March Madness is by far the best time of the year for college basketball fans (and for many sports fans in general), with the Michigan Wolverines' basketball program in particular having enjoyed immense success during this month in recent years.
U-M's stretch of three consecutive Sweet Sixteen appearances (since 2017) is tied for the longest streak in the nation, with Juwan Howard's crew looking to make it four straight over the coming weeks.
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Michigan will kick off its NCAA Tournament action Saturday at 3:00 PM ET against either Mount St. Mary's or Texas Southern, possessing a No. 1 seed for the first time since Howard and the Fab Five's sophomore year of 1993.
The injury to senior forward Isaiah Livers has undoubtedly put a damper on U-M's outlook heading into this year's Big Dance, but the Wolverines nevertheless still have a realistic shot of making a very, very deep run (they are a No. 1 seed, after all).
To get you set for this year's NCAA Tournament and the potential March magic Michigan may be in store for, we decided to take a quick stroll down memory lane and review some of the Wolverines' past successes (and heartbreaks) the program has endured in the Big Dance.
Below are a few quick facts to get us started:
NCAA Tournament appearances: 30 (1948, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021)
Sweet Sixteen appearances: 16 (1964, 1965, 1966, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019)
Elite Eight appearances: 14 (1948, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2013, 2014, 2018)
Final Four appearances: 8 (1964, 1965, 1976, 1989, 1992, 1993, 2013, 2018)
National Title appearances: 7 (1965, 1976, 1989, 1992, 1993, 2013, 2018)
National Championships: 1 (1989)
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One of the most noteworthy items on the list above is the fact that Michigan has played in the national championship game seven times, but has only come away with one title. If the Maize and Blue had just one more national title under their belt, the program would likely be viewed in a much more positive light.
The NCAA Tournament has existed since 1939, and has seen just 15 different schools win multiple championships — UCLA (11), Kentucky (8), North Carolina (6), Duke and Indiana (5), Connecticut (4), Kansas, Louisville and Villanova (3), and Cincinnati, Florida, Michigan State, NC State, Oklahoma State (formerly Oklahoma A&M) and San Francisco (2).
Four different coaches have led the Wolverines to the national title game, with Dave Strack doing so in 1965, Johnny Orr in 1976, Steve Fisher in 1989, 1992 and 1993, and John Beilein in 2013 and 2018.
Michigan's best chances to grab a second national championship (at least from a margin standpoint) came in 1993 and 2013 against North Carolina and Louisville, respectively.