1991–92 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team


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.

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
1991–92 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 3 Ohio State 15 3   .833 26 6   .813
No. 5 Indiana 14 4   .778 27 7   .794
No. 15 Michigan 11 7   .611 24 9   .727
No. 14 Michigan State 11 7   .611 22 8   .733
Iowa 10 8   .556 19 11   .633
Purdue 8 10   .444 18 15   .545
Minnesota 8 10   .444 16 16   .500
Illinois 7 11   .389 13 15   .464
Wisconsin 4 14   .222 13 18   .419
Northwestern 2 16   .111 9 19   .321
Rankings from AP Poll

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 National Collegiate Athletic Association has adjusted the team's record to 24–8 due to 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 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 ($4.7 million today) to 4.4 million dollars ($9.6 million) in 1992.[17]

The team, coached by Steve Fisher, is best remembered for the entry of a remarkably 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 involving many years of improper payments from a major booster to several former players, among them Webber.

Schedule

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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 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 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
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 Final
L 51–71  25–9
Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 
Minneapolis
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

[21]

Regular season

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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

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The team posted the following statistics:[32]

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 Rose 34 33 1132 33.3 206 424 0.486 36 111 0.324 149 197 0.756 52 94 146 4.3 135 4.0 75 0 114 38 8 597 17.6
Chris Webber* 34 34 1090 32.1 229 412 0.556 14 54 0.259 56 113 0.496 128 212 340 10.0 76 2.2 99 5 95 54 84 528 15.5
Juwan Howard 34 31 956 28.1 150 333 0.450 0 2 0.000 77 112 0.688 66 146 212 6.2 62 1.8 107 3 99 14 21 377 11.1
Jimmy King 34 21 955 28.1 128 258 0.496 28 60 0.467 53 72 0.736 33 79 112 3.3 78 2.3 53 0 72 28 9 337 9.9
Eric Riley 32 3 497 15.5 82 139 0.590 0 0 37 64 0.578 54 85 139 4.3 21 0.7 84 4 50 7 19 201 6.3
Ray Jackson 34 15 592 17.4 66 121 0.545 2 10 0.200 21 46 0.457 47 56 103 3.0 58 1.7 79 3 52 24 11 155 4.6
Michael Talley 29 14 527 18.2 51 132 0.386 11 38 0.289 39 53 0.736 7 21 28 1.0 55 1.9 49 1 50 23 4 152 5.2
James Voskuil 31 14 453 14.6 50 104 0.481 16 46 0.348 21 36 0.583 17 44 61 2.0 32 1.0 64 2 29 12 10 137 4.4
Rob Pelinka 28 0 254 9.1 21 52 0.404 8 25 0.320 27 31 0.871 18 27 45 1.6 19 0.7 24 0 19 3 0 77 2.8
Freddie Hunter 29 5 278 9.6 9 17 0.529 0 0 7 12 0.583 25 32 57 2.0 21 0.7 37 0 14 12 7 25 0.9
Richmond McIver 11 0 66 6.0 6 9 0.667 0 0 8 20 0.400 4 13 17 1.6 2 0.2 11 0 7 1 5 20 1.8
Kirk Taylor 10 0 41 4.1 5 13 0.385 1 5 0.200 1 2 0.500 2 3 5 0.5 2 0.2 5 0 2 2 1 12 1.2
Samuel Mitchell 4 0 24 6.0 5 14 0.357 0 2 0.000 2 5 0.400 6 5 11 2.8 3 0.8 2 0 3 0 2 12 3.0
Jason Bossard 7 0 12 1.7 3 10 0.300 2 7 0.286 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 0 1 0 0 8 1.1
Christopher Seter 6 0 13 2.2 1 3 0.333 0 0 3 4 0.750 4 4 8 1.3 2 0.3 1 0 0 0 0 5 0.8
Chip Armer 6 0 10 1.7 2 3 0.667 0 0 0 2 0.000 0 0 0 0.0 0 0.0 2 0 1 0 1 4 0.7
TEAM 34 32 55 87 2.6 2
Season Total 34 1014 2044 0.496 118 360 0.328 501 769 0.651 495 876 1371 40.3 566 16.6 693 18 610 218 182 2647 77.9
Opponents 34 846 2041 0.414 160 467 0.343 574 814 0.705 447 671 1118 32.9 455 13.4 707 21 529 225 57 2426 71.3
* Denotes players whose individual records, awards and other honors have been vacated due to NCAA and U-M sanctions

Rankings

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
Week
PollPre12345678910111213141516Final
AP Poll[4]202325181511111115161515172017181415

NCAA tournament

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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]

Awards and honors

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Team players drafted into the NBA

