Michigan madness: The Wolverines have been made for March in recent history
Michigan Wolverines basketball is gearing up for what could be a special March, heading into the final three regular-season games. The Maize and Blue will take on Illinois and Maryland at home, before heading to Michigan State for the regular-season finale, ahead of the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis and NCAA Tournament.
Despite taking a two-year hiatus from the Big Dance, with Michigan struggling at the end of the Juwan Howard era, the Wolverines have been one of the best and most consistent forces in college basketball during the most important time of the year in recent history. Since the 2013 season, Michigan has a 52-30 record (.634) in the month of March, which includes games in the regular season, Big Ten Tournament, NCAA Tournament and NIT. (And that’s with a 1-7 mark in March over the last two years.)
The Wolverines have compiled a 17-9 record in the Big Ten Tournament and 23-8 mark in the NCAA Tournament since 2013.
Michigan has advanced to the Big Ten Tournament championship game four times since 2013, with two tournament titles (2017 and 2018). The Maize and Blue won at least one Big Ten Tournament game for an incredible 14-straight events from 2007-21. They were bounced in the first round in 2022 (Indiana), 2023 (Rutgers) and 2024 (Penn State), starting a new, much less desirable, streak.
Michigan has picked up key wins in the conference tournament to either boost their March Madness seeding or earn a bid to the Big Dance. The most memorable, of course, was Kameron Chatman‘s game-winning three-pointer to beat top-seeded Indiana at the buzzer in 2016. The shot punched Michigan’s ticket into the NCAA Tournament and advanced it to the semifinals.
Once former head coach John Beilein — the winningest coach in Michigan history — got things rolling, the Wolverines were a mainstay in the NCAA Tournament. Howard kept that going early in his tenure, with U-M going to the Big Dance in 10 of 11 tournaments from 2011-22 (the 2020 tournament was canceled, but Michigan was projected firmly in the field).
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The Wolverines made the Sweet 16 or further in seven of nine tournaments from 2013-22, including a Big Ten-record five in a row from 2017-22. Michigan made two national title games in that span, both under Beilein, falling to Louisville in 2013 and Villanova in 2018.
Prior to the run of five-straight Sweet 16 appearances, there had only been two previous occurrences where the program had even made three consecutive trips to the Sweet Sixteen — from 1964 to 1966 under Dave Strack and 1992 to 1994 under Steve Fisher.
Michigan has won 23 NCAA Tournament games since 2013, and that’s with missing the tournament three times. Following the 2022 campaign, that was tied as the second-most among any program nationally during that stretch, behind only Gonzaga (24). Duke (22), Villanova (22) and Kentucky (18) were close behind. That figure is by far the most among any Big Ten team in that span, ahead of MSU (19), Wisconsin (15) and Purdue (14).
Michigan is one of five teams — joined by Connecticut, Gonzaga, North Carolina and Villanova — to appear in multiple national title games since 2013.
Michigan basketball March accolades since 2013
| Season | March Record | Big Ten Tournament Result | NCAA Tournament Result |
| 2013 | 7-2 | Advanced to quarterfinals (lost to Wisconsin) | Advanced to national title game (lost to Louisville) |
| 2014 | 8-2 | Advanced to championship game (lost to MSU) | Advanced to Elite 8 (lost to Kentucky) |
| 2015 | 2-2 | Advanced to quarterfinals (lost to Wisconsin) | Did not receive bid |
| 2016 | 3-3 | Advanced to semifinals (lost to Purdue) | Advanced to round of 64 (beat Tulsa in the First Four, lost to Notre Dame in round of 64) |
| 2017 | 7-2 | Won Big Ten Tournament | Advanced to Sweet 16 (lost to Oregon) |
| 2018 | 9-0 | Won Big Ten Tournament | Advanced to national title game (lost to Villanova) |
| 2019 | 5-3 | Advanced to championship game (lost to Michigan State) | Advanced to Sweet 16 (lost to Texas Tech) |
| 2020 | 1-2 | N/A | N/A |
| 2021 | 5-4 | Advanced to semifinals (lost to Ohio State) | Advanced to Elite Eight (lost to UCLA) |
| 2022 | 4-3 | Lost in second round (to Indiana) | Advanced to Sweet 16 (lost to Villanova) |
| 2023 | 1-4 | Lost in second round (to Rutgers) | N/A (made NIT appearance) |
| 2024 | 0-3 | Lost in first round (to Penn State) | N/A |
