When Glen Rice and Michigan won the national championship in 1989, the Wolverines finished third in the Big Ten.
The Fab Five later went to back-to-back Final Fours, but even that group couldn't win a conference title.
''A lot of good coaches and a lot of good players have been able to play at Michigan and not do what we were able to do, so it does mean a lot to us,'' coach John Beilein said Monday. ''It's really unique for us to have this honor right now, and we hope we get a lot more of them.''
The 10th-ranked Wolverines are still basking in the aftermath of the program's first Big Ten championship since 1986 - a goal Michigan reached in dramatic fashion Sunday when Ohio State beat Michigan State on a last-second shot. That result left the Wolverines in a three-way tie at the top. The rival Buckeyes and Spartans also share the title.
For Michigan, the Big Ten title is yet another definitive step forward in Beilein's fifth season as coach. The Wolverines are a virtual lock to play in the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive year. Last season, just reaching the NCAAs was the team's main goal, but after a two-point loss to Duke in the round of 32, the players decided to raise the bar.
''Being so close last year, and then coming back and meeting in the summer, it's been our goal ever since then,'' guard Stu Douglass said. ''It's taken a long time - and ups and downs.''
The Wolverines' title chances were barely flickering after a loss to Purdue in their home finale Feb. 25, but Michigan regrouped and won its last two games on the road. Meanwhile, Ohio State lost to Wisconsin and Michigan State lost at Indiana.
Ohio State needed to win at Michigan State to force the three-way tie, and William Buford became that rarest of athletes - a popular Buckeye in Ann Arbor - when his jumper from the top of the key with 1 second left gave Ohio State a 72-70 win.
''We thought that our chances had slipped away,'' Michigan's Zack Novak said. ''We knew we could take care of our business, but we weren't sure Michigan State was going to drop two in a row to end the season. Wisconsin had to go win at Ohio State. A lot of things had to happen.''
The Wolverines (23-8, 13-5) didn't just finish first, they did it in a year in which the Big Ten might be the nation's strongest and deepest conference. At one point, Michigan went about a month without winning back-to-back games, but nobody else could pull away, and the league race went down to the wire.
The Wolverines split with both Michigan State and Ohio State and won six of their last seven games. They'll be the No. 2 seed in a Big Ten tournament that will feature five teams ranked in the top 15.
''We've got to be greedy,'' Novak said. ''We've still got goals ahead of us.''
But Michigan can take a little time to savor this accomplishment. The Wolverines won the Big Ten tournament in 1998, but that title was vacated because of NCAA sanctions. Last season, they finished tied for fourth in the regular season for their highest finish since 2003.
Michigan actually started 1-6 in Big Ten play in 2011, losing five games in a row before a victory at Michigan State turned the season around. Since then, the Wolverines are 33-13 and haven't lost back-to-back games a single time.
That consistency paid off in the end.
''It was magical a little bit the way it all sort of worked out,'' Beilein said. ''We're very excited about being Big Ten champions, because we've talked about it so much.''
