From 8 wins last season to the Sweet Sixteen just one year later, head coach Dusty May’s turnaround with the Michigan Wolverines should be considered among the top-3 in the history of the sport:
What a difference a year makes.
Dusty May was hired by the Michigan Wolverines almost exactly a year ago to the day – March 23, 2024. In a single season, May took the program from a disgraceful 8-24 record and last place finish in the Big Ten, to a Big Ten Tournament championship and a spot in the Sweet Sixteen.
We’ve entered rarified air for how impressive this turnaround has been. Something this drastic has only happened a handful of times in the history of college basketball. Typically, it has taken years for something like this to be built. But May, with the assistance of the transfer portal and NIL, has put this program back among college basketball’s elites.
It’s safe to say this is among the top-three greatest turnarounds in the history of college basketball. There are a few to be named here based on winning percentage, overall record, and how far these teams went on an NCAA Tournament run. So here are the contenders for the most impressive we’ve seen to this point.
1959-1960 Texas Longhorns
- Team Record: 18-8
- Previous Year Record: 4-20
We’re into the way-back machine for this one, but the Longhorns went from a four-win team in 1958-59 to an 18-win program a year later. They hired former ACC Coach of the Year Harold Bradley away from Duke and scored almost 20 points per game more because of him. The Longhorns won the Southwest Conference, but lost to Kansas in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
2014-15 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
- Team Record: 32-6
- Previous Year Record: 15-17
In 2013-14, Notre Dame made the switch from the Big East to the ACC and went from the preseason No. 21 team to 6-12 in conference play. The next season, however, was extremely impressive. The Irish beat a top-five Duke team twice, and a top-25 North Carolina team twice on their way to finishing third in the ACC regular season and winning the ACC Tournament Championship.
The Irish were a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and after avoiding a scare in the first round against Northeastern, they beat No. 6 Butler and No. 7 Wichita State to make the Elite Eight. Their season came to an end just before the Final Four, losing to an undefeated No. 1 overall seed Kentucky by just two points.
2021-22 Iowa State Cyclones
- Team Record: 22-13
- Previous Year Record: 2-22
Iowa State was one of the worst basketball teams in the country in 2020-21, and while COVID certainly played a role, the Cyclones had one of their worst seasons in program history. They went winless in the Big 12 and scored 11 points per game (65.6) less than they allowed (76.7).
Then, they hired T.J. Otzelberger, who had just started his rebuild at UNLV during COVID but had previously taken South Dakota State to two NCAA tournaments in three seasons. In his first year in Ames, Iowa State started 12-0 with two top-25 wins over Memphis and Xavier. Despite some hiccups, the Cyclones finished 20-11 in regular season play.
Unlike this Michigan team, the Cyclones lost in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament. They entered the NCAA Tournament as an No. 11 seed and one of the last teams in the field of 68. They proceeded to upset the No. 6 LSU Tigers, and then toppled No. 3 Wisconsin. However, in the Sweet Sixteen, the Cyclones fell to No. 10 Miami, a Final Four bound team.
Iowa State set a conference record with their 20-win improvement, the second-most in men’s history and the most ever at the Division I level.
1998-99 Ohio State Buckeyes
- Team Record: 27-9*
- Previous Year Record: 8-22
Jim O’Brien took over as head coach in 1997-98 and won only eight games, with just a single win from the Big Ten. However, there was a star on the team — freshman Michael Redd, who averaged over 20 points per game. Meanwhile, an important transfer sat on the bench for the year and waited to be a part of something special in Columbus the following season.
That transfer was Scoonie Penn, who came from Boston College. He averaged almost 17 points per game along with nearly 20 points a contest from Redd as a sophomore. The pairing led Ohio State to 27 wins.
Heading into the NCAA Tournament, Ohio State was a No. 4 seed and took down No. 13 Murray State and No. 12 Detroit to make the Sweet Sixteen. Then, the Buckeyes toppled No. 1 Auburn and No. 3 St. John’s to make their first Final Four since 1968. In the Final Four, the Buckeyes ran into No. 1 overall seed UConn, which would win the game and eventually the national title.
At the time, this run set an NCAA record with a 19-win difference between years. However, these wins were vacated because of guard Boban Savovic, a Yugoslavian guard who was later found to be receiving financial support from a Serbian booster at Ohio State. Savovic scored only 3.5 points per game in 98-99 and never scored more than 12 points per game in his career with the program.
HM: 1991-92 Michigan Wolverines
- Team Record: 25-9*
- Previous Year Record: 14-15
While 11 wins wasn’t staggering, what Michigan did with the Fab Five during this stretch was. The Wolverines made historical and cultural impacts that would change the game of college basketball forever, with previous ideology being that freshman couldn’t do what they accomplished.
Making the National Championship after beating three-straight top-15 opponents in the NCAA Tournament with all freshmen on the floor was unheard of. While they fell short against Duke, it was the start of one of the most impactful runs in college basketball history.
Shoutout: 2023-24 Gannon Golden Knights
- Team Record: 32-3
- Previous Year Record: 3-23
While this is Division II… my goodness. Gannon scored more than 80 points just twice in 2022-23. After hiring gunslinger Jordan Fee, the team averaged an absurd 101 points per game. The 29-win swing is the largest in the history of college basketball at any level and it will very likely never be topped.
Looking through some of the greatest turnarounds of all-time, the 2024-25 Wolverines are right near the top. They have the Big Ten Tournament championship and have made the Sweet Sixteen with a 19-win difference between last year and today. The best part is the story is still being written.
No matter how you slice it, this first-year run from May is already among the greatest in college basketball history, and it could finish as the best ever depending on what happens next.