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The 2014–15 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 ...
during the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played its home games 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 ...
for the 48th consecutive year at the
Crisler Center Crisler Center (formerly known as the University Events Building and Crisler Arena) is an indoor arena located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It is the home arena for the University of Michigan's men's and women's basketball teams as well as its w ...
, which has a capacity of 12,707. This season marked the program's 99th season and its 98th consecutive year as 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 ...
. The team was led by 8th year head coach
John Beilein John Patrick Beilein ( ; born February 5, 1953) is an American professional basketball coach who currently serves as a college basketball analyst for the Big Ten Network. Before being hired by the Big Ten Network, Beilein served as the head coac ...
, who was voted as 2014 Big Ten Coach of the Year by the Big Ten media. The 2013–14 team was Big Ten champion, earning the school's first outright title since 1986. The program entered the season coming off its winningest two-year stretch, having won 59 games in the two previous seasons. The team was also coming off four consecutive
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 ...
appearances. The 2014–15 team needed to replace the losses of
Nik Stauskas Nikolas Tomas Stauskas (born October 7, 1993) is a Canadian former professional basketball player who played six seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A shooting guard, Stauskas played two seasons of college basketball for the Mi ...
,
Mitch McGary Mitchell Neil William McGary (born June 6, 1992) is an American former professional basketball player. A native of Chesterton, Indiana, McGary declared for the NBA draft after completing his sophomore season for the 2013–14 Michigan Wolverines ...
and
Glenn Robinson III Glenn Alann ‘Tre’ Robinson III (born January 8, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Seoul Samsung Thunders of the Korean Basketball League (KBL). He was drafted 40th overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2014 N ...
to the
2014 NBA draft The 2014 NBA draft was held on June 26, 2014, at Barclays Center, Brooklyn. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. The ...
and
Jon Horford Jonathon Kelly Horford (born October 16, 1991) is an American professional basketball player. He played four years with the Michigan Wolverines ending with the 2013–14 team and then transferring to the Florida Gators for the 2014–15 season. ...
and Jordan Morgan to graduation. It began the season ranked in both the AP Poll (#24) and
Coaches' Poll In the United States, the Coaches Poll is a weekly ranking of the top 25 NCAA Division I (NCAA), Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football, Division I (NCAA), Division I college basketball, and Division I college baseball teams. ...
(#23).
Guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...
Caris LeVert Caris Coleman LeVert ( ; born August 25, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Michigan Wolverines. LeVert was originally draf ...
was named a preseason
All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...
according to numerous media outlets and preseason All-Big Ten according to the Big Ten media. LeVert, however, suffered a season-ending foot injury in January. At the end of that month,
Derrick Walton Derrick Walton Jr. (born April 3, 1995) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the South East Melbourne Phoenix of the National Basketball League (NBL). He played college basketball for the Michigan Wolverines and sp ...
was sidelined for the season. The team struggled without two of its leaders as it went from a 6–3 win–loss record in conference to finish 8–10. After falling in the quarterfinals of the
2015 Big Ten Conference men's basketball tournament The 2015 Big Ten men's basketball tournament was held from March 11 through March 15 at United Center in Chicago, Illinois. This was the eighteenth annual Big Ten tournament and was the first tournament to feature 14 teams of the expanded Big T ...
the team's season ended with a 16–16 record.


