Jeff Meyer and Billy Donlon also departed prior to the season to take assistant coaching positions at Butler and Northwestern, respectively, and were replaced by DeAndre Haynes and Luke Yaklich.

The team earned the third seed in the 2018 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament and reached the Championship Game before losing to Villanova.

Zak Irvin and Derrick Walton graduated during their senior seasons for the 2016–17 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team.

[8] On October 11, Fred Wright-Jones left the team, but remained at Michigan as a student on a full academic scholarship.

[9] In April 2017, some early pollsters included Michigan among the expected preseason top 25 teams: ESPN (#22),[1] and Sports Illustrated (#23).

[16] At the time, ESPN's Eamonn Brennan felt it was a "foregone conclusion" that D. J. Wilson would declare for the 2017 NBA draft,[1] with Sports Illustrated projecting him as a first round selection.

[17] On April 10, both D. J. Wilson and Moe Wagner declared for the 2017 NBA draft, but did not hire agents, which gave them until May 24 to withdraw their names and retain their athletic eligibility to return to Michigan.

Simmons, a 2017 first team All-Mid-American Conference honoree who averaged 15.9 points and 6.5 assists in 2016–17, had declared for the draft without hiring an agent on March 28.

[19] On April 30, Jeff Goodman of ESPN reported that Wagner and Wilson were invited to the NBA draft combine and Walton was named as an alternate.

[39] The same day, Poole announced that he would transfer from Rufus King High School in Wisconsin to La Lumiere School in Indiana where he would experience a campus lifestyle, play a schedule with several ESPN broadcasts, and be teamed up with unsigned class of 2017 prospects Brian Bowen and Jeremiah Tilmon.

[47] On the morning of the season-opening exhibition game, the team announced that student manager C. J. Baird would be elevated to the roster.

[53][54] Sources: On August 4, 2017, Michigan announced that it had hired Luke Yaklich and DeAndre Haynes away from the Illinois State Redbirds to serve as assistant coaches.

Nunez received much attention over the summer scouting period and drew praise for his shooting ability; he committed to Michigan over schools such as Penn State, Texas A&M, and Boston College.

Michigan had five double-digit scorers, including Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman who led the team with 17 points and Moe Wagner who contributed his second consecutive double-double, and third of his career.

[74][75] In the consolation bracket, Michigan defeated Chaminade the next day on the strength of Matthews' first career double-double (22 points and 10 rebounds).

[76][77] On November 22, Michigan defeated Virginia Commonwealth (VCU) 68–60, earning a fifth-place finish in the Maui Invitational Tournament.

It was the team's first pair of double-doubles in a game since Glenn Robinson III and Trey Burke did so for the 2012–13 National Runner-up Wolverines on January 6, 2013.

[90][91] Muhammad-Ali Abdur Rahkman's first career double-double (17 points and 10 rebounds), helped Michigan defeat Texas 59–52 on December 12.

[102][103] On January 9, Michigan lost to (#5 AP Poll/#7 Coaches Poll) Purdue 69–70, ending their seven-game winning streak.

The game remained tied until the final four seconds when Isaac Haas made his first free throw attempt to give Purdue the win.

[125][126] After missing the better part of two games,[127] Livers returned to the starting lineup on February 14,[128] as Michigan defeated Iowa for a second time by a 74–59 margin.

[129][130] On February 18, Michigan defeated (#8 AP Poll/#9 Coaches Poll)[131] Ohio State 74–62 in their final home game of the regular season.

Robinson led the way with 19 points off the bench and the team had a season-high 84 percent free throw percentage, which included going 9-for-10 in the final minute of the game.

[136][137] On March 1, Michigan opened its 2018 Big Ten Conference men's basketball tournament play with a 77–71 overtime victory over Iowa.

Abdur-Rahkman (5–5) became the second player in the history of the Big Ten Conference men's basketball tournament to be perfect on at least 5 three-point shots in a single game.

[144][145][146] On March 4, Michigan defeated (#8 AP Poll/#8 Coaches Poll) Purdue 75–66 to claim their second consecutive Big Ten tournament championship.

[150][151] On March 17, Michigan defeated (#21 AP Poll/#19 Coaches Poll) Houston 64–63 in the second round, following a game-winning buzzer beater three-point shot by Poole as time expired.

Eight different Wolverines made a three-point field goal, setting a program record for most players to make one in an NCAA tournament game.

Michigan thus advanced to its seventh national championship game, and first since 2013, and set a single season record with its 33rd victory.

[174] The team had five members earn Academic All-Big Ten honors for maintaining a 3.0 grade point average: Austin Davis, Matthews.