Beilein's second Michigan team, the 2008–09 Wolverines took a significant step forward. On November 20, the unranked Wolverines upset #4-ranked UCLA, recording their first win over a top-five team in eleven years. On December 6, Michigan posted its second win of the season over a top-five opponent in a rematch against #4 ranked Duke. The Wolverines reached the top 25 in the national rankings on December 22, its first appearance since the February 6, 2006. On February 26, Michigan defeated the #16-ranked Purdue team 87–78, raising its record to 3–4 against ranked opponents on the season. At the conclusion of the 2008–09 Big Ten season, Michigan was given a seven seed in the 2009 Big Ten Tournament. A win over Iowa in the Big Ten Tournament on March 12 was the Wolverines' twentieth of the season. With that win, Beilein had achieved a 20-win season at seven different schools, including four at the Division I level (Canisius, Richmond, West Virginia, Michigan). Three days later, Beilein's Wolverines earned a bid to the 2009 NCAA Tournament, the school's first appearance in 11 years. There, tenth-seeded Michigan defeated the seventh-seeded Clemson Tigers 62–59 before losing in the second round to Oklahoma 73–63.