Roster changes


Departures

Jordan Morgan graduated after using all of his
eligibility Eligibility may refer to: * The right to run for office (in elections), sometimes called ''passive suffrage'' or ''voting eligibility'' * Desirability as a marriage partner, as in the term ''eligible bachelor'' * Validity for participation, as in ...
. Horford announced on April 10 that he would use his 5th year of
redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...
eligibility by transferring to a graduate program at another school for the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. On April 26, Horford announced he was transferring to play for the
Florida Gators men's basketball The Florida Gators men's basketball team represents the University of Florida in the sport of basketball. The Gators compete in NCAA Division I's Southeastern Conference (SEC). Home games are played on Billy Donovan Court in the O'Connell Center, ...
team. On April 15, in a joint press conference on the
Big Ten Network Big Ten Network (BTN) is an American sports network based in Chicago, Illinois. The channel is dedicated to coverage of College athletics, collegiate sports sanctioned by the Big Ten Conference, including live and recorded event telecasts, news ...
, Glenn Robinson III and Nik Stauskas announced that they were declaring themselves eligible for the
2014 NBA draft The 2014 NBA draft was held on June 26, 2014, at Barclays Center, Brooklyn. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. The ...
. On April 25, Mitch McGary declared for the draft. He was facing a season-long NCAA suspension after testing positive for marijuana after the Wolverines' NCAA tournament win over
Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
, a game for which he dressed but was not able to play. When all three players were drafted, it marked the first time Michigan had at least three draft picks since the
1990 NBA draft The 1990–91 NBA season, 1990 NBA draft took place on June 27, 1990, in New York City, New York. One of the standouts of this draft is Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Basketball Hall of Famer Gary Payton. He became a nine-time All-Sta ...
.


2014–15 team recruits

After Stauskas and Robinson declared for the NBA, Michigan signed Muhammad Ali Abdur-Rahkman on April 19. On April 28, Michigan signed
Aubrey Dawkins Aubrey Lafell Dawkins (born May 8, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for Würzburg Baskets of the Basketball Bundesliga. He played college basketball for the UCF Knights, transferring to UCF after completing his sophomore seaso ...
, son of former
Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...
Naismith College Player of the Year The Naismith College Player of the Year is "the most prestigious national award presented annually to the men's and women's college basketball players of the year," as chosen by the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of Selectors. It is named in honor o ...
,
National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...
and
Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...
head coach
Johnny Dawkins Johnny Earl Dawkins Jr. (born September 28, 1963) is an American basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the UCF men's basketball team. From 2008 to 2016, he was the head coach of Stanford. He was a two-time All-American an ...
.


Future recruits

On August 6,
Duncan Robinson Duncan McBryde Robinson (born April 22, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the NCAA Division III Williams College Ephs and then ...
announced that he would transfer to Michigan with three years of eligibility remaining and sit out the 2014–15 season after
Division III In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Third ...
Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim ...
head coach Mike Maker announced his departure to coach at Marist. On August 8, 2014,
Jon Teske Jon Teske (born May 4, 1997) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Michigan Wolverines men's basketball, Michigan Wolverines. He was part of the 2017–18 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball ...
became Michigan basketball's first class of 2016 commit.


Post-tournament predictions

Immediately following the 2014 NCAA tournament, the earliest predictions started being made by the media despite draft status uncertainty. While uncertainty about Stauskas', Robinson's and McGary's returns remained speculation, projections abounded: 9 by
Yahoo! Sports Yahoo! Sports is a sports news website launched by Yahoo! on December 8, 1997. It receives a majority of its information from Stats Perform. It employs numerous writers, and has team pages for teams in almost every North American major sport. ...
, 14 by
Bleacher Report ''Bleacher Report'' (often abbreviated as B/R) is a website that focuses on sports and sports culture. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, with offices in New York City and London. ''Bleacher Report'' was acquired by Time Warner's Turner B ...
, 17 by
ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
, 18 by ''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...
'', 20 by
NBC Sports NBC Sports is an American programming division for NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, that is responsible for sports broadcasts on their broadcast network NBC, the Cable television, cable channels NBC owns, and on Peacock (streaming service) ...
and
CBS Sports CBS Sports is the American sports programming division of Paramount Global that is responsible for sports broadcasts carried by its broadcast network CBS and streaming service Paramount+, as well as the operator of its cable channel CBS Sports N ...
. Following the April 27 NBA draft entry deadline, revised predictions had Michigan a little lower: 19 by
Bleacher Report ''Bleacher Report'' (often abbreviated as B/R) is a website that focuses on sports and sports culture. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, with offices in New York City and London. ''Bleacher Report'' was acquired by Time Warner's Turner B ...
, 24 by ESPN and NBC Sports, unranked by CBS Sports and ''USA Today''. Despite the projected rankings the Las Vegas
2015 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 2015 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament that determined the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's basketball national champion for the 2014– ...
betting lines showed only 11 schools with shorter odds than Michigan who was in a 6-way tie for 12th place at 33:1 on April 29.


