Michigan coach Juwan Howard refused to back down or apologize for his actions that helped escalate an on-court fight at the end of Saturday’s game.
Howard confirmed in his postgame press conference that he was unhappy with Wisconsin coach Greg Gard’s decision to call timeout with a 15-point lead and 15 seconds remaining in the game. Howard felt that was “not fair” to Michigan. The Wolverines coach also added that the postgame scuffle was escalated by someone touching him, which he said was “very uncalled for.”
Howard added that he did not endorse the fact that some Michigan players apparently tried to throw punches. However, he notably refused to apologize for his conduct.
Howard and Gard sparked the postgame incident in the handshake line, but Howard was definitely the main escalator. Howard also took a swing at Wisconsin assistant Joe Krabbenhoft, which really sent the entire incident over the edge.
Howard had every right to be unhappy with Gard for calling timeout, but there’s plenty of precedent for coaches using timeouts late in blowouts to empty their bench. That alone certainly did not need to lead to a scene like this. Howard’s defiance is unlikely to help him when the Big Ten hands down discipline, either.
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