bearcats team that averaged 83.6 points per game and had lost to only three teams, two of which had beaten Michigan.[26] Nick Van Exel, who became the starter in the middle of the season, led Cincinnati in postseason scoring.[27] Howard, King and Riley shaved their heads for the game.[28] Michigan won and earned a rematch with the Duke Blue Devils team that had beaten them by three points in overtime in December.[29][30] Duke scored in its final 12 possessions of the championship game, going on a 23–6 run to win by a final margin of 71–51.[31]

Statistics

The team posted the following statistics:[32]

More information Name, GP ...
Name GP GS Min Avg FG FGA FG% 3FG 3FGA 3FG% FT FTA FT% OR DR RB Avg Ast Avg PF DQ TO Stl Blk Pts Avg
Jalen Rose3433113233.32064240.486361110.3241491970.75652941464.31354.075011438859717.6
Chris Webber*3434109032.12294120.55614540.259561130.49612821234010.0762.299595548452815.5
Juwan Howard343195628.11503330.450020.000771120.688661462126.2621.8107399142137711.1
Jimmy King342195528.11282580.49628600.46753720.73633791123.3782.3530722893379.9
Eric Riley32349715.5821390.5900037640.57854851394.3210.7844507192016.3
Ray Jackson341559217.4661210.5452100.20021460.45747561033.0581.77935224111554.6
Michael Talley291452718.2511320.38611380.28939530.736721281.0551.9491502341525.2
James Voskuil311445314.6501040.48116460.34821360.5831744612.0321.06422912101374.4
Rob Pelinka2802549.121520.4048250.32027310.8711827451.6190.72401930772.8
Freddie Hunter2952789.69170.529007120.5832532572.0210.737014127250.9
Richmond McIver110666.0690.667008200.400413171.620.2110715201.8
Kirk Taylor100414.15130.385150.200120.5002350.520.250221121.2
Samuel Mitchell40246.05140.357020.000250.40065112.830.820302123.0
Jason Bossard70121.73100.300270.286000000.000.01010081.1
Christopher Seter60132.2130.33300340.7504481.320.31000050.8
Chip Armer60101.7230.66700020.0000000.000.02010140.7
TEAM343255872.62
Season Total34101420440.4961183600.3285017690.651495876137140.356616.669318610218182264777.9
Opponents3484620410.4141604670.3435748140.705447671111832.945513.47072152922557242671.3
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* Denotes players whose individual records, awards and other honors have been vacated due to NCAA and U-M sanctions

Rankings

More information Week, Poll ...
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
Week
PollPre12345678910111213141516Final
AP Poll[4]202325181511111115161515172017181415
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NCAA tournament

On March 20 as the number six seed in the first round of the southeast region of the 1992 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in Atlanta at the Omni Coliseum, the team defeated number eleven seed Temple 73–66. On March 22, the team defeated number fourteen seed East Tennessee State 102–90 in Atlanta. Then in the sweet sixteen, in Lexington, Kentucky, at Rupp Arena on March 27, the team defeated number two seeded Oklahoma State 75–72. On March 29 in the elite eight round in Lexington, the team defeated number one seed Ohio State 75–71 in overtime. In the national semifinal round of the final four on April 4 in Minneapolis at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, the team defeated number four seed Cincinnati 76–72. However, in the championship game at the Metrodome on April 6, the team lost to number one seed Duke 71–51.[2][6]

The team established the NCAA record for fewest single-game three-point field goals made in a final four (1 vs. Duke on April 6, 1992), a record the team would surpass the following year. It also established the record for lowest single-game three-point field goal percentage with a 1-for-11 performance (9.1%) that stood until 2006.[33] Although these final four records have been surpassed, both of these marks continue to stand as NCAA records for the championship game.[34]

Team players drafted into the NBA

Five players from this team were selected in the NBA draft.[35][36][37]

More information Year, Round ...
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See also

References

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