U-Ms NCAA Tournament history
Michigan may be known as a football school, but the Wolverines have a pretty rich basketball history, too.
How does Michigan stack up against the rest of the Big Ten when it comes to NCAA Tournament history? TheWolverine.com has the answer:
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Number Of Appearances: The Wolverines will be playing in their 24th all-time NCAA Tournament this year.
That ranks sixth all-time amongst Big Ten teams. Not surprisingly, Indiana has been to the Big Dance more than any other team in the conference:
1. Indiana - 37
2. Illinois - 30
3. Ohio State - 29
4. Michigan State 27
5. Purdue - 26
6. Michigan - 24
7. Iowa - 22
8. Wisconsin - 19
9. Minnesota - 12
10. Penn State - 9
11. Nebraska - 6
12. Northwestern - 0
Nationally, Kentucky - who is not in the field of 68 in 2013 - owns the most NCAA Tournament appearances of all time, with 51.
All-Time Record: The Wolverines have an all-time record of 43-22 in the NCAA Tournament (66.2 percent).
In their 23 appearances before 2013, they were bounced from the tournament after just one game four times: 2012 (Ohio 65, Michigan 60); 1996 (Texas 80, Michigan 76); 1995 (Western Kentucky 82, Michigan 76); and 1975 (UCLA 103, Michigan 91).
Michigan's winning percentage ranks third all time among Big Ten teams:
1. Michigan State - 54-25 (68.4 percent)
2. Indiana - 62-31 (66.7 percent)
3. Michigan - 43-22 (66.2 percent)
4. Ohio State - 51-27 (65.4 percent)
5. Wisconsin - 25-17 (59.5 percent)
6. Purdue - 35-26 (57.4 percent)
7. Illinois - 39-30 (56.5 percent)
8. Iowa - 27-23 (54.0 percent)
9. Minnesota - 12-11 (52.2 percent)
10. Penn State - 9-11 (45.0 percent)
11. Nebraska - 0-6 (0.0 percent).
12. Northwestern - 0-0 (0.0 percent)
Nationally, Duke has the best all-time winning percentage in the NCAA Tournament. The Blue Devils' have won 96 of 128 games (75.5 percent.
First Appearance: The Wolverines made their first-ever NCAA Tournament in 1948, where they lost to Holy Cross in the regional semifinal.
Michigan's first NCAA Tournament appearances was nearly a decade after the beginning of the event, which began in 1939.
Here's a list of Big Ten teams, ranked by the year of their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament:
1. Ohio State - 1939
2. Indiana - 1940
3. Wisconsin - 1941
4. Illinois - 1942
4. Penn State - 1942
6. Michigan - 1948
7. Iowa - 1955
8. Michigan State - 1957
9. Purdue - 1969
10. Minnesota - 1972
11. Nebraska - 1986
12. Northwestern - N/A
Just one Big Ten team - Ohio State - participated in the inaugural NCAA Tournament. That year, the Buckeyes advanced to the national championship game, where they lost to Oregon, 46-33.
Although the Ducks won the title, Ohio State's Jimmy Hull won the tournament Most Outstanding Player Award.
Titles Won: The Wolverines have navigated the entire tournament once, when the won the 1989 National Championship.
Michigan is one of just five Big Ten teams that have won at least one NCAA Tournament National Championship.
Indiana leads the conference pack with five national titles (1940, 1953, 1976, 1981 and 1987). Michigan State has won two (1979 and 2000). No other Big Ten team has won more than one: Wisconsin (1941) and Ohio State (1960).
UCLA has won more national titles than any other program (11). The only other program in the nation with more national titles than Indiana is Kentucky, which won its 8th title in 2012.
Final Four Appearances: The Wolverines have been to six Final Fours in their history.
Michigan first made the Final Four during the Cazzie Russell era (1964, 1965), went back when Rickey Green (1976), made an incredible run in the 1980s (1989) and made it back twice during the Fab Five era (1992, 1993).
The Wolverines are one of 10 Big Ten teams than have made at least one Final Four. Here's a ranking of Big Ten teams by Final Four appearances:
1. Ohio State - 11
2. Indiana - 8
3. Michigan State - 8
4. Michigan - 6
5. Illinois - 5
6. Iowa - 3
7. Purdue - 2
8. Wisconsin - 2
9. Minnesota - 1
10. Penn State - 1
11. Nebraska - N/A
12. Northwestern - N/A
North Carolina and UCLA are tied for the most NCAA Tournament Final Four appearances all-time with 18.