For the first time in Michigan Basketball history

Submitted by Wolverine Devotee on

.....Michigan will be the top seed in the B1G Tournament.

We all know that the B1G Championship means more than a B1G Tourney title does, but a B1G Tournament Championship needs to be BACK in Crisler. The banner will never come down.

Conference tournaments can sometimes be a nice springboard into the NCAA Tournament.

The last time Michigan won the B1G Tournament-

 

 

(Video: WolverineHistorian)

SpinachAssassin

March 4th, 2014 at 10:24 PM ^

For some small mid major, if you want to go to the dance, regular season championships won't do it.  in the b1g, sustained excellence for a regular season championship probably does mean more.

regardless, now that one is locked up, time to get the next!

michiganman01

March 4th, 2014 at 10:20 PM ^

Because one is 2 moths of work while the other is 3/4 days of games that dont really mean much if you are already a lock like we are right now. Conference Tournaments only really matter for bubble teams like Nebraska and Minnesota (maybe maybe IU) trying to get 1 or 2 more good wins to their resume. Or for teams like NW, Penn State, Illinois who are completly out of it.

Muttley

March 4th, 2014 at 10:57 PM ^

while the B1G Tourney is won in 3 or 4 games .

While the B1G tourney does have more of an "event" appeal, surely three or four days does not outweigh the regular season marathon.  Further, a B1G champion has no worry about getting into the Big Dance*.  Awarding the auto-bid to the tourney champ does give the tourney a certain appeal, as it can be reached by all participants.  And I'm sure it helps the TV ratings.   But I think smaller conferences do their regular season champs an injustice when a so-so team has a hot week/weekend and steals the bid from a more deserving team.

 

Canadian

March 5th, 2014 at 12:38 AM ^

In the Big Ten there is more weight put on the Regular season championship.

IIRC the B1G refers to its regular season champion as the Big Ten Champion and the tournament champion as the Big Ten Tournament Champion. This is not the case in all conferences as I'm pretty sure the ACC winners are the ACC Regular Season Champion and ACC Champion. It's all in the wording

Bb011

March 5th, 2014 at 1:53 AM ^

In the big 10 the conference championship has always been more highly regarded.  I don't think this is the case for all conferences though (especially small conferences where winning the tournament means you are going to the ncaa tournament)

gwkrlghl

March 4th, 2014 at 10:19 PM ^

1996 - Hockey National Champions

1997 - Football National Champions

1998 - Hockey National Champions, Basketball Big Ten Tournament Champions

You class of '98ers were spoiled

FieldingBLUE

March 5th, 2014 at 1:09 AM ^

It was pretty unreal four years...BUT it was also the post Fab Five era of suckitude coupled with the Cleaves incident, the cratering of the program from Traylor/Taylor/Bullock for more than a decade. So you get the GREAT and then you remember Conlan and Bullock never going to class, even having other people take their midterms for them and remember what Fisher/Ellerbee allowed in terems of student athletes. And then you just sigh and remember the subs and that they are crazy and you thank the stars for John Beliein.

Roc Blue in the Lou

March 4th, 2014 at 10:23 PM ^

It's 2014, the Wolverine saw his shadow darkening the sky line of East Lansing, and declared we will have 12 months of uninterupted Maze and Blue Bliss. Conference AND tournament Championships are, like, ours.  Move along now.

RobM_24

March 4th, 2014 at 10:23 PM ^

#RIP Tractor Traylor ... my favorite Michigan player ever. In 6th grade we had a field trip to the see the Indiana State Senate. We were told to wear something nice. I wore my XXXL Tractor Traylor jersey. No regrets.

njsteve

March 5th, 2014 at 12:57 AM ^

I was in row 9 or so of the student section for that game. I rushed home afterward and managed to record several sports reports on it (ESPN and a couple of Detroit stations). I think the rest of that videotape has the Arizona, St. Johns, and Duke games from that season -- I've been meaning to transfer it for years.

Mr. Yost

March 4th, 2014 at 11:15 PM ^

The piano music from the Fab Five 30 for 30...or the fact that he walks back under the shower of glass as it pours over his head like a beautiful rainfall.

Mr. Yost

March 4th, 2014 at 11:23 PM ^

That music gets me every time during the Fab Five special. Every stinking time I get misty eyed.

I know that era hurt us, but I fucking love those guys and those TEAMS. Just like I love this era. Just like I love '97 football.

Michigan means everything to me, but when we're winning...got'damn, there's nothing better. I could watch Michigan win at Solitare and get excited. I've always been that way. As a kid, I used to cry on Saturday's if we lost. As a teen it would ruin my weekend and force me to stay inside and not watch any sports for the rest of the weekend. Losses still sting, especially bad losses, but fortunately I've been able to find other things in life to ease it a little, lol. Also, the Rich Rod era of football actually helped because you just got use to losing.

But with Beilein's team and hopefully with Hoke starting this year. I'm starting to get that "teen" feeling again. And I'm not even mad at it...I'd rather be addicted to Michigan Athletics than other things in this world. It's fun winning, it's fun watching the guys achieve their goal, it's fun going on a roller coaster ride of emotion all game or all season and getting the "happy ending" like a championship or a Trey Burke 30' shot basically at the buzzer.

Wolverine Devotee

March 4th, 2014 at 11:01 PM ^

Rather have a B1G Tournament Championship banner than the 66th best team in the nation banners aka the NIT ones.

Not saying they shouldn't hang NIT championship banners, but winning a conference tournament is a better accomplishment than an NIT.

ThadMattasagoblin

March 4th, 2014 at 10:43 PM ^

Not caring about the big ten tournament is for teams that can't win it. Louisille won all 3 last year, Duke won all 3 in 2010, and Kansas won all 3 in 2008. Saying that it isn't important is the rallying cry for guys like Izzo who can't accept defeat by saying that they weren't trying to win anyways.

Soulfire21

March 4th, 2014 at 11:05 PM ^

It's important, but not as important as the regular season.  This has been hashed out a bit already, but the regular season is played out over 18 games and 2+ months whereas the tournament is 3-4 days.

I think you get a much better consensus of who is conference champion in those 18 games over 2 months than in a couple games over a couple days.  If you're a mid-major looking to get into the dance, a bubble team, or completelty out of it then the autobid from the conference tournament championship is of course very, very appealing.

ThadMattasagoblin

March 5th, 2014 at 12:01 AM ^

Roy Williams and bob Knight don't like it for the same reasons that coaches don't like the football conference championship games. They think it's too hard on the kids. Realistically if you're a top team and you win the conference tourny you shouldn't slip up the next week against a 15/16/7/8 seed unless you have underlaying issues.

marti221

March 5th, 2014 at 3:16 PM ^

"Realistically if you're a top team and you win the conference tourny you shouldn't slip up the next week against a 15/16/7/8 seed unless you have underlaying issues" 

 
Yes, an underlaying issue like losing an important player because you've made the decision that winning the BTT is more important than resting in preparation for the tournament that matters.