Offseason

On May 12, LeVert underwent surgery to repair a
stress fracture A stress fracture is a fatigue-induced bone fracture caused by repeated stress over time. Instead of resulting from a single severe impact, stress fractures are the result of accumulated injury from repeated submaximal loading, such as running ...
in his foot. He was expected to be sidelined for 8–10 weeks, but be available for the team's August trip to play in Europe. Beilein announced on June 3 that
Max Bielfeldt Maxwell Claggett Bielfeldt (born June 7, 1993) is an American former college basketball player for the Michigan Wolverines and Indiana Hoosiers of the Big Ten Conference. After redshirting his freshman season for the 2011–12 Michigan Wolver ...
had undergone hip surgery and was expected to miss most of the summer. On August 6, D. J. Wilson was sidelined for 4–6 weeks following surgery on his
pinky finger The little finger or pinkie, also known as the baby finger, fifth digit, or pinky finger, is the most ulnar and smallest digit of the human hand, and next to the ring finger. Etymology The word "pinkie" is derived from the Dutch word ''pink' ...
. This announcement came prior to the team's August 15 departure for its summer trip to Italy. The team participated in a four-game exhibition tour of Italy that included stops in
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
,
Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...
,
Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; or , archaically ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, where it straddles the Bacchiglione, River Bacchiglione. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and e ...
,
Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
and
Lake Como Lake Como ( , ) also known as Lario, is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of , making it the third-largest lake in Italy, after Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore. At over deep, it is one of the deepest lakes in Europe. ...
from August 15–24. On August 28, Beilein became the 2013–14 recipient of the NCAA's Bob Frederick Sportsmanship Award, which honors "an NCAA member institution coach or administrator who exhibits a lifelong commitment to sportsmanship and ethical conduct, leading by example and promoting positive fan involvement in and out of competition."


Preseason

Michigan began the season ranked number 23 in the
Coaches' Poll In the United States, the Coaches Poll is a weekly ranking of the top 25 NCAA Division I (NCAA), Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football, Division I (NCAA), Division I college basketball, and Division I college baseball teams. ...
and number 24 in the AP Poll. In the ''
Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...
'' preseason top 25 ranking Michigan was listed #25. ESPN's Jeff Goodman expected Michigan to be Wisconsin's main competition in the conference despite all of the talent it lost.
Athlon Sports Parade Media (previously known as AMG/Parade and Athlon Media Group) is a publisher founded in 1967 that is based in Nashville, Tennessee. Nashville's Spencer Hays was its majority stockholder. It was purchased by The Arena Group in 2022 and no ...
and ''
Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook The ''Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook'' is an annual publication which includes preseason previews of every NCAA Division I men's college basketball team in the United States. Created in 1981 by future Boston Celtics general manager Chris ...
'' ranked Michigan 23 in their preseason rankings.
Bleacher Report ''Bleacher Report'' (often abbreviated as B/R) is a website that focuses on sports and sports culture. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, with offices in New York City and London. ''Bleacher Report'' was acquired by Time Warner's Turner B ...
listed Michigan at number 20. Caris LeVert was a preseason All-Big Ten selection. He was an
NBCSports.com NBC Sports is an American programming division for NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, that is responsible for sports broadcasts on their broadcast network NBC, the cable channels NBC owns, and on Peacock. The division is officially owned a ...
Preseason All-American first team selection, a
SB Nation ''SB Nation'' (an abbreviation for their full name ''SportsBlogs Nation'') is a sports blogging network owned by Vox Media. It was co-founded by Tyler Blezinski, Markos Moulitsas, and Jerome Armstrong in 2003. The blog from which the netwo ...
, ''
Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...
'',
Bleacher Report ''Bleacher Report'' (often abbreviated as B/R) is a website that focuses on sports and sports culture. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, with offices in New York City and London. ''Bleacher Report'' was acquired by Time Warner's Turner B ...
,
Athlon Sports Parade Media (previously known as AMG/Parade and Athlon Media Group) is a publisher founded in 1967 that is based in Nashville, Tennessee. Nashville's Spencer Hays was its majority stockholder. It was purchased by The Arena Group in 2022 and no ...
, ''
Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook The ''Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook'' is an annual publication which includes preseason previews of every NCAA Division I men's college basketball team in the United States. Created in 1981 by future Boston Celtics general manager Chris ...
'', and CBSSports.com second team selection and a ''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...
'' third team selection. He was also named to the
Lute Olson Award The Lute Olson Award is an award given annually to the most outstanding men's college basketball player in NCAA Division I competition. The award was established in 2010 and is named for former Arizona Wildcats head coach Lute Olson Robert Luth ...
and
John R. Wooden Award The John R. Wooden Award is an award given annually to the most outstanding men's and women's college basketball players. The Wooden Award program consists of the men's and women's player of the year awards, the Legends of Coaching Award, and rec ...
preseason watchlists. LeVert also was named to the
Oscar Robertson Trophy The Oscar Robertson Trophy is given out annually to the most outstanding NCAA Division I men's basketball player by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), first presented in 1958–59 NCAA University Division men's basketball season, 19 ...
Watch List on November 24 and the
Naismith Award Naismith Award is a basketball award named after James Naismith, and awarded by the Atlanta Tipoff Club. Naismith Awards include: * Naismith College Player of the Year (men's and women's; NCAA Division I basketball) * Naismith College Coach of th ...
Top 50 list on December 3. In its preseason top 100 player rankings, ESPN ranked LeVert #13 and Walton #87. Prior to the season LeVert and
Spike Albrecht Michael Joseph "Spike" Albrecht (born August 24, 1992) is a former college basketball player who completed his collegiate eligibility as a redshirt fifth year graduate transfer student for the 2016–17 Purdue Boilermakers team. Albrecht playe ...
were named co-
captains 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 ...
.


