YouTube Gold: Michigan’s Second Straight Championship Choke

It’s an oldie but a goodie

When Duke had three engagements with Michigan’s Fab Five in 1991-92 and 1992-93, it was really easy to dislike the Fab Five. When they came to Cameron after losing to the Blue Devils in the title game the previous spring, they talked about how Duke “stole” their national championship (they paid a price, too).

Although they came across as very cool to a lot of fans, to Dukies, they came off as annoying, arrogant and unlikeable.

So when Michigan got to the championship game in 1993 against Dean Smith’s UNC Tar Heels, it presented a real dilemma: they couldn’t both lose.

It was like choosing between a root canal and a circumcision.

Realistically though, there was only one way this game was going to end. It was going to be close and Michigan was going to make an error at the end.

Why?

Because for all their talent, the Fab Five never fully mastered the basics of the game. They were always more interested in looking cool than being good.

However, while UNC was by far the better team, there is no denying this: Smith won both of his national championships because players on the opposing teams - Fred Brown’s inexplicable turnover for Georgetown in 1982 and Chris Webber’s idiotic timeout in 1993.