| 1998–99 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 Big Ten Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, #10 Seed, second round | |||
| Conference | Big Ten Conference | ||
| 1998–99 record | 0-19 (12-19 unadjusted) (0-11 Big Ten) |
||
| Head coach | Brian Ellerbe | ||
| Assistant coach | Scott Trost | ||
| Assistant coach | Kurtis Townsend | ||
| Assistant coach | Lorenzo Neely | ||
| MVP | Louis Bullock | ||
| Captain | Louis Bullock | ||
| Captain | Robbie Reid | ||
| Home arena | Crisler Arena | ||
Seasons
|
|||
The 1998–99 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team represented the University of Michigan in intercollegiate college basketball during the 1998–99 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 Brian Ellerbe, the team finished tied for ninth in the Big Ten Conference.[1] The team earned a tenth seed and advanced to the second round of the 1999 Big Ten Conference Men's Basketball Tournament.[2] The team failed to earn an invitation to either the 1999 National Invitation Tournament or the 1999 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament.[3] The team was unranked for all eighteen weeks of Associated Press Top Twenty-Five Poll,[4] and it also ended the season unranked in the final USA Today/CNN Poll.[5] The team had a 6–11 record against ranked opponents, including the following victories: November 23, 1998 against #24 Clemson 59–56 in the Maui Invitational at Lahania Civic Center in Maui, Hawaii, December 30, 1998 against #19 Wisconsin 59–55 at home, January 5, 1999 against #13 Indiana 82–70 at home, January 16, 1999 against #21 Ohio State 84–74 at home, February 7, 1999 against #18 Minnesota 75–65 at home, February 27, 1999 against #16 Wisconsin 51–39 at home.[6]
Louis Bullock and Robbie Reid served as team co-captains, while Louis Bullock earned team MVP honors.[7] The team's leading scorers were Louis Bullock (643 points), Robbie Reid (418 points) and John Asselin (275 points). The leading rebounders were Peter Vignier (229), John Asselin (183), and Bullock (117).[8]
Bullock led the Big Ten Conference in free throw percentage in all games (86.4%).[9] Reid led the conference in three point field goals made in conference games (49) and three point field goal percentage in conference games (45.8%).[9]
Bullock established the current Big Ten Conference record for career three point field goals made (339).[10] The record carries an asterisk in the Big Ten Media guide and Pete Lisicky's (332, 1998) name is below Bullock's with a 1 next to it signifying it is the highest recognized total.[10] There is a similar asterisk in the Michigan record book where his name is above Dion Harris's 268 total in 2007.[11] Bullock also ended his career with the highest total number of free throws made (505) in Michigan history, above Cazzie Russell's 486 total set in 1966.[12] Bullock's career free throw percentage of 86.03 surpassed Russell's 82.65 from 1966 and still is above Lester Abram's 82.93 from 2007.[12] Bullock surpassed his 1997 single-season free throw record with a 91.11%.[11]
The team surpassed the 1987 team’s 75.0% mark as the best free throw shooting team in school history with a 75.2% average. This stood as the best in school history until 2002.[12] On December 9, 1998, it set the school single-game record by making 34 free throws against the Eastern Michigan.[12] This surpassed the 33 made on January 23, 1971 and was surpassed twice the following season.[12]
Bullock set the career records for minutes played (4356) and games started (129), surpassing Gary Grant’s 1988 totals of 4231 and 128. Both continue to be school bests with Grant holding the highest untarnished totals.[13]
In the 1999 Big Ten Conference Men's Basketball Tournament at the United Center from March 4–7, Michigan was seeded tenth. In the first round they defeated number 7Purdue 79–73 in overtime. In the second round, they lost to number two Ohio State 87–69.[14]
One player from this team was selected in the NBA Draft.[15]
| Year | Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 1999 | 2 | 13 (42) | Louis Bullock | Minnesota Timberwolves |
|
||||||||||||||||||||