Roster

In July, the team
reclassified ''Reclassified'' is the reissue of Australian rapper Iggy Azalea's debut studio album, '' The New Classic'' (2014). It was released internationally on 21 November 2014 by Virgin EMI Records, and in the United States on 24 November 2014 by Gran ...
Max Bielfeldt from a redshirt junior to a senior, which freed up Bielfeldt's scholarship for the Class of 2015, implying Bielfeldt would play his final year of eligibility elsewhere. In November, Beilein announced that the team would redshirt
Andrew Dakich Andrew Dakich is an American former basketball player and current college basketball coach on the staff at Illinois State as an assistant. He has previously served on the staff at Elon and Ohio State. He played college basketball at Michigan fo ...
so that he could play a fifth year somewhere else. However, a pair of January backcourt injuries caused Dakich's services to be needed and he played instead of redshirting. D. J. Wilson missed most of the season due to a knee injury and was redshirted.


Schedule

Michigan played the 2014–15 Arizona Wildcats on the road at
McKale Center McKale Memorial Center is an athletic arena in the southwest United States, located on the campus of the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. As the home of the university's Wildcats basketball team of the Big 12 Conference, it is primari ...
as part of their home-and-away that had begun at home against the 2013–14 Wildcats. Michigan played a home-and-away with the 2014–15 and 2015–16 SMU Mustangs with the 2014 game being played on December 20, 2014, at
Crisler Center Crisler Center (formerly known as the University Events Building and Crisler Arena) is an indoor arena located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It is the home arena for the University of Michigan's men's and women's basketball teams as well as its w ...
, and trip in December 2015 to face the 2015–16 Mustangs in Dallas. On July 15, the non-conference schedule was announced. On August 21, the team announced the conference schedule, which included three ESPN Super Tuesday broadcasts. ;November On November 10, Michigan won an exhibition game against . The biggest storyline was that Austin Hatch scored for the team. Hatch had survived two plane crashes at ages 8 and 16; the first killed his mother and both of his siblings, and the second killed his father and stepmother and left him in a coma for two months. After raising its 2014 Big Ten Championship banner on November 15, Michigan opened its season with a 92–68 victory over
Hillsdale College Hillsdale College is a Private university, private, Conservatism in the United States, conservative, Christian liberal arts college in Hillsdale, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1844 by members of the Free Will Baptists. Women were admi ...
. The game was the first time the team had had three 20-point scorers (
Derrick Walton Derrick Walton Jr. (born April 3, 1995) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the South East Melbourne Phoenix of the National Basketball League (NBL). He played college basketball for the Michigan Wolverines and sp ...
-22,
Zak Irvin Zakarie Tyler Irvin (born September 5, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Manchester Basketball of the Super League Basketball (SLB). He played college basketball for the Michigan Wolverines. He earned the 2013 Indiana ...
-21, and
Caris LeVert Caris Coleman LeVert ( ; born August 25, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Michigan Wolverines. LeVert was originally draf ...
-20) since the 2011–12 team defeated the
Oakland Golden Grizzlies The Oakland Golden Grizzlies are the athletic teams that represent Oakland University (OU) in the Horizon League and NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The school fields 16 teams: Oakland Golden Gr ...
on December 10, 2011, behind
Trey Burke Alfonso Clark "Trey" Burke III (born November 12, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for Leones de Ponce of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN). He played college basketball for the Michigan Wolverines where in the 2012–1 ...
, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Evan Smotrycz. On November 17, the team opened the Progressive Legends Classic at home against Bucknell. The game was highlighted by Max Bielfeldt's career-high 18-point performance and Irvin's second consecutive 20 plus-point performance. In the second home game of the Legends Classic on November 20, Michigan faced a Detroit Titans team that was led by Juwan Howard Jr.—the son of former Michigan star
Juwan Howard Juwan Antonio Howard ( ; born February7, 1973) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He previously served as the head coach ...
