Michigan Wolverines at Crisler Center
Ann Arbor, Michigan, is home to one of the premiere programs in the Big Ten Conference — and in all of college basketball. The Michigan Wolverines play at the Crisler Center, which first opened in 1969 and currently seats 12,707. The Wolverines are coached by Juwan Howard, who starred for the Wolverines in the 1990s before a long and successful career in the NBA. Howard replaced longtime Michigan head coach John Beilein in 2019 after Beilein left to coach the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Michigan Wolverines Men's Basketball History
The University of Michigan first fielded a men's basketball program during the 1908-09 season, but a 1-4 record and sparse attendance led to its cancellation after one season. The program restarted in 1917, and by 1921 had its first of 14 Big Ten regular-season basketball championships, sharing the honor with Wisconsin and Purdue. Thanks to the play of Cazzie Russell, Michigan reached the NCAA finals in 1965, while under coach Johnny Orr, the Wolverines reached the championship game in 1976, before losing to undefeated Indiana. Bill Frieder coached the Wolverines from 1980 to the end of the 1988-89 regular season, when athletic director Bo Schembechler asked him to leave upon Frieder's accepting the Arizona State position. Steve Fisher took over the reins in time for the 1989 NCAA tournament, and Michigan, led by Glen Rice, Rumeal Robinson, Loy Vaught and Terry Mills, went on to defeat Seton Hall 80-79 in overtime for their first and only championship.
The "Fab Five" led Michigan to Final Four appearances in 1992 and 1993, but the era is mostly known for Chris Webber's infamous time-out at the end of the 1993 championship which gave the championship to North Carolina, and later by scandals that forced Fisher out and made the university cut ties to some of their most noted players. Michigan rebuilt under coaches Brian Ellerbe and Tommy Amaker, before John Beilein led the team from 2007 to 2019. Under Beilein, Michigan returned to the Final Four twice, losing the 2013 and 2018 championship games to Louisville and Villanova, respectively.
