1971–72 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team

The 1971–72 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team represented the University of Michigan in intercollegiate college basketball during the 1971–72 NCAA University Division men's basketball season. The team played its home games at Crisler Arena on the school's campus in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

1971–72 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
1971–72 record14–10 (9–5 Big Ten)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
MVPHenry Wilmore
Captains
  • Wayne Grabiac
  • Dave Hart
Home arenaCrisler Arena
1971–72 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
No. 11 Minnesota11–3 .786  17–6  .739
No. 19 Ohio State10–4 .714  18–6  .750
No. 17 Indiana9–5 .643  17–8  .680
Michigan9–5 .643  14–10  .583
Michigan State6–8 .429  13–11  .542
Wisconsin6–8 .429  13–11  .542
Purdue6–8 .429  12–12  .500
Illinois5–9 .357  14–10  .583
Iowa5–9 .357  11–13  .458
Northwestern3–11 .214  5–18  .217
Rankings from AP Poll

Under the direction of head coach 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 but failed to get an invitation to either the 1972 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament or the 1972 National Invitation Tournament.[1]

Wayne Grabiac and Dave Hart served as team captains, while Henry Wilmore earned team MVP.[2] The team earned the Big Ten scoring offense statistical championship with an 81.8 average in conference games.[3] It also led the conference in field goal percentage with a 45.3% in conference games.[4] Additionally, the team led the conference in rebounding with a 51.6 average in conference games.[5]

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.[6] However, the team ended the season unranked in both the final UPI Coaches' Poll and the final AP Poll.[7]

During the season, the team beat two of the four ranked opponents that it faced (#16 Illinois by a 75–70 margin on January 11, 1972, at Assembly Hall in Champaign and #6 Ohio State on January 29, 1972, at Crisler Arena by an 88–78 margin).[8] The team was led by Consensus second team All-American Wilmore.[9]

Rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.
Week
Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Final 
AP Poll[6] 13 9 20 16

Team players drafted into the NBA

Four players from this team were selected in the NBA Draft.[10][11]

YearRoundPickOverallPlayerNBA Club
197231444Wayne GrabiecBoston Celtics
19734961Ken BradyDetroit Pistons
19735978Henry WilmoreDetroit Pistons
1973141189Ernie JohnsonPhiladelphia 76ers

References
  1. 2007–08 Men's Basketball Media Guide. University of Michigan. 2007. p. 197.
  2. "All-Time Accolades". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. pp. 9–10. Archived from the original on September 1, 2010. Retrieved September 9, 2010.
  3. "Big Ten Basketball 2009–10 Media Guide". CBS Interactive. p. 36. Archived from the original on July 3, 2010. Retrieved September 3, 2010.
  4. "Big Ten Basketball 2009–10 Media Guide". CBS Interactive. p. 37. Archived from the original on July 3, 2010. Retrieved September 3, 2010.
  5. "Big Ten Basketball 2009–10 Media Guide". CBS Interactive. p. 38. Archived from the original on July 3, 2010. Retrieved September 3, 2010.
  6. "Division I Records" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. pp. 68–83. Retrieved August 28, 2010.
  7. "Division I Records" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. p. 85. Retrieved August 28, 2010.
  8. "Through The Years". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. p. 38. Archived from the original on September 2, 2010. Retrieved September 12, 2010.
  9. "All-Time Accolades". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. pp. 4–7. Archived from the original on September 1, 2010. Retrieved September 9, 2010.
  10. "1972 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
  11. "1973 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.