. Detroit led at the half and tied the score with 5:39 remaining before Michigan went on to win 71–62 despite 24 points and 8 rebounds from Howard. In the semifinals of the Legends Classic at the Barclays Center on November 24, Michigan defeated
Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
. The next day, Michigan lost to (#12 AP Poll/#11
Coaches Poll In the United States, the Coaches Poll is a weekly ranking of the top 25 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football, Division I college basketball, and Division I college baseball teams. The football version of the poll has ...
) Villanova in the championship game. This was the first meeting between the two teams since the quarterfinals of the 1985 NCAA tournament, which Villanova also won. Villanova went on a 9–0 run to end the first half, and led by as many as 13 points early in the second half. Michigan cut the lead to 35–31 following an 11–2 run. Michigan led by as many as eight points with just under six minutes left in the game, before Villanova came back to retake the lead for good with 13 seconds remaining. Caris LeVert helped lead the second half comeback scoring eight of his 16 points in the second half, including Michigan's final six points of the game. On November 29, the team defeated Nicholls State as five players scored in double figures. ;December On December 2, Michigan defeated
Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...
in an ACC-Big Ten Challenge game that went down to the wire. After blowing a 10-point second half lead Michigan needed a
three point shot A three-point field goal (also 3-pointer, three, or triple) is a Field goal (basketball), field goal in a basketball game made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc surrounding the basket. A successful attempt is worth three points, ...
from Albrecht with 31 seconds remaining for the victory. On December 6, Michigan suffered its first home loss of the season to the
New Jersey Institute of Technology New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) is a Public university, public research university in Newark, New Jersey, United States, with a graduate-degree-granting satellite campus in Jersey City. Founded in 1881 with the support of local indust ...
by a 72–70 margin, despite a career-high 32 points by Levert. With the loss, Michigan's 30-game home win streak versus unranked opponents was snapped. NJIT shot 11-for-17 on its three-point shots in the game. The team lost its three subsequent games to
Eastern Michigan Eastern Michigan University (EMU, EMich, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern) is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1849 as the Michigan State Normal School, it was the fourth normal school (teachers' ...
, (#3)
Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
, and SMU. The loss to Eastern Michigan, which is separated from the University of Michigan by a 6-mile stretch of Washtenaw Avenue, ended a Big Ten-high 59-game streak without consecutive losses. Eastern Michigan was led in assists (6) by Michael Talley, son of Michigan Basketball point guard and alum Michael Talley Jr. The December 9 80–53 loss to #3 ranked Arizona was one point shy of being the largest defeat of the Beilein era. The December 20 SMU game marked the first career start by Ricky Doyle. On December 22, the team snapped its 4-game losing streak with a victory over
Coppin State Coppin State University (Coppin) is a public historically black university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. It is part of the University System of Maryland and a member of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. History Coppin State Universi ...
who was coached by Michael Grant, the brother of former Wolverine and
Big Ten Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year The Big Ten Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year is an award given to the Big Ten Conference's most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1984–85 season. Only four players have won the award multiple times: Jim ...
Gary Grant. One of the game's big storylines was the first regular season point by Austin Hatch. Doyle's game-high 16 points marked the first time he led the team in scoring. Michigan won its Big Ten Conference home opener against
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
in
overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...
on December 30 on the day it announced
Jim Harbaugh James Joseph Harbaugh ( ; born December 23, 1963) is an American professional football coach and former quarterback who is the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the head coach at ...
would become the new
Michigan Wolverines football The Michigan Wolverines football team represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the List of NCAA football teams by wins, most all-time wins in college football ...
