The John Beilein era at Michigan is officially in the books, leaving Wolverine fans with an abundance of memories on his way out.
Picking the five most memorable regular-season contests from 12 years worth of games is a difficult task, and results in a list that would likely differ immensely depending on who is asked.
With that being said, we've taken our best shot at it and have come up with a group of games that is unsurprisingly dominated by many of Beilein's rivalry wins.
Let the debate commence:
5. March 5, 2011 — Michigan State (W, 70-63)
This game helped ring in a new era of Michigan basketball in a lot of ways, with the Wolverines basically punching their ticket to the NCAA Tournament in the regular-season finale.
The contest was viewed as a de facto play-in game to the Big Dance, as Michigan entered with an 18-12 record and MSU with a 17-12 mark.
The triumph capped off U-M's first season sweep of the Spartans since 1994, and unbeknownst at the time, was the second victory in a span that saw Michigan win six out of eight against its bitter rivals (from 2011-14).
No, the game didn't carry any Big Ten title implications and didn't necessarily hold the magnitude that later matchups would have, but it helped establish what Beilein was building in Ann Arbor and gave fans a glimpse of what was to come.
Michigan actually never trailed in the March 5 contest, and found itself with a 15-3 lead at the 12:54 mark of the first half.
MSU never went away, however, and even trimmed the deficit to four (63-59) with just 1:28 remaining.
The game ended in fun rivalry fashion when U-M point guard Darius Morris took the ball coast to coast, dodging MSU defenders along the way to lay it in with just four seconds left, cementing the 70-63 win in the process.
He then politely asked Spartan point guard Kalin Lucas to depart from the Crisler Arena floor.
Morris finished with 13 points, five boards and six assists, while Tim Hardaway (a freshman at the time) poured in 20 points of his own.
4. Jan. 25, 2014 — @ Michigan State (W, 80-75)
Michigan made history with this victory, with the win marking the first time in school history the program had ever beaten three straight top-10 opponents in consecutive games (MSU was ranked No. 3).
The streak started on Jan. 18 with a win at No. 3 Wisconsin and was followed up with a triumph over No. 10 Iowa on Jan. 22.
Both Michigan and Michigan State came into the Jan. 25 showdown undefeated in conference play (6-0 and 7-0, respectively), marking the first time the two rivals had ever met that late into a season with perfect league records still intact.
Due to the magnitude of the game, ESPN's College GameDay was in attendance.
After U-M weathered a poor first half of play (MSU held a 36-30 lead at the break), it went on a furious — and unexpected — run to close out the game.
A Nik Stauskas three-pointer with just 3:12 remaining gave the Wolverines a 63-60 edge and the lead for good, and Derrick Walton (a freshman at the time) helped ice the game by going 8-for-8 from the free throw line from that point on.
The triumph was the first of what would eventually be the second regular-season sweep of the Spartans in four years, and unbeknownst at the time, was also a key victory in Michigan's eventual outright Big Ten title.
Stauskas was his usual dominant self during the game (19 points on 5-of-6 shooting from three), and walked off the Breslin Center court by blowing several kisses to the MSU crowd.
3. Feb. 5, 2013 — Ohio State (W, 76-74)
In terms of sheer excitement and suspense, this one might just top all the others on the list.
Ohio State entered 17-4 and ranked No. 10 in the country, while U-M came in at 20-2 and fresh off just its second loss of the season (at No. 3 Indiana on Feb. 2).
The Wolverines jumped out to a quick 13-4 lead five minutes into the game and looked like they may cruise, but Ohio State took control from that point on.
The Buckeyes led 31-30 at halftime and even built a 45-38 advantage with 14:25 remaining in the game.
That's when Hardaway took the affair into his own hands, making five three-pointers over the next nine minutes to give Michigan a 62-60 edge with 5:26 to go.
With things knotted at 72 and U-M holding for the last shot, Trey Burke missed a three-pointer with two seconds left that would have won it, and the two rivals headed to overtime.
Michigan clung to a 76-74 lead with seven seconds remaining in the extra session when OSU's Aaron Craft drove to the basket in an attempt to tie the game, but was blocked from behind by Hardaway.
Craft clearly thought he was fouled as he laid on his back under the basket with his arms extended and the Michigan players celebrating around him, but the refs paid no attention to his pleas.
Hardaway finished as the night's leading scorer with 23 points (6-of-9 from three), while the victory kicked off a three-game winning streak against the Buckeyes.
2. Feb. 23, 2014 — Michigan State (W, 79-70)
The second 2014 showdown between Michigan and Michigan State came in late February with both teams tied atop the conference standings (in the loss column), and major Big Ten title implications obviously at stake.
With U-M already having defeated MSU once (No. 4 on the list above), the Spartans entered the matchup seeking revenge and hoping to avoid a season sweep.
A back-and-forth first half saw Michigan State take a 36-34 lead into the break, and eventually hold a 52-51 advantage with 10:29 left to play.
That's when Stauskas took the game over (just as he did so often in 2014), hitting two threes in the next minute and a half to give his club the lead for good.
His two triples were part of a 13-0 Michigan run that gave it a 64-52 advantage with 7:23 to play, and the Spartans never got closer than eight points the rest of the way.
Stauskas finished with 25 points and Caris LeVert with 23, in a game where the Maize and Blue committed just three turnovers.
The triumph also cemented U-M's place in the Big Ten driver's seat, a position it would never relinquish en route to a 15-3 conference record and an outright league crown.
1. Jan. 13, 2018 — @ Michigan State (W, 82-72)
Michigan entered the 2018 contest at MSU unranked and with a 3-2 record in conference play, while the Spartans came in at 16-2 and No. 4 in the country.
It was still a mystery as to how good the Maize and Blue truly were at that juncture of the season, and as a result, nobody gave them much of a chance to pull off the upset.
The two teams traded blows throughout much of the first half, with Michigan State taking a 37-34 lead into the locker room.
The contest turned into the Moe Wagner show down the stretch though, as the German big man's 27-point performances will undoubtedly go down as one of the best in the rivalry's history.
His stepback baseline jumper gave Michigan a 67-61 lead at the 3:51 mark, before his ankle-breaking move that literally caused MSU's Nick Ward to fall to the floor extended U-M's edge to 69-61 with 3:07 to go.
Isaiah Livers put the exclamation point on the win with a two-handed slam with 12 seconds remaining, capping off the 82-72 victory.
Beilein's club once again accomplished what many said it wouldn't be able to do, proving to be unphased by the naysayers and by the hostile environment.
It also marked his third victory in East Lansing, and was actually the first of a two-game sweep of the Spartans that year (the second win came in the Big Ten Tournament).
The triumph was basically a precursor to Michigan's ability to win the biggest games on its schedule that year, en route to its appearance in the National Championship.
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