University of Michigan Athletics

» No. 3 seed Michigan defeated No. 7 seed Minnesota, 76-49, in the Big Ten Tournament semifinal to advance to the championship game against No. 1 seed Michigan State.
» Michigan has reached the championship game for the third straight year -- winning the title in 2017 and 2018.
» U-M's win over Minnesota extended its win streak to 10 games -- a conference tournament record.
» The Wolverines will face the Spartans for the third time in three weeks. U-M is 0-2 against MSU.
» The Maize and Blue are 9-8 in Big Ten Tournament games played at the United Center.

NEXT GAME
Sunday, March 17 -- vs. No. 10 Michigan State - Big Ten Tournament Final (Chicago, Ill.), 2:30 p.m. CDT

The No. 10-ranked University of Michigan men's basketball team (28-5) get a shot for its third straight Big Ten Tournament title when it takes on No. 6 Michigan State (27-6) for the third time in three weeks in the championship game Sunday (March 17) in Chicago. In a CBS broadcast, tipoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CDT with Jim Nantz (p-by-p), Bill Raftery, Grant Hill (analyst) and Tracy Wolfson (sideline).

In the Two Tourney Games

• Michigan extended its win streak at the Big Ten Tournament to 10 games.
• U-M has advanced to the championship game for the third straight year.
• In two games this weekend, U-M has 45 assists on 60 made baskets. Zavier Simpson has led the Wolverines with 20 assists and one turnover.
• Michigan has back-to-back games with 10 three-pointers. The Wolverines have shot 20-for-56 (35.7 percent) from long range. On the flip side, U-M has allowed just three total three-pointers in the two games -- Iowa (one) and Minnesota (two) -- as opponents are shooting 10.7 percent from long range.
• Isaiah Livers has come off the bench to average 17.0 points, shooting 70 percent (14-for-20) from the field and 55.6 percent (5-for-9) from long range.

What Happened in Semifinal: U-M Defeats Minnesota, 76-49

• Michigan's 27-point win (76-49) was U-M's second-largest victory in a Big Ten Tournament game behind only a 28-point victory over Iowa (73-45 on March 12, 2009).
• Isaiah Livers led U-M with a career-best 21 points -- his first career 20-plus point game. He was 8-for-10 from field and 4-for-6 from long range. He added three rebounds and two blocks.
• Zavier Simpson had nine assists, while adding 15 points and a steal. Ignas Brazdeikis posted 13 points, five rebounds and two blocks.
• The Wolverines tallied 32 field goals against Minnesota, tied for second most in a Big Ten Tournament game in program history and tied for eighth in the conference record book.
• U-M recorded 21 assists on 32 baskets against the Gophers.
• Michigan matched its fewest free-throw attempts in a Big Ten Tournament game, making 2-of-2 (two vs. Wisconsin, March 13, 2015).
• John Beilein earned his 20th Big Ten Tournament win, becoming the third coach in tournament history to reach that mark (MSU's Tom Izzo -- 31; OSU's Thad Matta -- 23).

What Happened in Quarterfinal: U-M Defeats Iowa, 74-53

• Michigan's 74-53 victory extended the Wolverines win streak to nine at the Big Ten Tournament. U-M has never lost to Iowa in the Big Ten Tournament (7-0).
• U-M also collected its 13th consecutive victory in an opening conference tournament game. John Beilein has never lost the first game of the conference tournament.
• Thursday night against Illinois, Iowa had 12 three-point field goals. Michigan allowed the Hawkeyes just one trey in 16 attempts. That one was a banked in triple when the benches were emptied in the final minute.
• U-M held Iowa's Jordan Bohannon scoreless, as he went 0-for-2 in the game. It was just the second time this season the Hawkeyes' third leading scorer was held without a point.
• Michigan had 24 assists on 28 baskets against Iowa. Zavier Simpson had 11 assists, the second-best total in Michigan's Big Ten Tournament history (Derrick Walton Jr. had 12 vs. Indiana, March 11, 2016). Simpson finished with 10 points and did not miss a shot (4-of-4 from the floor, 2-of-2 free throws). It was his fifth double-double of the season.
• Jon Teske recorded his seventh double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
• Ignas Brazdeikis led U-M with 15 points as five Wolverines scored in double figures -- Brazdeikis (15), Isaiah Livers (13 off the bench), Teske (12), Jordan Poole (11) and Simpson (10).
• Charles Matthews returned after missing three games with a right ankle injury. He had five points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal in 25 minutes.
• Eli Brooks came off the bench to score six points on two three-pointers while grabbing three rebounds, dishing three assists and swiping two steals.

These Are Just Cool

• Zavier Simpson has not missed a game in three seasons -- a streak of 112 straight.
• Jon Teske has not missed a game in two seasons -- a streak of 74 straight.
• With nine assists vs. Minnesota on Saturday (March 16) in the Big Ten Tournament semifinal, Simpson became the 10th Wolverine to surpass 400 career assists as he moved into a tie for ninth all-time with former Fab Fiver Jalen Rose (1992-93) with 401.
• After not recording an assist against Minnesota (Jan. 22), Simpson has recorded more than half of his season total over the next 15 games. He has dished 119 (7.9 apg) dimes including recording five of his six games with double-digit dimes.
• Simpson's six games of 10-plus assists is one away from tying the program record of seven held by Darius Morris in the 2010-11 season.
• Simpson is second in the Big Ten in assists (6.5 per game) with 214. He leads the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.5 (214A to 62 TOs), which puts him fifth in the nation. The last U-M player to record 200-plus assists was Trey Burke in 2012-13 (260, program record)
• Charles Matthews (901) needs 99 more points to become the 55th Wolverine to score 1,000 career points.
• Jordan Poole (108) is the 27th Wolverine to make 100-plus 3-pointers in a career.
• Jon Teske leads U-M with seven double-doubles, while Zavier Simpson is second with five.
• Ignas Brazdeikis leads U-M in scoring at 14.9 points per game. The last Wolverine freshman to lead the team in scoring was Trey Burke, who scored 14.8 points per game in the 2012-13 season.
• Brazdeikis has scored in double figures over his last eight games and leads U-M with 28 double-figure games including 10 20-plus point outings.

University of Michigan Athletics

Wolverines Face Spartans for Big Ten Tournament Title in Chicago