The 1989–90 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team represented the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in intercollegiate

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

during the 1989–90 season. The team played its home games in the

Crisler Arena Crisler Center (formerly known as the University Events Building and Crisler Arena) is an indoor arena located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It is the home arena for the University of Michigan's men's and women's basketball teams as well as its women's ...

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851. It is the principal city of the Ann Arbor ...

, and was a member of the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

Head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

Steve Fisher led the team to a third-place finish in the Big Ten Conference. The team earned the number three seed in the

1990 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 1990 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of NCAA Division I men's college basketball. It began on March 15, 1990, and ended with the championsh ...

. For the third consecutive year, the team was ranked every week of the season in the

AP Poll The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broadca ...

, which expanded from a top twenty poll to a top twenty-five poll that year. It began the season at number four, ended at number thirteen and peaked at number three. and it ended the season ranked fifteenth in the final UPI Coaches' Poll. Terry Mills and

Rumeal Robinson Rumeal James Robinson (born November 13, 1966) is a Jamaican-American former professional basketball player. Growing up in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Robinson graduated from Cambridge Rindge and Latin School and went on to play point guard for the ...

served as team co-

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

s and shared team co-

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

honors. The team's leading scorers were Robinson (575 points), Mills (562 points), and

Loy Vaught Loy Stephen Vaught (born February 27, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player who spent ten seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), primarily with the Los Angeles Clippers. Vaught played at East Kentwood High Sc ...

(480 points). The leading rebounders were Vaught (346), Mills (247), and Robinson (127). Robinson earned consensus All-American recognition. The team established the current Big Ten Conference single-game

field goals A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...

made record against

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

on March 10, 1990, when it made 55. The team earned numerous conference statistical championships.

won the rebounding championship for conference games with a 10.7 average and all games with an 11.2 average, while Robinson won the assists title for all games. This was the first year that the conference recognized both conference games and all games statistical champions. Vaught also set the Michigan career

field goal percentage Field goal percentage in basketball is the ratio of field goals made to field goals attempted. Its abbreviation is FG%. Although three-point field goal percentage is often calculated separately, three-point field goals are included in the gener ...

record at 67.1%. The record would stand until 1998. On March 8, 1990, against

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, the team tied the school's February 21, 1987, single-game free throw percentage record by making all fifteen of its free throws, a mark that has only been outdone by the March 2, 2002 16-for-16 performance. Robinson set the current school career

assist Assist or ASSIST may refer to: Sports Several sports have a statistic known as an "assist", generally relating to action by a player leading to a score by another player on their team: *Assist (basketball), a pass by a player that facilitates a ba ...

average of 5.75 per game, surpassing Gary Grant's 1988 mark.

ended his career with 135 games played, which surpassed

Glen Rice Glen Anthony Rice Sr. (born May 28, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a small forward, Rice was a three-time NBA All-Star and made 1,559 three-point field goal ...

's 1989 school record of 134 games to establish the record. In 2012, Stu Douglass finished his career with 136 games. In the 64-team

NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as NCAA March Madness and commonly called March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 college basketball teams from ...

, number three seeded Michigan advanced one round by defeating the fourteen-seeded

Illinois State Illinois State University (ISU) is a Public university, public university in Normal, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University, it is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teaching and is reco ...

76–70 before losing to the eleven-seeded

Loyola Marymount Loyola Marymount University (LMU) is a private Jesuit and Marymount research university in Los Angeles, California. It is located on the west side of the city near Playa Vista. LMU is the parent school to Loyola Law School, which is located ...

149–115. The March 18, 1990 264-point contest with Loyola Marymount stands as the highest scoring single game in NCAA tournament history. It is also the highest combined total in Michigan history.

Roster

Regular season

Rankings

Team players drafted into the NBA

Five players from this team were selected in the NBA draft.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1989-90 Michigan Wolverines Men's Basketball Team Michigan Wolverines men's basketball seasons

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

1989 in sports in Michigan

Roster

Regular season

Rankings

Team players drafted into the NBA

See also

References