1970–71 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team

The 1970–71 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team represented the University of Michigan in intercollegiate college basketball during the 1970–71 season. The team played its home games at Crisler Arena on the school's campus in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

1970–71 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball
NIT, Quarterfinals
Conference	Big Ten Conference
1970–71 record	19–7 (12–2 Big Ten)
Head coach	Johnny Orr
Assistant coaches	Fred Snowden Dick Honig (freshmen)
MVP	Dan Fife
MVP	Henry Wilmore
Captain	Dan Fife
Home arena	Crisler Arena

1970–71 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 10 Ohio State	13	–	1		.929			20	–	6		.769
Michigan	12	–	2		.857			19	–	7		.731
Purdue	11	–	3		.786			18	–	7		.720
Indiana	9	–	5		.643			17	–	7		.708
Illinois	5	–	9		.357			11	–	12		.478
Minnesota	5	–	9		.357			11	–	13		.458
Michigan State	4	–	10		.286			10	–	14		.417
Iowa	4	–	10		.286			9	–	15		.375
Wisconsin	4	–	10		.286			9	–	15		.375
Northwestern	3	–	11		.214			7	–	17		.292
Rankings from AP Poll

Under the direction of head coach Johnny Orr, the team finished second in the Big Ten Conference.[1] Dan Fife served as team captain and shared team co-MVP honors with Henry Wilmore.[2]

Over the course of the season, Ken Brady led the conference in field goal percentage with a 61.7% average in conference games.[3] The team earned the Big Ten scoring offense statistical championship with an 88.4 average in conference games.[4] The team was in the Associated Press Top Twenty Poll for four of the sixteen weeks of the season, rising as high as number twelve.[5] However, the team ended the season unranked in both the final UPI Coaches' Poll and the final AP Poll.[6]

The team defeated two of the four ranked opponents that it faced during the season.[1] The team participated in the sixteen team 1971 National Invitation Tournament where it advanced to the quarterfinals by defeating the Syracuse Orange by an 86–76 margin before falling to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 78–70.[7] The team was led by All-American Henry Wilmore.[8] Dan Fife established the school career field goal percentage record at 57.44% that would last until Loy Vaught ended his career with a 61.7% mark in 1990.[9] He also set the school single season assist average of 5.35 per game that would last until Dave Baxter surpassed it in 1978.[10] The team set the school single-game record for free throws made of 33 on January 23, 1971, against Northwestern, which would be unsurpassed until 1998.[11]

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[5]										20	16	16	12

Team players drafted into the NBA

Five players from this team were selected in the NBA Draft.[12][13][14]

Year	Round	Pick	Overall	Player	NBA Club
1971	10	16	168	Dan Fife	Milwaukee Bucks
1972	3	14	44	Wayne Grabiec	Boston Celtics
1973	4	9	61	Ken Brady	Detroit Pistons
1973	5	9	78	Henry Wilmore	Detroit Pistons
1973	14	1	189	Ernie Johnson	Philadelphia 76ers

References

1. "Through The Years". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. p. 38. Archived from the original on September 2, 2010. Retrieved September 12, 2010.
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. 33. Archived from the original on July 3, 2010. Retrieved September 2, 2010.
4. "Big Ten Basketball 2009–10 Media Guide". CBS Interactive. p. 36. Archived from the original on July 3, 2010. Retrieved September 3, 2010.
5. "Division I Records" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. pp. 68–83. Retrieved August 28, 2010.
6. "Division I Records" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. p. 85. Retrieved August 28, 2010.
7. "Tournament Results (1970's)". nit.org. Archived from the original on November 7, 2009. Retrieved September 5, 2010.
8. "All-Time Accolades". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. pp. 4–7. Archived from the original on September 1, 2010. Retrieved September 9, 2010.
9. 2007–08 Men's Basketball Media Guide. University of Michigan. 2007. p. 170.
10. "All-Time Records". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. p. 16. Archived from the original on April 1, 2011. Retrieved September 9, 2010.
11. "All-Time Records". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. p. 14. Archived from the original on April 1, 2011. Retrieved September 9, 2010.
12. "1971 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
13. "1972 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
14. "1973 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved April 25, 2014.