head coach.
Aubrey Dawkins Aubrey Lafell Dawkins (born May 8, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for Würzburg Baskets of the Basketball Bundesliga. He played college basketball for the UCF Knights, transferring to UCF after completing his sophomore seaso ...
, who had a career total of 15 points entering the game, scored a game-high 20-points. ;January Michigan lost to
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 ...
on January 3, by making only 4 second half field goals after taking an 8-point half time lead. The team defeated
Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...
on January 6 with Albrecht in the starting lineup in place of Chatman. On January 10, the team wore throwback uniforms honoring the
1988–89 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team The 1988–89 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team represented the University of Michigan in intercollegiate college basketball during the 1988–89 season. The head coach was Bill Frieder, who was dismissed before the 1989 NCAA Division ...
that won the
1989 NCAA tournament The 1989 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 16, 1989, and ended with the champions ...
. Michigan was down 49–40 with less than nine minutes remaining, before coming back to defeat
Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
by a margin of 62–57. Michigan lost to (Receiving votes/#25)
Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...
on January 13. On January 17 Michigan defeated Northwestern, but lost LeVert for the season after he reinjured the foot that he had had surgery on the prior May. In the game,
Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman (born September 1, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for Bilbao of the Spanish Liga ACB. He played college basketball for the Michigan Wolverines. Abdur-Rahkman played high school basketball for All ...
made his first start (in place of an ailing Albrecht) and made the game winning three-point shot. At the time of his injury, LeVert led Michigan in scoring (14.9), rebounds (4.9), assists (3.7), steals (1.7) and minutes (35.8). Nonetheless, the team defeated
Rutgers Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College and was aff ...
in its first game without LeVert and with Dawkins making his first start. With LeVert absent, Walton scored 10 of the team's 15 points as it rallied from a 42–37 deficit to assume a 52–44 lead with just 32.5 seconds left. On January 24, Michigan fell to ( AP #6/
Coaches Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...
#5)
Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
in overtime after Walton, who had a team-high 17 points, scored Michigan's final seven points, including a game-tying three-point shot with 1.3 seconds remaining in regulation. The game had been the featured '' College GameDay'' game of the week. On January 27 with Walton and Mark Donnal sidelined Michigan defeated
Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...
, as Irvin recorded his first career double-double, leading the team with 14 points and a career-high 12 rebounds. Eventually, Walton missed final 12 of the season due to a toe injury. Due to the backcourt injuries, Dakich burned his redshirt season. Michigan finished the first half of its conference schedule with a 6–3 record. ;February Michigan began February with 5 consecutive Big Ten Conference losses. On February 1, the team lost a
rivalry game Pairs of schools, colleges and universities, especially when they are close to each other either geographically or in their areas of specialization, often establish a university or college rivalry with each other over the years. This rivalry, whic ...
in overtime 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 ...
, despite career-high 18-point performances by Albrecht and Abdur-Rahkman and a career best 9-rebound performance by Max Bielfeld. On February 5 and February 8, Michigan lost to
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 ...
and
Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
. February 5 marked the return of Donnal to the lineup. On February 12 against
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
, Michigan lost in overtime after surrendering a 7-point lead with a little more than 3 minutes remaining. Illinois finished the game on a 21–2 run that was only spoiled by Michigan free throws with 13 seconds remaining. The 17,087 in attendance established a record for the
State Farm Center The State Farm Center is a large dome-shaped 15,544-seat indoor arena located in Champaign, Illinois, owned and operated by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The arena hosts games for the Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball, ...
