Regular season November Hardaway began the season with his fourth career
double-double by scoring 25
points (including 5-for-5
three-point shooting) and adding 10
rebounds in a 100–62 win over
Slippery Rock; this earned him his second career Big Ten Player of the Week award. The 100-point performance of November 9 was Michigan's first since the
2007–08 team posted 103 points against
Oakland on December 12, 2007. Michigan hosted games for the first two rounds of the 2012 NIT Season Tip-Off. The team's first game of the tournament, a November 12 contest against the
IUPUI Jaguars, resulted in a 91–54 Michigan victory. The win also gave Michigan its first consecutive 90-point performances since the
2000–01 team recorded three consecutive 90-point games. The following night, Michigan defeated
Cleveland State by a 77–47 margin, marking the first time the school opened the season with three consecutive 30-point victories. The win also marked the first time Michigan had posted three consecutive 30-point wins since the
1988–89 Wolverines team (the
1989 national champion) won five consecutive 30-point games. In the championship rounds of the NIT Season Tip-Off tournament at
Madison Square Garden on November 21 and 23, Michigan defeated
Pittsburgh and
Kansas State, respectively, to win the tournament. Hardaway, who totaled 39 points at the Garden, was the tournament MVP and was joined on the all-tournament team by Burke, who contributed 27 points and 10 assists. Stauskas earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors for his NIT tournament performance in which he averaged 12.5 points and 4.5 rebounds. On November 27, Michigan raised its Big Ten championship banner from the season before. Then, the team defeated its first ranked opponent of the season –
NC State (#18 AP/#18 Coaches) – in the
ACC–Big Ten Challenge. The win was supported by Burke's first career double-double which included a career-high 11 assists, no
turnovers and 18 points as well as a career-high 20 points from Stauskas in a 79–72 victory.
December Ranked third in both polls, Michigan established a record as the highest ranked visiting team in the history of
Carver Arena on December 1. Giving Stauskas his first career start, Michigan emerged victorious over
Bradley. It was the third game of the season that Michigan never trailed in. On December 4, Michigan defeated
Western Michigan 73–41, giving the team its first 8–0 start since the
1996–97 team; the team never trailed in the game. Michigan defeated
Arkansas 80–67 in its December 8 matchup. It marked the fourth 9–0 start in school history (1988–89,
1985–86 and
1926–27) and the third consecutive game that Michigan never trailed. Michigan went to 10–0 on December 11 by defeating
Binghamton 67–39. Michigan traveled to play in the December 15 Brooklyn Hoops Winter Festival at the
Barclays Center, where they defeated
West Virginia (coach Beilein's previous employer) 81–66 to move to 11–0 for the third time in school history (1985–86 and 1988–89). The team never trailed in the contest. For averaging 23.0 points, 6.5 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 2.0
steals with only 1.0 turnover in the games against Binghamton and West Virginia, Burke earned Player of the Week on December 17. On December 20, the team became the second in school in history (1985–86 went 16–0) to reach 12–0 when it beat
Eastern Michigan. After recording his first career double-double in the game with only 18 minutes of play, McGary was recognized as Big Ten Freshman of the Week. Hardaway suffered an ankle injury that caused him to miss the December 29 game against
Central Michigan and that broke his 81 consecutive games played streak that went back to the beginning of his Michigan career. The game also marked the team's second game without
Jon Horford, who dislocated his knee during the West Virginia game. In Hardaway's absence, Burke posted his second career double-double with 22 points and a career-high tying 11 assists and Robinson posted his second career 20-point game. Stauskas added career highs with 5 three-pointers and 7 rebounds and earned his third Big Ten Freshman of the Week award on December 31. The thirteenth win clinched Michigan's ninth perfect non-conference regular season record.
