The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1460661
APRIL 2022 THE WOLVERINE 45 MICHIGAN BASKETBALL "I was truly upset with myself during that two weeks and did soul-searching 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 Wis- consin and how I can be better as the head coach here." Howard added he started therapy dur- ing his time off. More than anything, he was thrilled to get back to his team. "I'm extremely happy about being back here," he said. "Today was a won- derful day to get an opportunity to coach my team, who I missed so much during these past two weeks. "… During that time, I reflected on the moment at Wisconsin, but also how I can be the best version of myself as a head coach here, better as a person and better as a coach." — Chris Balas PLAYERS LAMENT MISSED OPPORTUNITY IN BIG TEN TOURNAMENT Head coach Juwan Howard's return to the bench went far from as planned in the Big Ten Tournament. Michigan cruised through the first 27 minutes of game action, but ultimately blew a 17-point lead and lost 74-69 to ninth- seeded Indiana. Graduate student point guard DeVante' Jones and sophomore center Hunter Dickinson took to the po- dium in the aftermath and lamented the loss to the Hoosiers. "[We're] not happy with the result," Jones said. "Feel like we had this game. We were up a lot and we let it slip away. We are definitely mad about that. But I feel like we are still together as a team. We're always going to have each other's back no matter what. We're going to get back home, get back to work, see how we can get better as a team and see what happens [on Selection Sunday]." It ultimately did not keep them out of the NCAA Tournament. That did make it sit any easier with Dickinson. "Disappointed in how we came out in the second half," Dickinson said. "We had high aspirations coming into the weekend. And so for us to fall short so early, I was definitely disappointed for us. But this gives us an opportunity to come together for this next week or so until we have to play again." Dickinson was held to only two points in the second half after exploding for 13 in the first 20 minutes. He praised the Hoosiers for how they manned up against him down the stretch. "They were a little more physical with me in the second half, for sure," he said. "I just should have done a better job of, I guess, getting low and really establish- ing position down there." Jones agreed with the idea that the Hoosiers were the more physical bas- ketball team. "They came out playing more physi- cally, they had more effort than us in the second half," Jones said. "I take a lot of that blame for the turnovers that I had, a lot of costly turnovers that I usually don't make. So I just put that on myself." The return of Howard to the Michigan bench was soured by an epic collapse by his team. Despite how it all went, his players are glad he is back coaching them. "We were just happy to have our leader back," Dickinson said. "Yeah, we felt the energy when he was 2021-22 MEN'S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Nov. 10 Buffalo W, 88-76 Nov. 13 vs. Prairie View A&M% W, 77-49 Nov. 16 Seton Hall# L, 67-65 Nov. 19 vs. UNLV^ W, 74-61 Nov. 21 vs. Arizona^ L, 80-62 Nov. 24 Tarleton State W, 65-54 Dec. 1 at North Carolina$ L, 72-51 Dec. 4 San Diego State W, 72-58 Dec. 7 at Nebraska W, 102-67 Dec. 11 Minnesota L, 75-65 Dec. 18 Southern Utah W, 87-50 Dec. 21 Purdue Fort Wayne Canceled Dec. 30 at Central Florida L, 85-71 Jan. 4 at Rutgers L, 75-67 Jan. 14 at Illinois L, 68-53 Jan. 18 Maryland W, 83-64 Jan. 23 at Indiana W, 80-62 Jan. 26 Northwestern W, 72-70 Jan. 29 at Michigan State L, 83-67 Feb. 1 Nebraska W, 85-79 Feb. 5 at Purdue L, 82-76 Feb. 8 at Penn State W, 58-57 Feb. 10 Purdue W, 82-58 Feb. 12 Ohio State L, 68-57 Feb. 17 at Iowa W, 84-79 Feb. 20 at Wisconsin L, 77-63 Feb. 23 Rutgers W, 71-62 Feb. 27 Illinois L, 93-85 Mar. 1 Michigan State W, 87-70 Mar. 3 Iowa L, 82-71 Mar. 6 at Ohio State W, 75-69 Mar. 10 vs. Indiana% L, 74-69 Mar. 17 vs. Colorado State$ (CBS) 12:15 p.m. % Coaches vs. Racism in Washington, D.C.; # Gavitt Tipoff Games in Ann Arbor; ^ Roman Main Event in Las Vegas; $ Big Ten/ACC Challenge; % Big Ten Tournament at Indianapolis; $ NCAA Tournament first round at Indianapolis Graduate student point guard DeVante' Jones scored a team-high 18 points, but the Wolverines blew a 17-point lead and lost to Indiana 74-69 in their opening game of the Big Ten Tournament. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL