The 1971–72 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 1971–72 NCAA University Division men's basketball season. The team played its home games at

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 w ...

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 ...

Johnny Orr, the team finished with a 14–10 overall record and a 9–5 conference record. This tied the team for third in 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 ...

but failed to get an invitation to either the

1972 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament The 1972 NCAA University Division basketball tournament involved 25 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of NCAA University Division (now Division I) college basketball. It began on Saturday, March 11, ...

or the

1972 National Invitation Tournament The 1972 National Invitation Tournament was the 1972 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition. Selected teams Below is a list of the 16 teams selected for the tournament.

. Wayne Grabiac and Dave Hart 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 ...

s, while

Henry Wilmore Henry Wilmore (born August 13, 1950) is an American former basketball player who is most known for being a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) All-American in 1972 while playing for the Michigan Wolverines. He played at the University ...

earned team MVP. The team earned the Big Ten

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 ...

offense statistical championship with an 81.8 average in conference games. It also led the conference in

field goal 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, ...

percentage with a 45.3% in conference games. Additionally, the team led the conference in rebounding with a 51.6 average in conference games. The team was in the Associated Press Top Twenty Poll for four of the sixteen weeks of the season, rising as high as number nine after starting the season ranked at number thirteen. However, the team ended the season unranked in both the final UPI Coaches' Poll and the final AP Poll. During the season, the team beat two of the four ranked opponents that it faced (#16

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

by a 75–70 margin on January 11, 1972, at

Assembly Hall An assembly hall is a hall to hold public meetings or meetings of an organization such as a school, church, or deliberative assembly. An example of the last case is the Assembly Hall (Washington, Mississippi) where the general assembly of the s ...

Champaign Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in the state outside the Chicago metr ...

and #6 on January 29, 1972, at

by an 88–78 margin). The team was led by Consensus second team All-American Wilmore.

Rankings

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

{{DEFAULTSORT:1971-72 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 Michigan Basketball Michigan Basketball