January Jordan Morgan|left|upright On January 3, Michigan opened the
2012–13 Big Ten conference schedule with a 94–66 win over
Northwestern to move to 14–0. Burke had 23 points, 5 assists and a career high 4 steals, while Hardaway added 21 points, Morgan posted a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds, while Stauskas and Robinson added 10 points each. Burke and Robinson both posted their third and first career double-doubles, respectively, in a 95–67 victory against
Iowa on January 6. It marked the first time that the team scored 90 points in back-to-back conference games since the
1999–2000 team and tied for the most points in a conference game since the
1997–98 team. On January 7, Burke was recognized as Big Ten Conference Player of the Week and Robinson was recognized as Conference Freshman of the Week. The team tied the school record for best start by defeating
Nebraska for its 16th straight victory to start the season on January 9. The victory also marked Beilein's 400th Division I coaching victory. On January 13, the team lost to Ohio State (#15 AP/#14 Coaches) snapping their winning streak. Horford returned to the lineup after missing 5 games. Michigan had been the only remaining unbeaten team and was expected to be ranked #1 if they had won. The loss was Michigan's 9th straight in Columbus. Michigan defeated
Minnesota (#9 AP/#12 Coaches) at
Williams Arena on January 17, marking the first time Michigan defeated a top-10 team on the road since a December 6, 1996, victory by the 1996–97 team over
Duke. After his performance, in which he scored 21 points while making 7 of 8 shots and 4 of 5 three-point shots, in addition to recording 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks, Hardaway earned a second Big Ten Player of the Week Award. Michigan defeated
Purdue 68–53 on January 24 and
Illinois 74–60 on January 27. This gave Michigan the first 19–1 start in school history. Robinson earned his second Big Ten Freshman of the Week award on January 28 for a pair of 12-point performances during a week in which he averaged 8 rebounds while maintaining 71.4%
field goal percentage. Later that day, Michigan was ranked number one in the
AP Poll with 51 of the 65 first place votes. It marked the first time Michigan ranked atop the AP Poll since the Fab Five 1992–93 team did so on December 5, 1992. After enduring an injured ankle against Illinois, starting center Jordan Morgan missed his first game since
redshirting a full season for the
2009–10 Wolverines when he sat out the Northwestern game. Horford started in his place. appeared on ESPN's
College GameDay against Indiana (#3 AP/#3 Coaches) Michigan lost 81–73, but the television broadcast of the game on ESPN set a Big Ten record for viewership with 4.035 million viewers. Morgan only played two minutes behind replacement starter Horford. Michigan then defeated Ohio State (#10 AP/#10 Coaches) in
overtime in the rematch at home on February 5. Starting center Morgan only played 4 minutes. It marked Michigan's eleventh consecutive loss against Wisconsin on the road. Morgan did not play, but McGary played 32 minutes, totaling 12 points, 3 steals and 8 rebounds. However, dramatically increased play in Morgan's absence enabled McGary to earn his second Big Ten Freshman of the Week honor on February 11. On February 12, Michigan lost 75–52 in its rivalry game against (#8 AP/#8 Coaches) Michigan State. Among those in attendance were
Rick Snyder,
Matthew Stafford,
Mark Dantonio,
Brady Hoke, and
Lloyd Carr. and resulted in Michigan losing back-to-back games and three consecutive road games for the first time since the
2010–11 team did so. Burke's 18 points, 4 assists and 3 steals were one of Michigan's few bright spots in their February 12 contest. On February 17 against
Penn State, Burke posted a season-high 29 points along with 5 assists, 3 rebounds and two steals. As a result of his efforts, Burke won his third player of the week award of the season and fourth of his career on February 18. Morgan returned to the starting lineup in the Penn State contest, but he only played 7 minutes. Morgan played more minutes (17) than the other low post players (McGary, Horford, and Max Bielfeldt) for the first time on February 24 against Illinois. Michigan defeated Illinois 71–58 behind 26 points and 8 assists from Burke. In the game, Burke became the seventh Wolverine sophomore to reach 1000 career points. On February 27, Michigan surrendered a 15-point second-half lead to give Penn State its only conference win of the season. Following the game, the team called a rare players-only meeting at the Pizza House, with fifth-year reserve Corey Person doing most of the talking.