. On February 17, Michigan lost again to Michigan State. On February 22, Michigan ended its losing streak by defeating (#24/#23) Ohio State. On February 28, Michigan ended February with a loss to (#14/#14)
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
in the first Big Ten Conference game between the two teams and Senior night for Maryland. ;March On March 3, Michigan tied a school record with its fifth overtime game of the season (the first multiple overtime game since March 20, 2006) against Northwestern on Northwestern's Senior night. Michigan gave up last second game-tying three-point shots by Tre Demps in both regulation and the first overtime before losing in double overtime, despite career-high 28-point and 21-point performances by Irvin and Dawkins, respectively. Irvin posted his own and the team's second double-double of the season. On March 7, Michigan won its Big Ten Conference finale against Rutgers to finish the regular season at 15–15 (8–10 Big Ten). The game marked career-high scoring efforts by Dawkins (31) and Chatman (13), career-high assist efforts by Bielfeldt (3) and Albrecht (9) and a career-high rebounding effort by Bielfeldt (13). Bielfeldt made his first career start on this Senior night effort. Freshmen team managers Jon Rubenstein and Ryan Kapustka played in the game. Dawkins' 31 points was the most by a Michigan freshman since Trey Burke had 32 in 2012 and his 8 three-pointers was the second most in school history, the most by a Wolverine since
Glen Rice Glen Anthony Rice Sr. (born May 28, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a small forward, Rice was a three-time NBA All-Star and made 1,559 three-point field goa ...
posted 8 in the
1989 NCAA tournament The 1989 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 16, 1989, and ended with the champions ...
and the most by a Big Ten player during the season, earning Dawkins the final Big Ten Freshman of the Week honor. In the second round of the
2015 Big Ten Conference men's basketball tournament The 2015 Big Ten men's basketball tournament was held from March 11 through March 15 at United Center in Chicago, Illinois. This was the eighteenth annual Big Ten tournament and was the first tournament to feature 14 teams of the expanded Big T ...
on March 12, Michigan defeated Illinois after splitting a pair of overtime games won by the home teams during the regular season. The game marked Michigan's ninth consecutive win in its opening round of the
Big Ten Conference men's basketball tournament The Big Ten men's basketball tournament is held annually at the end of the men's college basketball regular season. The tournament has been played each year since 1998. The winner of the tournament is designated the Big Ten Tournament Champion, a ...
and Michigan's largest margin of victory over a conference opponent this season. In the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament on March 13, Michigan lost to No. 1 seeded Wisconsin, despite a double-double and game-high 21 points and 11 rebounds by Irvin. , - !colspan=12 style="background:#242961; color:#F7BE05;", Exhibition , - !colspan=12 style="background:#242961; color:#F7BE05;", Non-conference Regular Season , - !colspan=12 style="background:#242961; color:#F7BE05;", Big Ten Regular Season , - !colspan=12 style="background:#242961; color:#F7BE05;", Big Ten tournament


Statistics

The team posted the following statistics:


Rankings


Awards

The
United States Basketball Writers Association The United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) was founded in 1956 with the urging of National Collegiate Athletic Association director Walter Byers to serve the interests of journalists who cover college basketball. Scholarships The U ...
named Michigan's Austin Hatch as its recipient for the men's version of its Most Courageous Award for 2015. Dawkins earned the final Big Ten Freshman of the Week honor on March 9.


Postseason

Michigan did not participate in any postseason tournaments, ending a streak of four consecutive
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 ...
appearances. Following the season, Spike Albrecht had offseason surgery on his right hip to correct for a genetic condition that may also necessitate left hip surgery. Albrecht and Irvin were voted team co-MVPs. On April 21, LeVert announced that he would return for his senior season.


Team players drafted into the NBA

Sources:


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2014-15 Michigan Wolverines Men's Basketball Team Michigan Wolverines men's basketball seasons
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 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 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, ...