The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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APRIL 2022 THE WOLVERINE 43 coached it. We'll go forward. Tomorrow, it's going to be a change, so thank you for allowing me to be with you." After the players applauded, they swept in around the 24-year St. Joseph's head coach, chanted his name and re- sponded as he led the team in a "1-2-3 … Family!" yell. Howard felt the family as well, both when he was out and when he returned. He seemed genuinely joyous about the opportunity to rejoin his team. "I'm extremely happy about be- ing back here," he said. "Today was a wonderful day to get an opportunity to coach my team, who I missed so much during these past two weeks." Howard thanked not only Martelli, Eisley and Washington, along with the rest of the Michigan support staff, he talked about coaches beyond his own crew that provided comfort and en- couragement. "It was great to know friends, not just here," he said. "Head coaches, assistant coaches, managers. They've been sup- portive through the process. They've gotten a chance to know me, know where my heart is. "Knowing that Coach [ Jim] Har- baugh, [women's basketball coach] Kim [Barnes-Arico], [swimming and diving coach] Mike Bottom, [wrestling coach] Sean [Bormet] … the list goes on. We've had conversations, texts back and forth. There's nothing like knowing your Michigan family [remains supportive], and that's what I got from it. They all love me, and I love them, too." ❏ Michigan's stunner of a loss to Indiana in U-M's Big Ten Tournament opener didn't keep the Wolverines out of the NCAA Tournament after all. They're headed right back to Indianapolis as an 11 seed, taking on No. 6 seed Colo- rado State. That doesn't mean U-M's 74-69 loss to the Hoosiers — featuring a blown 17-point lead in the final moments — didn't cause some anxiety prior to Se- lection Sunday. "I definitely was nervous," grad trans- fer guard DeVante' Jones said. "I'm not going to lie. We let a lot of games slip that we weren't supposed to let slip. I didn't know how the people that make the brackets would perceive us." Sophomore center Hunter Dickinson proved a little more laid back. "I wasn't really stressing like some people in the facility," Dickinson said. "I was pretty confident. I felt like what we did throughout the season, the qual- ity of wins we had, that we had done enough where we were in a good spot to get our names called." Michigan's white-knuckle chair grip (for some) on Sunday night began in Indianapolis, in the most shocking manner possible. The Wolverines appeared to be cruising to a sec- ond blowout win of the season over Indiana in their Big Ten Tournament opener. Until they weren't. U-M built a commanding 60-43 lead with 12:52 remaining in the contest. The Wolverines appeared ready to recreate their 80-62 win over the Hoosiers at Assembly Hall on Jan. 23. Instead, the Hoosiers ramped up their intensity, physical- ity and defensive pressure, and the Wolverines completely fell apart. Turnovers, empty offensive possessions and an avalanche of Indiana buckets cascaded into a 31-9 finish to the game and a stunner of a 74-69 victory by the Hoosiers. The local crowd (and the host of Michigan haters from other Big Ten schools) rolled shock into delight while the collapse unfolded. The incredible high of a win at Co- lumbus on Sunday turned into disbe- lief — not to mention renewed NCAA Tournament worries — four days later. "Second half, our defensive break- downs allowed a team to shoot 55.6 percent," Howard ruminated after- ward. "We held them to 37.9 percent in the first half. Those are teachable moments. "It starts with me. I take full account- ability. I'm never the one that's going to deflect or point the finger. … I'm going to have a lot of disturbance in my sleep replaying every play on how I could have done better." "They came out there more physi- cal than us," Jones said. "They brought more energy, more effort in the second half. On defense, we had some mental breakdowns that hurt us as well." He later added, "I take a lot of that blame, for the turnovers. I had a lot of costly turnovers that I usually don't make, so I just put that on myself." "We're disappointed in how we came out in the second half," added Dickin- son. "We had high aspirations, coming into the weekend. For us to fall short so early, I'm definitely disappointed for us." Howard acknowledged the tenuous situation Michigan's capitulation caused in awaiting the NCAA Tournament com- mittee's disposition. "I'm not in charge of the selection committee," he said. "Our guys put themselves in a position to have an opportunity. I'm going to pray … I'm going to wait on Sunday with our players and see where the chips fall at the end." The chips fell Michigan's way, with Indiana — which later upset Big Ten champion Illinois — winding up in a play-in game, and the Wolverines comfortably in the tournament. "We're super excited for our team, that we get to play in the tournament," Howard said. "It's great where we've been seeded. It's well earned. Our players have worked extremely hard and have earned this right to be in the NCAA Tourna- ment." — John Borton Head coach Juwan Howard returned to the bench for the Big Ten Tournament and directed U-M's 74-69 loss to Indiana in its first game. However, the Wolverines still earned a No. 11 seed for the NCAA Tournament. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL Wolverines Shocked In Big Ten Tourney, Limp Into NCAAs