March On March 3, Michigan defeated Michigan State (#9 AP/#10 Coaches) in the Ann Arbor rematch of their rivalry series as Trey Burke made 2 steals in the final 30 seconds to secure the 58–57 victory. Michigan snapped a 453-game streak with at least one made three-point shot and became the first team since February 2009 to defeat a top ten opponent without making one. On March 6, with its Big Ten Conference Championship destiny in its own hands, Michigan defeated Purdue to set up a championship showdown with Indiana on March 10. Michigan concluded its road schedule with a 5–5 record. Michigan closed out the season by losing to Indiana (#2 AP/#2 Coaches) on March 10, failing its pursuit of defense of its conference co-championship. Michigan led by 5 with 52 seconds to go, but then missed 3 free throws, including the first attempt during 2
one-and-one situations. Burke and Morgan also missed last-second shots at the rim. Michigan wound down its regular season with its fifteenth sellout and five seniors on the roster: Eso Akunne, Josh Bartelstein, Blake McLimans, Corey Person, and Matt Vogrich. The loss kept Michigan from its first undefeated home season since the
1976–77 team.
Postseason Michigan participated in the
2013 Big Ten Conference men's basketball tournament at the
United Center in Chicago. As the #5 seed, they defeated Penn State in the opening round on March 14 by an 83–66 margin. In the second round, the team lost to Wisconsin, 68–59. Prior to the
2013 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, Jeff Goodman of
CBSSports.com named Michigan first among tournament teams in terms of having the most future
NBA talent on its roster (in the absence of
Kentucky, which was left to accept an invitation to the
2013 National Invitation Tournament). Among Michigan's starting lineup, Burke, Robinson, Hardaway, and McGary were all expected to be likely
NBA draft choices, while Stauskas had the potential to be one. Despite its highly touted lineup, Michigan entered the tournament as the sixth youngest team in the country and the youngest team in the field of 68 teams according to
Sports Illustrated, based on weighted minutes played. The game marked Michigan's first NCAA Championship Monday appearance since 1989. Some sources claim 1993 as the school's last appearance, but those results have been vacated by the NCAA due to the
University of Michigan basketball scandal. Michigan was entered in the tournament's South region where it would play its first two games at
The Palace of Auburn Hills in nearby
Auburn Hills, Michigan. As a number four seed, Michigan opened the tournament by defeating
South Dakota State 71–56, giving the team its most wins in 20 years and matching Beilein's career high as it raised its record to 27–7. Michigan then ousted 5th-seeded
VCU by a 78–53 margin. That gave Michigan its first Sweet Sixteen appearance since the
1993–94 team went to the
1994 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.
Sweet Sixteen The regional championship rounds for Michigan were at
AT&T Stadium in
Arlington, Texas. Burke scored eight points in the final 1:15 of regulation time, including a game-tying long three-pointer with 4.2 seconds remaining. McGary (25 points and 14 rebounds) and Burke (23 points and 10 assists) both posted double-doubles. Several players had career-highs in the game: Stauskas with 6 three-point shots, Burke 8 rebounds, McGary 5 steals and off the bench Albrecht 7 points and 3 steals. McGary and Stauskas joined Burke on the five-man South All-Regional team. Following the regional championship postgame prayer and with Mrs. Beilein's consent, McGary and Hardaway gave Beilein a
Gatorade shower.
Final Four The national championship rounds were held at the
Georgia Dome in
Atlanta, Georgia. In the April 6 national semifinal against
Syracuse, Michigan emerged with its thirty-first victory, the most since the 1992–93 team went 31–5. McGary posted 10 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists, while the bench contributed 22 points, including 6 from Albrecht, who raised his NCAA tournament total to 5-for-5 on three-point shots. Michigan lost the April 8 national championship game against Midwest number one seed
Louisville by an 82–76 score. Albrecht scored 17 first-half points on 4-for-4 three-point shooting. Burke scored 24 points in the championship game and made the seven-man All-Tournament team (which was revised multiple times) along with teammates McGary and Albrecht. The turning point of the game was described as a missed call by the referees when, as Michigan trailed 67–64 with 5 minutes left, Burke pinned
Peyton Siva's dunk attempt with a clean, all-ball block, but was called for a foul, resulting in two made free throws by Siva. Michigan never got closer than 4 points the rest of the game. Louisville's championship has since been vacated by the NCAA, as well as all its wins from 2011 to 2015. This followed an escort recruitment scandal at the university.
Results ==Statistics==