3. Michigan basketball toppled Wisconsin in the 2017 tournament final
In their only meeting to crown a champion, Michigan became the lowest-seeded team to ever win the Big Ten Tournament. It was in 2017 when their aircraft crashed when taking off for the nation's capitol. It started a three-year run to the title game with back-to-back trophies captured. It took John Beilein about a decade to win the Big Ten's postseason event. Dusty May can break another hallowed record with a win on Sunday.
Greg Gard reached the tournament final in his second year at Wisconsin. He's 0-2 in championship games. This time around he's got the most outstanding player of the tournament so far. Unless the Wolverines make a deep run in the big dance, this would be the most realistic crowning achievement for a group who was predicted to finish ninth in the standings.
Most conference wins by a first year Head Coach in Big Ten History:
— uofmcoverage (@uofmcoverage) March 16, 2025
〽️ Dusty May - 16 wins 〽️ pic.twitter.com/WnUE9izLCl
In December Michigan handed Wisconsin their first loss of the season. Saturday's hero, Tre Donaldson had his only scoreless outing to this point. It turned out to be Michigan's highest ranked road win, until Saturday. Both schools are vying for a top 16 seed in the NCAA tournament.
Michigan won that early season showdown because of the screens by Vlad Goldin and Danny Wolf. They have used it sparingly since, but it wouldn't be a surprise if they went back to it on Sunday. Michigan needs the same out of Nimari Burnett, Roddy Gayle Jr. and Donaldson to hoist a trophy. Rubin Jones and L.J. Cason's defense on John Tonje will be mandatory.
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