Looking back at Michigan's immensely successful history in the Big Ten Tournament

On3 imageby:Clayton Sayfie•03/09/22•

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Michigan Wolverines basketball is hunting for its fourth ever Big Ten Tournament title this weekend in Indianapolis. In fact, if the Maize and Blue — who open with Indiana in the No. 8 vs. No. 9 game Thursday — get it done, it would be their third title in the last five events, after taking home the championship in back-to-back years in 2017 and 2018.

Michigan won the inaugural event in 1998, behind victories over Iowa, Minnesota and Purdue (though the wins were later vacated), and didn’t win again until 2017. That occurrence had a storybook type of feel, with the Wolverines’ plane sliding off the runway at Willow Run Airport the day before arriving just before tip-off and beating Illinois in their practice jerseys. That kicked off a weekend that included four wins in four days, knocking off Purdue, Minnesota and Wisconsin in Washington D.C.

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That year, the Wolverines were the No. 8 seed and still stand as the lowest seed to win the Big Ten Tournament. Due in part to Michigan’s run that season, the eighth seed actually has the fifth-highest winning percentage at the event (.568), sitting ahead of the four, five and seven seeds. Michigan also became the first team to win four straight games en route to the title.

Michigan became the third-ever squad to win back-to-back championships in 2018, joining Michigan State (1999-20) and Ohio State (2010-11), winning four consecutive games as the No. 5 seed.

Beyond just having won the third-most championships, Michigan has made deep runs, especially as of late, with five consecutive appearances in the semifinals and eight out of the last 10. The Wolverines have made the finals in three out of the last four full events, with last season’s exit in the semis breaking the streak of three straight.

Michigan has won at least one game in 14 straight Big Ten Tournaments, with the second-longest streak being Wisconsin with at least one triumph in four consecutive events. Former Michigan head man John Beilein never lost his first Big Ten Tournament game, and head coach Juwan Howard kept that going last season with a win over Maryland in the quarterfinals (the 2020 tournament in Howard’s first season was not played in full).

That fact helped boost Michigan’s winning percentage to 59.1 percent at the Big Ten Tournament, which stands fourth behind Michigan State, Ohio State and Illinois. It’s also put the Wolverines in position to make the NCAA Tournament or increase their seed, as well.

The time that’s most comparable to this season was in 2016, when the eighth-seeded Maize and Blue beat Northwestern in overtime and then knocked off top-seeded Indiana on a buzzer-beater by Kameron Chatman to solidify their spot in the Big Dance. Michigan doesn’t need to do as much to make the NCAA Tournament this time around, but it feels fitting that the Hoosiers are the opponent.

Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament

YearHow Far Michigan AdvancedKnocked Out By
1998ChampionshipMichigan beat Purdue for the title
1999QuarterfinalsOhio State
2000Opening RoundPenn State
2001Opening RoundPenn State
2002QuarterfinalsOhio State
2003QuarterfinalsIndiana
2004SemifinalsIllinois
2005Opening RoundNorthwestern
2006Opening RoundMinnesota
2007QuarterfinalsOhio State
2008QuarterfinalsWisconsin
2009QuarterfinalsIllinois
2010QuarterfinalsOhio State
2011SemifinalsOhio State
2012SemifinalsOhio State
2013QuarterfinalsWisconsin
2014ChampionshipMichigan State
2015QuarterfinalsWisconsin
2016SemifinalsPurdue
2017ChampionshipMichigan beat Wisconsin for the title
2018ChampionshipMichigan beat Purdue for the title
2019ChampionshipMichigan State
2021SemifinalsOhio State

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