1993–94 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team


The 1993–94 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team represented the University of Michigan in intercollegiate college basketball during the 1993–94 season. The team played its home games in the Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and was a member of the Big Ten Conference. Under the direction of head coach Steve Fisher, the team finished second in the Big Ten Conference. The team earned an invitation to the 1994 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament as a number three seed and advanced to the fourth round. The team was ranked for the entire eighteen weeks of Associated Press Top Twenty-Five Poll, starting the season ranked fifth, peaking at number three and ending ranked eleventh, and it also ended the season ranked eleventh in the final USA Today/CNN Poll. The team went 6-6 against ranked teams including the following victories: November 26, 1993, against #13 80-70 in the Tipoff Classic in Springfield, Massachusetts, January 29, 1994, against #16 Wisconsin 79-75 at home, February 1 against #8 Purdue 63-62 on the road, February 8 against #12 Indiana 91-67 at home, February 19 against #20 72-65 at home, and March 19 against #12 Texas in the 1994 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament 84-79 at Kansas Coliseum.
Juwan Howard and Jason Bossard served as team co-captains, while Howard shared team MVP honors with Jalen Rose. The team's leading scorers were Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, and Jimmy King. The leading rebounders were Juwan Howard, Ray Jackson, and Jalen Rose.
The team surpassed the 1986 team’s single-season total of 265 steals with 267 to establish the current school record.

Regular season

In November 2003, Mitch Albom released his book Fab five: basketball, trash talk, the American dream chronicling the recruiting of and first two years of play of the Fab Five. After Chris Webber left for the NBA, the team entered the season ranked fifth in the nation as it opened the season against number 13. Michigan found itself with a 21–6, record and tied with the Purdue Boilermakers for the conference lead with one game remaining. Michigan then lost to a struggling team, and finished second in the conference. After the season, Howard was selected as a first team All-Big-Ten member along with Glenn Robinson, Rose, Shawn Respert, and Damon Bailey. In the opening round of the 1994 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, Howard helped Michigan survive with a 78–74 overtime victory over by scoring 28 points and adding 9 rebounds before fouling out. In the second round, Howard posted 34 points and 18 rebounds to lead the team to an 84–79 victory over. Michigan faced a Joe Smith-led in the Sweet Sixteen round. Howard scored 24 and had 11 rebounds before fouling out with 2:49 remaining in the 78–71 victory. Howard earned the regional MVP award with a game-high 30 points and 13 rebounds despite collecting two fouls in the first two minutes in the Elite Eight round against a victorious Arkansas team that had United States President Bill Clinton as a vocal supporter. After the season, Howard announced his intention to enter the 1994 NBA Draft. The following day, Rose announced he would enter the draft as well.

Rankings

Team players drafted into the NBA

Four players from this team were selected in the NBA Draft.
YearRoundPickOverallPlayerNBA Club
1994155Juwan HowardWashington Bullets
199411313Jalen RoseDenver Nuggets
19952635Jimmy KingToronto Raptors
199711111Olivier Saint-JeanSacramento Kings