[4] In early December 1917, the Detroit Free Press wrote that basketball "receives its inception as a major league sport at Michigan this year.

"[5] The Free Press noted that the game had never been played "on a big scale" in Ann Arbor, and Coach Mitchell had been unable to find experienced players for the team.

[5] In the days leading up to the season opener, Mitchell culled the team to 12 players and put them through strenuous conditioning workouts each night as well as passing and shooting drills.

Case had a veteran team that had won the Ohio Conference basketball championship the prior year,[6] and the Wolverines lost the game, 27–25.

In late December, the Detroit Free Press noted that three home games set for the first week of January were "expected to arouse interest in the basketball team, a thing which has been noticeable by its absence ever since the practice season started, over a month ago.

The court was modified to run lengthwise in order to create a larger playing floor, and backboards were hung from the rafters.

He announced that, for the remaining games, he would play Rychener and McClintock at forward, Bartz at center, and Emery and Boyd at the guard positions.

[14] The Detroit Free Press opined in early February that a lack of confidence had caused the players to "miss many easy shots, gum up passes, and lose their heads at a critical moment.

The losing streak, which began against Indiana on January 18, 1918, and continued through the Great Lakes game on February 11, 1918, was a school record that was not broken for 26 years.

The Wolverines were meeting experienced teams in Conference basketball and the Blue players were forced to learn the fundamentals and fine points at the same time.

"[22] The Free Press emphasized that Coach Mitchell began the season without a single experienced player, noted that the team had "gained greatly" in experience and form, and concluded that expectations had been too high among the fans in Ann Arbor:"At the start of the basketball year there was little hope held out for a Michigan triumph in the indoor game.

The campus, not quite understanding the nature of the competition Michigan had to face, hoped for bigger things than lay within the realms of possibility.

"[22]At the end of the season, six players were awarded varsity "M" letters for their participation on the 1917-18 men's basketball team: Alan W. Boyd, John H. Emery, Timothy Y. Hewlitt, James I. McClintock, Ralph O. Rychener, and Edward E. Ruzicka.