Juwan Howard created a brawl. He swung. Everything else is noise.
Whether the Michigan coach was right or wrong — and all indications are the latter — is irrelevant. His job as a college basketball coach is partly as an educator. He’s a mentor. He’s supposed to be a leader.
He wasn’t any of those things on Sunday afternoon in Madison, Wis., after his team suffered a 14-point loss. He acted like a child. He lost his temper. He got physical with not one — but two — opposing coaches, escalating a situation that needed to be de-escalated.
For that reason, he has to be suspended for the rest of the season, until Michigan has played its final game. He can’t be part of this program until the year is over.
Some will say that is too harsh. Others will say it’s too light. It is a warning: One more incident and you’re gone. This cannot be tolerated. In a statement, Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel said there is “no excuse” for what took place, which is a promising start.
Howard, the 49-year-old former NBA player and Michigan star, was upset that Wisconsin coach Greg Gard called a timeout in the final minute resetting the 10-second half-court clock. Michigan, down 15 points with 15 seconds left, was pressing the Badgers backups. He let Gard know about it in the handshake line and Gard stepped in front of him to address the matter. Shortly thereafter, Howard landed what appeared to be an open-handed swing to the face of Wisconsin assistant Joe Krabbenhoft.
After the game, Howard didn’t seem to understand the gravity of the situation. He said he felt the “need to defend himself,” that someone — presumably Gard — touched him first. Howard is 6-foot-9. Gard isn’t anywhere close to that. Was Howard concerned for his knees? After the initial incident, they were separated. But Howard returned to the skirmish for more, which is when he raised his right hand, leading to more punches from what looked like Michigan players.
Wonder where they got the idea that was OK? Right, the guy who is supposed to lead them, and didn’t apologize for the ugliness that took place.
Overall, Howard has done a solid job in his three years at Michigan. He reached an Elite Eight in his second season and has recruited well. But he has been prone to blowups like this one. During last year’s Big Ten Tournament, he was ejected after getting into a shouting match with Maryland coach Mark Turgeon and needed to be restrained by his assistant coaches.
Michigan and the Big Ten need to take a stand. Send a message to Juwan Howard that he has to be better. He can’t coach another game this season.
Coming up short
Unless there is an unforeseen development, the Big East season will end with a handful of significant games not being played due to earlier COVID-19 pauses that may impact the postseason. Creighton, firmly on the bubble, will not make up its home game with No. 8 Providence. St. John’s, trying to play its way into the tournament picture, will not play its home game with Marquette. And Providence, the league leader at this moment, isn’t expected to play the aforementioned Creighton game or visit Seton Hall or host No. 24 Connecticut.
According to sources, the league discussed playing games the Monday before the conference tournament begins, but it was agreed upon not to do so. These games were not able to be made up because there wasn’t time to fit them in under the parameters that were set. That includes teams not playing three games the final week of the regular season or having consecutive weeks with three games in a single week. Those parameters could only be bypassed if both teams agreed, and that didn’t happen in these instances.
But the league is only hurting itself by not making sure the games are played. St. John’s and Creighton lose out on résumé-building games while Providence may end up the regular-season champion despite a much easier schedule than others. More should’ve been done, and still could be, to get these games in.
No’ way
Saturday, the NCAA Tournament selection committee released its made-for-television top 16 just over three weeks before Selection Sunday. Mostly, it went as expected. The one-seeds were Gonzaga, Auburn, Arizona and Kansas. The Big 12 had four teams while the SEC and Big Ten had three apiece. One major problem with it was the placement of 10th-ranked Villanova, the three-seed in the East, which is being played at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. The Wildcats would basically be playing home games the second weekend if they get there. That would be unacceptable and unfair to the teams seeded ahead of the Big East’s best team, Kansas and No. 2 Kentucky. They are supposed to be protected from such regional advantages even if Villanova only scheduled three games at Wells Fargo Center this year so it couldn’t be counted as one of its home sites.
Game of the Week
No. 6 Kansas at No. 7 Baylor, Saturday, 8 p.m.
Kansas has reclaimed its spot atop the treacherous Big 12, and, owning a two-game lead over Texas Tech and Baylor, it may be able to clinch the regular-season title Saturday night in Waco. Since an ugly 18-point home loss to Kentucky, the Jayhawks have won five of six, which includes a 24-point beatdown of Baylor. The battle in the backcourt will be fun to follow, as Ochai Agbaji, Christian Braun and Remy Martin of Kansas meet James Akinjo, Adam Flagler and LJ Cryer of Baylor.
Seedings:
1: Gonzaga, Arizona, Auburn, Kansas
2: Kentucky, Purdue, Duke, Baylor
3: Villanova, Texas Tech, Illinois, Wisconsin,
4: UCLA, Providence, Houston, Tennessee,
Stock Watch
Eric Mussleman – Up
Has anyone handled the move from the NBA to college better? The former Warriors and Kings coach is on track to reach his fifth NCAA Tournament in seven seasons as a college coach at Nevada and Arkansas, and of those two years he missed the Dance, one was the COVID-19-shortened season. After leading the Razorbacks to the Elite Eight a year ago, expectations were lowered. The 23rd-ranked Hogs lost four of their top six scorers and started slowly. But Mussleman has figured it out, leading his reshaped team to 11 wins in 12 games to climb into third place in the loaded SEC.
South Dakota State – Up
Keep an eye on this potential March sleeper, one of only three teams undefeated in conference play. Gonzaga and Murray State are the others. The Jackrabbits are a lethal shooting team, making 45.2 percent of their attempts from distance — that’s the highest mark in the country — and feature a three-headed scoring machine of Noah Freidel, Douglas Wilson and Baylor Scheierman, all of whom average 15 points per game. They played No. 25 Alabama tough, beat Nevada and George Mason, and of their 16 Summit League wins, 11 have come by double figures.
Zach Freemantle – Down
The Teaneck, N.J., native was considered one of the best returning players in the Big East, a legitimate Player of the Year candidate in the conference. He’s not even a top-three player on Xavier at the moment. His offensive numbers are decidedly down across the board, particularly his 3-pointer shooting, a ghastly 14.7 percent. Obviously, part of his down junior season is the result of October foot surgery. He didn’t make his debut until the start of December and hasn’t regained his confidence. As the Musketeers struggle in February, losing four of their last five games, the standout forward needs to find his form.
Oregon – Down
Nobody has benefitted more in recent years from transfers. They spearheaded Oregon’s Sweet 16 run a year ago. But it clearly isn’t easy to make new rosters work on a yearly basis, and it hasn’t happened this season for Dana Altman and Co. The Ducks, despite big additions of Jacob Young (Rutgers), De’Vion Harmon (Oklahoma) and Quincy Guerrier (Syracuse), are skidding at the wrong time, dropping three of their last four games, suffering brutal losses to woeful Arizona State and California in that span. With a NET ranking of 63 and six sub-Quad 1 losses, a bid seems unlikely for Oregon barring a Pac-12 conference title.