The Numbers & Stats To Know Surrounding Howard's Debut Season In Ann Arbor
Year one of the Juwan Howard era is in the books with the Michigan Wolverines' basketball program, and it concluded with a 19-12 record and a 10-10 mark in league action.
Though it came to an abrupt ending that did not feature any postseason play, there were still plenty of positive takeaways to be had from it.
Below is a look at several of the most interesting facts and statistics encompassing the season as a whole.
1st Win at Purdue since 2014, when Michigan won in West Lafayette on Feb. 22. The Maize and Blue have now picked up victories in 12 of the 13 opposing Big Ten venues since the beginning of the 2017-18 season, with Ohio State being the lone exception (they last won in Columbus in 2014).
3-Game home losing streak from Jan. 22 through Feb. 4, when Michigan fell to Penn State, Illinois and Ohio State. It marked U-M's first three-game losing streak at Crisler Center since the 2014-15 season, when the Wolverines lost to N.J.I.T., Eastern Michigan and SMU from Dec. 6 through Dec. 20.
3rd Pre-conference tournament championship in the past four seasons when Michigan took home the Battle 4 Atlantis crown by defeating Iowa State, North Carolina and Gonzaga from Nov. 27-29. The previous two championships occurred in the 2016 2K Classic in Madison Square Garden and the 2018 Hall of Fame Tip-off in Uncasville, Conn.
No. 4 Is what Michigan jumped to in the Dec. 2 AP Poll, following its 7-0 start to the year that included notable triumphs over Creighton, Iowa State, then-No. 6 North Carolina and then-No. 8 Gonzaga. U-M going from unranked to No. 4 nationally was tied for the biggest leap in the history of the AP Poll (which was created in 1949).
5.6 Rebounds per game for freshman guard Franz Wagner this season, which were the third most of any guard in the Big Ten. The only two guards in the conference who averaged more were Iowa sophomore Joe Wieskamp (6.1) and Rutgers sophomore Ron Harper (5.8), though it's worth noting the latter is technically listed as a guard/forward.
7.9 Is how many assists per game senior point guard Zavier Simpson averaged this season, which were good for the third most in the nation behind the eight North Carolina A&T's Kameron Langley and UT Rio Grande Valley's Javon Levi averaged. Simpson's 7.9 were also a single-season school record, shattering the previous mark of 6.8 that Gary Grant tallied in 1987-88. The 236 total dimes the senior compiled this year were also the third most in a single campaign at U-M, only trailing the 244 he accumulated last season and the 260 Trey Burke racked up in 2012-13.
14 Assists for Simpson in the Nov. 22 win over Houston Baptist, which were tied for the second most in a game in school history. Derrick Walton holds the school's single-game mark, when he registered 16 in the 2017 blowout win at Nebraska.
18-Point triumph over Gonzaga (82-64) on Nov. 29, marking the Bulldogs' biggest margin of defeat since the 2014 NCAA Tournament when they lost to Arizona, 84-61. Michigan was only one of two teams to take down Gonzaga this season, with BYU on Feb. 22 being the other.
19 Wins for Howard in his debut campaign, which are tied with Bill Frieder in 1980-81 for the third most of any first-year Michigan coach in school history. Brian Ellerbe (25 wins) in 1997-98 and Steve Fisher (23) in 1989-90 are the only two U-M coaches who won more games than Howard in their debut campaigns. Howard's 61.2 winning percentage ranks seventh among U-M's 17 first-year head coaches, however, with George Veenker's mark of 81.2 percent (13-3) in 1928-29 standing as the program's best.
24-Point blowout of Indiana on Feb. 16 (89-65), which was tied for Michigan's fourth largest margin of victory ever against the Hoosiers (a 48-point beatdown in 1998 is the biggest). It was also the Wolverines' seventh consecutive triumph over Indiana, which is good for the longest streak in school history. U-M's best stretch against IU prior to the current one occurred from 1930-33 when it won five in a row.
25-Point win at Northwestern (79-54) on Feb. 12, marking Michigan's eighth largest margin of victory on the road since the start of the 1991-92 season. U-M's most lopsided road win since the Fab Five era began was on March 5, 2017, when it picked up a 36-point victory (93-57) at Nebraska.
33.3 Is the shooting percentage Michigan held MSU to in its Feb. 8 win over the Spartans, marking Michigan State's worst offensive showing of the year and its third worst since the start of the 2017-18 season.
69.3 Is the shooting percentage redshirt junior center Austin Davis finished with, making 52 of his 75 attempts on the year. Davis didn't take enough shots to qualify in the national standings, but if he had, his 69.3 shooting percentage would have been the second best in the country (behind Kansas redshirt junior center Udoka Azubuike's 74.8).
95.6 Was junior forward Isaiah Livers' free throw percentage on the year, connecting on 44 of his 46 shots from the charity stripe. Like Davis, Livers didn't have enough attempts to qualify in the national free throw standings, but if he had, his 95.6 shooting percentage would have been the best mark in the nation.
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