The 1984–85 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 1984–85 season. The team played its home games in the Crisler Arena 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 ...

, and was a member of 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 ...

. 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 ...

Bill Frieder, the team won the Big Ten Conference by a four game margin. The team earned the number one seed in the 1985 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament where it advanced one round before losing. Although the team began the season unranked it was in the Associated Press Top Twenty Poll a total of twelve of the seventeen weeks, including a peak of number two where it ended the season, and it also ended the season ranked number two in the final UPI Coaches' Poll. During the season, the team led the Big Ten Conference in scoring margin (8.8) and Roy Tarpley led the conference in rebound with a 9.9 average in conference games. Leslie Rockymore and Butch Wade 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 and Tarpley 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: ...

. Tarpley earned 1985 NCAA All-American recognition. For the first of five consecutive seasons, the team set the school record for single-season

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 gene ...

with a 51.3% (941-for-1834) performance. Antoine Joubert's single-season total of 164 assists established a school record that would be eclipsed the following season by Gary Grant. It surpassed Eric Turner's 160 total set in 1983. Grant had 7 steals on January 19, 1985, against

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

, which tied Rickey Green and Turner for the best single-game totals in school history. Roy Tarpley surpassed his school single-season blocked shots average record of 2.09 set the prior season with an average of 2.20. He would rebreak this record the following season. On February 7, 1985, against

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...

, Tarpley totaled 7 blocks in a game to earn the school single-game record that he would rebreak ten months later. On January 12, 1985, the team began a 17-game winning streak against the

that continued through a March 15 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson in the NCAA tournament. This is tied as the longest winning streak in school history (With the 2018-19 season), surpassing the January 29, 1921 – January 6, 1922 14-game streak. On January 5, 1985, the team began a 24-game

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winning streak against Ohio State that continued through a February 15, 1986, victory over

. This stands as the longest home winning streak in school history, surpassing the 22-game January 12, 1976 – November 30, 1977, streak. The streak ended with a February 20, 1986 74–59 loss to

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the ...

. January 12 also marked the start of a 10-game

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winning streak that continued through a January 4, 1986, victory over Ohio State. This stands as the longest road winning streak in school history, surpassing two 7-game streaks that ended in 1921. The streak ended with a January 16, 1986 73–63 loss to . In the 64-team

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 ...

, number one seeded Michigan advanced one round by defeating Fairleigh Dickinson 59–55. In the second round the team was upset by eight-seeded Villanova 59–55. The team was led in scoring and rebounds by Tarpley in both NCAA tournament games.

Schedule and results

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Rankings

Team players drafted into the NBA

Seven 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:1984-85 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 Wolverines men's basketball The Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team is the College basketball, intercollegiate men's basketball program representing the University of Michigan. The school competes in the Big Ten Conference in NCAA Division I, Division I of the Nationa ...

Schedule and results

Rankings

Team players drafted into the NBA

See also

References