All-B1G Tournament team & other interesting factoids and Michigan records set

Submitted by Wolverine Devotee on

This usually gets lost in the shuffle but here's the All-B1G Tournament team-

  • Moritz Wagner, Michigan 
  • Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman, Michigan
  • Carsen Edwards, Purdue
  • Tony Carr, Penn State
  • Corey Sanders, Rutgers

Most Outstanding Player: Moritz Wagner

There were only 2 All-Tournament team selections in program history prior to 2014. Since then, Michigan has had 6. 

MAAR will leave Michigan with Wolverine B1G Tournament records for the following stats-

  • Games played (13)
  • Points (163)
  • Field Goals (63)
  • 3-point FGs (21)
  • 3-point FG % (55.3%)
  • Minutes played (447)

The omen was very good for this championship game. 20 years ago was the inguaural Big Ten Tournament. Michigan defeated 3 seed Purdue, 76-67 with center Robert Traylor named MVP.

Well, 20 years after that Michigan defeats 3 seed Purdue 75-66 with center Moe Wagner named MVP.

Michigan had a losing record in the B1G Tournament all-time just 3 years ago. Now the all-time record stands at 26-18. Michigan is only the third team to ever win back-to-back B1G Tournaments.

Michigan has won 4 games in 4 days just 3 times in history now. The 1920-21 team, last year and now this year.

The B1G Tournament was once just a way to pick up a win or two and suffer a painful loss. These last two years have changed it all.

We're not done yet.

Mike Damone

March 4th, 2018 at 8:54 PM ^

and I would.  Love Wagner and MAAR - but Z ran the show like a champ.  They might not beat Iowa without him stepping up, and he kept them it close in the 1st half against Sparty until the team could heat up.  None of the guards he coverd in any of the 4 BTT games did jack squat.  In my book, he was the tourney MVP. 

Absolutely unreal how he has improved this year - maybe even a steeper improvement curve within the year than Walton had last year...

Mr Miggle

March 4th, 2018 at 8:46 PM ^

Michigan a favor by leaving Simpson off of the all tournament team and especially for putting 3 PGs on the team ahead of him.

The one thing I worry about being on a winning streak with a long layoff is complacency. After seeing how Simpson responded to the all Big Ten defensive team snub, I expect him to be fired up for the NCAAs. 

ThatTCGuy

March 4th, 2018 at 9:59 PM ^

COTY is super flawed in every sport because it inherently rewards great one-year turnarounds, which normally go to an up-and-coming coach that just took over a bad program (See: Holtmann at Ohio State). Meanwhile, the best coaches normally don't have to do that because they have sustained success at one place.

Indy Pete - Go Blue

March 4th, 2018 at 9:06 PM ^

That 1920-21 team has some good company!  4 games in 4 days... when will it happen again? The top 4 seeds are (usually!) the best 4 in the conference.  Everyone knew the scheduling snafus that allowed Nebraska to sneak in.  Yet, the top 4 teams only have to play 3 games.  They are better already, and they have 1 or 2 extra days of rest compared to the field.  A 5+ seed may not win this thing again for 10+ years.  Yet, we did it as an 8 seed and a 5 seed.  Coach Beilein deserves a Sports Nobel Peace Prize (there isn't one, but if there was - he deserves it).

Go blue!

UMinSF

March 4th, 2018 at 9:35 PM ^

We've been a really good tournament team throughout coach B's tenure. Amazing strategist, great preparation and teaching, and his teams always seem to have mental toughness. 

He's special.

Wolverine Devotee

March 4th, 2018 at 11:03 PM ^

Because Basketball was not nearly as strenuous of a sport back then.

We actually played 6 games in 6 days.

  • 12/27 at Louisville YMHA (W 32-18)
  • 12/28 at Nashville (W 28-16)
  • 12/29 at Jonesboro (W 24-16)
  • 12/30 at Memphis YMCA (W 14-11)
  • 12/31 at at Nashville (W 28-11)
  • 1/1 at Vanderbilt (W 21-7)

No those aren't football scores, those are basketball scores.

All 3 of those Michigan teams (1920-21, 2016-17, 2017-18) who won 4 in 4 days put up a banner. 1920-21 was our first B1G Championship year.