The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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42 THE WOLVERINE APRIL 2022 Wisconsin aftermath, beating Rutgers (71-62) and losing to eventual Big Ten champion Illinois (93-85). Most bracketology experts insisted that left the Wolverines needing to win two of their final three games remaining to feel safe about an NCAA Tournament spot. They couldn't have gotten off to a better start on that quest. Amid a Maize Out at Crisler Center on March 1, the Wolverines battered Michigan State into oblivion, 87-70. Michigan shot 58.2 percent from the field, used a 14-0 run to establish a commanding 44-28 halftime lead and thoroughly frustrated the Spartans. Dickinson enjoyed a career day as a Wolverine, scoring 33 points with nine rebounds, and letting MSU know about it. He stared down and barked at the Spartans bench several times during the contest. At one point, MSU head coach Tom Izzo leaped off the bench, shrieking about Dickinson's bravado. Officials eventually told the U-M big man he couldn't direct his outbursts at the op- position. He complied — but kept pour- ing on the points. Izzo spoke glowingly to Dickinson earlier in the season, after the Spartans defeated Michigan in East Lansing. He praised the big man's play, and played gracious host. Not so much, the second time around. Following the rematch, Izzo blew by Dickinson in the handshake line with- out a word. The U-M sophomore in- sisted there was a handshake, but the hand-to-hand contact proved brief and minimal. "I remember after the game at Michi- gan State, Coach Izzo had a lot to say to me — a lot of good things," Dickinson noted. "After this game, he didn't say anything. I feel like he got a little upset. But I don't know. I don't take it person- ally." Michigan took personally what hap- pened next. With a chance to nail down the second win needed for Big Dance assurance, the Wolverines stepped on their own toes in an 82-71 home loss to red-hot Iowa. The Hawkeyes raced off to a 26-11 lead, nailed 11 of 19 three- point attempts and never gave Michigan an opening to mount a comeback. While the loss proved stunning in its thoroughness, it kept alive a troubling pattern. Since the Wolverines knocked off Penn State and Purdue on Feb. 8 and 10, they'd gone lose-win-lose-win for seven straight contests. They desperately needed to stretch the pattern to eight with a win in Co- lumbus, and did so. But with tourna- ment time at hand, they could ill afford the consistent inconsistency. GETTING THE BAND BACK TOGETHER AGAIN Howard emerged from his five-game suspension just in time for the Big Ten Tournament. He returned demonstrat- ing humility in rejoining his crew fol- lowing the rollercoaster ride of a five- game absence. The third-year Michigan coach ac- knowledged the grueling difficulty of watching helplessly while the Wolver- ines battled without him. He also fully owned the mistakes he made at Wis- consin, leading to the suspension. "I can come up with 1,000 excuses, but I will not," Howard said on the opening day of the Big Ten Tourna- ment. "I take full ownership for my ac- tions. I can talk about the timeout. We can discuss the pull on the arm. We can talk about the words exchanged with coaches. All that would be excuses. The main thing is, that was not the right way to carry myself as a head coach at a fine institution like the University of Michigan. "I was truly upset with myself during that two weeks and did soul-searching on how I can improve. When I talk about my team being one percent better, that applies to me, too. So during that two weeks, I reflected on the moment at Wisconsin and how I can be better as the head coach here." Howard was suspended for an open- handed slap to the left side of Wiscon- sin assistant Joe Krabbenhoft's face. He apologized to Krabbenhoft, while not- ing he intended to also apologize face to face. "I will continue to grow," Howard said. "I'm not going to be perfect. I know there's going to be a big micro- scope on me every time I coach. What are my emotions like? How am I going to communicate with my players? "I will tell you this. I know I'm not a perfect person. With the mistake I made, I will try to improve … there was growth, and I have learned from the process. And I will continue to keep learning." Martelli remained humble through- out, consistently pointing to Michigan's other assistants when interviewed. In a session with players — recorded inside the U-M locker room following the win over Ohio State — Martelli thanked the players. "Look, it's not smoke," he said. "I managed it, they coached it. They In Phil Martelli's final game filling in as head coach, Michigan captured a shocking 75-69 victory over Ohio State at The Schottenstein Center. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL Phil Martelli on U-M's 75-69 win over Ohio State in the regular-season finale "We were on every ball, so we were raising hell on that court, every guy that got in the game."