Notre Dame Vs. Michigan Postseason History
For the seventh time since 1974, Notre Dame and Michigan will face each other in postseason action (NCAA Tournament first round, Friday, March 18 in Brooklyn, N.Y., 9:40 p.m.). During that same time span, they met only six times in a home-and-home series.
Michigan leads the all-time series 15-7, but since Digger Phelps’ 1971 debut game as Notre Dame’s head coach the Wolverines are 12-2. That tally includes two of the most painful defeats ever for the Fighting Irish in the NCAA Tournament in 1974 and 1976.
The other four postseason outings between the two occurred in the NIT from 1984 through 2006.
March 14, 1974: Michigan 77, Notre Dame 68
Similar to this year, Michigan needed to win a “play-in” game before facing Notre Dame in the then 25-team tournament. The Wolverines and Indiana tied for the Big Ten title, and because the NCAA Tournament back then took only the conference champion, the two had to face each other at the end of the regular season to determine the title winner.
Notre Dame expected to play Indiana (which would lose only one game the next two years), but Michigan upset the Hoosiers — and then would bolt to a stunning 28-8 lead over the 25-2 and No. 3 Irish in the round of 16 held in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
The Irish cut the deficit to 34-29 by halftime, and led by center John Shumate (34 points and 17 rebounds) took a brief 56-54 lead, but a 13-of-48 shooting performance by the other four starters led to what Phelps called at the time “the worst day of my life.” Campy Russell was brilliant for Michigan with 36 points and 18 rebounds.
This Notre Dame team — which included future first-round picks Shumate, Adrian Dantley and Gary Brokaw, and is still deemed by Phelps to be his best — was trying to duplicate the national title won by the football team a few months earlier. The Irish defeated Indiana, Kentucky, Kansas (which made it to the Final Four), Michigan State and Ohio State on the road, plus also won versus Marquette (the national runner-up) and ended UCLA’s NCAA record 88-game winning streak.
March 18, 1976: Michigan 80, Notre Dame 76
Two years later, the Irish and Wolverines met in the second round again (Sweet 16) in the expanded 32-team field that now allowed a second conference representative into the tourney with an at-large bid.
A late Irish turnover helped secure No. 9 Michigan’s win in Louisville, Ky., against No. 7 Notre Dame. In what would be his final college game, Notre Dame junior All-American Dantley scored 31 points, while guard Rickey Green’s 20 points led Michigan’s five players in double figures.
The Wolverines advanced all the way to the title game and led fellow Big Ten member and unbeaten Indiana at halftime (35-29) before losing 86-68.
March 28, 1984: Michigan 83, Notre Dame 63
In the NIT championship game held in front of 13,123 at New York’s Madison Square Garden, a 28-26 Michigan halftime lead and then a 32-32 tie, turned into a rout with a 24-4 run (13-0 at one point) by the Wolverines. It was the second time under Phelps the Irish finished as the NIT runner-up, joining the 1973 team.
Tim McCormick led Michigan with 28 points and 14 rebounds, while Ray Tarpley added 18 points. In his final Notre Dame game, senior Tom Sluby tallied 19 points, as did sophomore forward Tim Kempton. Phelps said Sluby was “comparable to any player I’ve ever coached at Notre Dame.”
March 20, 1997: Michigan 67, Notre Dame 66
In third-round NIT action held at Notre Dame’s Joyce Center, the Irish led 66-65 with 21 seconds left when its star senior point guard Admore White missed on a one-and-one free throw. Michigan’s Brandon Hughes then used a screen from Robert “Tractor” Traylor and sank a 12-foot shot with 7.6 seconds left for the winning points.
On a broken play, White took the final shot from the baseline that Traylor slightly deflected. Just like in 1984, Michigan would go on to win the NIT.
March 15, 2000: Notre Dame 75, Michigan 65
Sophomore forward Troy Murphy scored 32 points in first-round NIT action — held again at Notre Dame — to help break a halftime tie and enable the Irish to pull away in head coach Matt Doherty’s lone season at the helm. It also is Notre Dame’s lone win versus the Wolverines since the 1983-84 season, with Michigan holding a 7-1 lead during that time.
Just like in 1973 and 1984 with Phelps, and in 1992 under John MacLeod, the Irish would finish as the NIT runner-up, losing to Wake Forest.
March 20, 2006: Michigan 87, Notre Dame 84 (2OT)
In second-round NIT action, this time held in Ann Arbor on the Wolverines’ home floor, Michigan overcame a 41-33 halftime deficit to prevail in double overtime. Guard Dion Harris converted an off-balance three-point prayer with 0.6 seconds left for the victory.
It was the Wolverines’ third straight win over the Irish, who finished a frustrating season 0-5 in overtime games. Guard Chris Quinn ended a stellar senior year at Notre Dame with 18 points and nine assists for head coach Mike Brey’s team. After missing the NCAA Tournament a third straight year, Brey seriously contemplated his future at Notre Dame afterwards.
Michigan finished as the runner-up in the NIT, losing to South Carolina.
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