The 1963–64 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team represented the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

in intercollegiate

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

during the 1963–64 season. The team played its home games at Fielding H. Yost Field House on the school's campus in

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

. Under the direction of

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

Dave Strack David H. Strack (March 2, 1923 – January 25, 2014) was an American athletic director for the University of Arizona and head college basketball, basketball coach at the University of Michigan. He was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of ...

, the team tied for the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

Championship with the . This was the first of three consecutive Big Ten titles and Michigan's first visit to the

NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as March Madness, or The Big Dance, is a single-elimination tournament played in the United States to determine the men's college basketball national champion of the NCAA Division I, Di ...

Final Four In sports, the final four is the last four teams remaining in a playoffs, playoff tournament. Usually the final four compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final (penultimate) round. Of these teams, the two who win in ...

. According to the Michigan's Basketball media guide, during the season junior

Bill Buntin William L. Buntin (May 5, 1942 – May 9, 1968) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Michigan Wolverines. Buntin died of a heart attack at age 26. Coll ...

led the Big Ten conference in rebounding, although the Big Ten records, which count only conference games, do not recognize this fact. The team earned the Big Ten team statistical championships for both

scoring SCORE may refer to: *SCORE (software), a music scorewriter program * SCORE (television), a weekend sports service of the defunct Financial News Network *SCORE! Educational Centers *SCORE International, an offroad racing organization *Sarawak Corrido ...

defense (75.5) and scoring margin (10.3). Sophomore

Cazzie Russell Cazzie Lee Russell (born June 7, 1944) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. An NBA All-Star, he was selected by the New York Knicks with the first overall pick of the 1966 NBA draft. He won an NBA championship with t ...

led the team in scoring with 24.8, while Buntin added 23.2 points per game. The team spent the entire 15-week season ranked in the Associated Press Top Ten Poll, ending the season ranked number two after starting the season ranked number eight. The team also finished the season ranked number two in the final UPI Coaches' Poll. Bob Cantrell served as team

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

, while Russell earned team

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

. Buntin earned

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

recognition. During the season, Russell established the school single-season point total record with 670. On December 11, 1963, against the , Buntin made all eleven of his

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. Consequently, a ...

which is the best 100% shooting night in Michigan history. Russell made 150 of 178

free throw In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points by shooting from behind the free-throw line (informally known as the foul line or the charity stripe), a line situated at the end of the restricted area. Free throws ...

s to establish the school single-season

free throw percentage In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points by shooting from behind the free-throw line (informally known as the foul line or the charity stripe), a line situated at the end of the restricted area. Free throws ...

record of 84.27, which stood for 32 years and continues to be the highest percentage by a Wolverine sophomore. Buntin made 151 free throws which was a school record that Russell eclipsed the following season. In the 25-team

1964 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 1964 NCAA University Division basketball tournament involved 25 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball in the United States. It began on March 9, 1964, an ...

, Michigan had an opening round bye before defeating the

Loyola Ramblers The Loyola Ramblers (also called the Loyola Chicago Ramblers) are the varsity sports teams of Loyola University Chicago. Most teams compete in the Atlantic 10 Conference, which the school joined in 2022 after leaving the Missouri Valley Confere ...

84–80 and the

Ohio Bobcats The Ohio Bobcats are the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I Intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio University, located in Athens, Ohio, United States. Ohio University is a charter member (1946 ...

69–57 to win the Mideast region. In the final four, the team lost to a Jeff Mullins-led Duke Blue Devils team 91–80 before defeating

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public inst ...

100–90 in the consolation game. In the tournament Buntin set an NCAA tournament final four single-game record by making 15

s on March 21 against the Wildcats. The record was broken the following season on March 20, 1965. Although the team lost in the national semi-finals, it would return its two key stars and reach the finals of the

1965 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 1965 NCAA University Division basketball tournament involved 23 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 8, 1965, and ended with the cham ...

the following season.

Schedule

1963–64 Overall: 23–5 Big Ten: 11–3 (t-1st , Co-Champions) Postseason: NCAA (Mideast) (Final Four; Third Place) Head Coach: Dave Strack Staff: James Skala & Tom Jorgensen (Freshmen) Captain: Bob Cantrell Home Arena: Yost Field House (7,500) (1) Los Angeles Classic, Los Angeles, Calif. (L.A. Sports Arena) (2) NCAA Tournament, Minneapolis, Minn. (Williams Arena) (3) NCAA Tournament, Kansas City, Mo. (Municipal Auditorium) (4) NC Consolation game

Rankings

Notes

* In the Los Angeles Basketball Classic,

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

defeated then third-ranked Michigan, 98-80 in front of 14,241 in the Los Angeles

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Team players drafted into the NBA

Four players from this team were selected in the

NBA draft The NBA draft is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) annual event, dating back to 1947 BAA draft, 1947, in which the teams in the league can Draft (sports), draft players who declare for the draft and that are Eligibility for the NBA dr ...

References

External links

Pre-NCAA tournament publicity video
{{DEFAULTSORT:1963-64 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

Michigan Wolverines men's basketball seasons NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four seasons