Michigan Basketball: The 2018 Wolverines will be remembered forever

It was tough to watch Michigan basketball lose another national championship game but it doesn’t change the fact that this team was a memorable one.

For the fourth time in the last 29 years, the Michigan basketball team lost a national championship game in the NCAA tournament. This one wasn’t as painful as 1993 or even 2013, but still, it leaves a scar that will take time to heal.

It might not heal until Michigan basketball finally cuts down the nets again. It happened in 1989, when I was three years old. I don’t remember that team. I really wasn’t even a Michigan fan at that point. It’s always been in my blood, since my family is from Michigan, but I didn’t fall in love with the hoops team until the Fab Five.

I remember watching those games and watching Chris Webber take the timeout against North Carolina. I was seven then. But even now at 31, it doesn’t hurt any less.

After that 1993 run and the decade-long NCAA drought, I feared Michigan would never reach the Final Four again. But John Beilein changed all that. He found Trey Burke and got Tim Hardaway Jr. He got Michigan basketball back to the promise land, but after building a 12-point lead in the 2013 title game, the Wolverines again fell painfully short.

I know every Wolverines fan was hoping last night would be our night, the night Beilein and Michigan finally got the championship it has waited 29 years for. Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be, maybe it never will be.

However, that doesn’t change the fact that the 2018 Michigan basketball team was special. Moe Wagner had some outstanding moments; Jordan Poole’s game-winning shot will never be forgotten and Duncan Robinson’s corner 3-pointer against Florida State will be legendary.

This was one of the greatest teams in Michigan history and we shouldn’t forget that. The Wolverines set a school record for wins with 33. They won a Big Ten tournament championship and reached the Final Four. There are also two new banners going up in Crisler Arena before next season.

And more than banners, we have memories that will last a lifetime. Watching the Wolverines win the Big Ten title at the Garden was incredible and seeing them cut down the nets at the West Regional Final felt like a dream come true.

The comeback against Loyola and the 24-point, 15-rebound performance by Wagner is something that will forever live on in UM sports history. Those are the moments we live for as fans, it’s too bad this team just couldn’t provide one more heart-stopping moment.

Maybe next year is always the saying and maybe if Wagner comes back, Michigan will have a chance. But it’s way too early to think about that now. In this moment, let’s remember the 2017-18 Wolverines and remember them in all their glory.

They were a great team and they deserve the place they will hold in my heart forever. Thanks fellas for everything. Forever Go Blue.