Final Four bid sparks memories of Fab Five

Michigan in Final Four for first time since 1993 season

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – It's been more than a decade since the maize and blue battled it out on the hard wood in the Final Four.

The last University of Michigan men's basketball team to make the semi-final round of the NCAA basketball tournament was best known as the Fab Five.  The Fab Five was the nickname for the 1991 recruitment class.  It consisted of Detroit native Chris Webber and Jalen Rose, Chicago native Juwan Howard and Texas high school basketball stars Jimmy King and Ray Jackson.  The Fab Five era was the last time Michigan played in the Final Four.

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The Fab Five are considered the greatest freshmen class in college basketball history.  In 1992, the y became the first all-freshman starting five to reach the Final Four.  They beat Cincinnati 76-72 to reach the tournament final, but lost to Duke in the final game, 71-51.  They returned the Final Four again in 1993 as sophomores, and defeated Kentucky 81-78 to reach the final game.  The Fab Five lost to North Carolina in the final game, 77-71.

Both of those final four berths were vacated after a scandal involving Chris Webber accepting money from a booster.  The banners from the 1992 and 1993 Final Fours no longer hang at Crisler Arena.