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

Year Round Pick Overall Player NBA Club
1993 1 1 1 Chris Webber Orlando Magic
1993 2 6 33 Eric Riley Dallas Mavericks
1994 1 5 5 Juwan Howard Washington Bullets
1994 1 13 13 Jalen Rose Denver Nuggets
1995 2 6 35 Jimmy King Toronto Raptors

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Big Ten Basketball 2009–10 Media Guide". CBS Interactive. p. 69. Archived from the original on July 3, 2010. Retrieved September 14, 2010.
  2. ^ a b "NCAA Tournament History". University of Michigan. 2010. p. 3. Archived from the original on October 1, 2010. Retrieved September 14, 2010.
  3. ^ "Division I Records" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. p. 56. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
  4. ^ a b "Division I Records" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. pp. 68–83. Retrieved August 28, 2010.
  5. ^ "Division I Records" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. p. 87. Retrieved August 28, 2010.
  6. ^ a b "Through The Years". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. p. 45. Archived from the original on September 2, 2010. Retrieved September 20, 2010.
  7. ^ "All-Time Accolades". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. pp. 9–10. Archived from the original on September 1, 2010. Retrieved September 14, 2010.
  8. ^ "Men's Basketball Statistic Archive Query Page". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on April 18, 2010. Retrieved September 22, 2010.
  9. ^ "Big Ten Basketball 2009–10 Media Guide". CBS Interactive. p. 38. Archived from the original on July 3, 2010. Retrieved September 17, 2010.
  10. ^ "Big Ten Basketball 2009–10 Media Guide". CBS Interactive. p. 34. Archived from the original on July 3, 2010. Retrieved September 17, 2010.
  11. ^ "Big Ten Basketball 2009–10 Media Guide". CBS Interactive. p. 35. Archived from the original on July 3, 2010. Retrieved September 17, 2010.
  12. ^ "All-Time Records". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. p. 7. Archived from the original on April 1, 2011. Retrieved September 18, 2010.
  13. ^ "All-Time Records". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. p. 2. Archived from the original on April 1, 2011. Retrieved September 18, 2010.
  14. ^ "All-Time Records". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. p. 20. Archived from the original on April 1, 2011. Retrieved September 9, 2010.
  15. ^ "All-Time Records". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. p. 19. Archived from the original on April 1, 2011. Retrieved September 18, 2010.
  16. ^ Ferraro, Michael X.; Veneziano, John (2007). Numbelievable!. Chicago: Triumph Books. p. 98. ISBN 978-1-57243-990-0.
  17. ^ Ferraro, Michael X.; Veneziano, John (2007). Numbelievable!. Chicago: Triumph Books. p. 99. ISBN 978-1-57243-990-0.
  18. ^ "Michigan tips Iowa in overtime". Decatur Herald & Review. January 10, 1992. p. 14. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  19. ^ "Come back for seconds". Detroit Free Press. March 21, 1992. Retrieved March 15, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
  20. ^ "COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Surprise! (Michigan) Surprise! (Cincinnati); Freshmen Score 73 Points". The New York Times. March 30, 1992. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
  21. ^ Michigan Basketball – Through the Years Archived 2013-01-24 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 1, 2013.
  22. ^ Bell, Taylor (October 15, 1991). "Chicago players court fame". Chicago Sun-Times.
  23. ^ 2007–08 Men's Basketball Media Guide. University of Michigan. 2007. pp. 13–21.
  24. ^ Boers, Terry (March 29, 1992). "Michigan's 'Fab Five' vow to have their say". Chicago Sun-Times.
  25. ^ Hanley, Brian (March 30, 1992). "Who'll reign – and who'll wane?". Chicago Sun-Times.
  26. ^ Milbert, Neil (April 4, 1992). "Fisher out of Michigan spotlight". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 6, 2010.
  27. ^ Hanley, Brian (April 3, 1992). "Cincy-Michigan choice debatable". Chicago Sun-Times.
  28. ^ Myslenski, Skip (April 3, 1992). "'Guilt' keeps Raveling at Southern Cal". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 6, 2010.
  29. ^ Milbert, Neil (April 7, 1992). "Howard's effort honors grandma". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 6, 2010.
  30. ^ Lincicome, Bernie (April 5, 1992). "Too young to get this far . . . Not!". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 6, 2010.
  31. ^ Milbert, Neil (April 7, 1992). "Michigan kids crushed, but Howard sees title in '93". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 6, 2010.
  32. ^ "Men's Basketball Statistic Archive Query Page". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on April 18, 2010. Retrieved March 28, 2010.
  33. ^ "The Final Four" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. p. 10. Retrieved September 16, 2010.
  34. ^ "The Final Four" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. p. 13. Retrieved September 16, 2010.
  35. ^ "1993 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
  36. ^ "1994 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
  37. ^ "1995 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
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