The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MARCH 2024 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 73 BY CHRIS BALAS M ichigan basketball coach Juwan Howard started the 2023-24 sea- son recovering from serious heart sur- gery, and he still goes to physical ther- apy three times a week while recovering. He's been much more reserved on the sideline this season, perhaps as a result, and his team has struggled mightily in what's been a tough fifth year for the coach. The Wolverines fell to 8-18 overall and 3-12 in Big Ten play after a 73-63 home loss to Michigan State Feb. 17, and they stand last in the conference by a large margin. They'd come off back-to-back blowout losses at Nebraska and Illinois in which they trailed by at least 30 in each game, and while they played MSU to a standstill for the first 33 minutes, they failed to score in the last 7:01 in a disap- pointing home loss. Michigan turned it over a whopping 22 times against the Spartans, but How- ard bristled at postgame suggestions he was letting his players play "free." He insisted he wanted them to "play within the guidelines of the game" — in reality, though, they haven't done that in a long time, looking undisciplined and out of sorts on both ends. Michigan State managed 19 points in transition to Michigan's 2 and scored 40 points in the paint to U-M's 24 in pulling away. The Wolverines took quick shots when they weren't turning it over and struggled most of the game. "I can't run out there and grab the bas- ketball and take it from them and say, 'Hey, slow down — we can't shoot those type of shots,'" Howard said. "Some of those selections were bad decisions. We didn't have enough player ball move- ment to make the Michigan State defense move from side to side." As a result, the Spartans swept the season series from Michigan for the first time since 2018-19. Despite speculation from fans and the media, Howard insisted he would not step down during the season. "I am bought in," he said. "I love this place, and I love our players and I never ran or never quit in my life. That's a good question, because that lets me know you really don't know me. And as you get to know me a little bit better and know my story, every time and everywhere I've ❱ MICHIGAN BASKETBALL Juwan Howard Vows He'll Keep Grinding During A Tough Season The Wolverines have struggled this season, but Howard vowed on Feb. 17 that he and the team would keep working to find solutions. "It's my job to keep coaching, keep teaching, and to find positive energy each and every day," he said. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL Date Opponent Time/TV Nov. 3 Northwood (exhib.) W, 92-45 Nov. 7 UNC Asheville W, 99-74 Nov. 10 Youngstown State W, 92-62 Nov. 13 vs. St. John's W, 89-73 Nov. 17 Long Beach State L, 94-86 Nov. 22 vs. Memphis^ L, 71-67 Nov. 23 vs. Stanford^ W, 83-78 Nov. 24 vs. Texas Tech^ L, 73-57 Dec. 2 at Oregon L, 86-83 (OT) Dec. 5 Indiana L, 78-75 Dec. 10 at Iowa W, 90-80 Dec. 16 Eastern Michigan W, 83-66 Dec. 19 vs. Florida% L, 106-101 (OT) Date Opponent Time/TV Dec. 29 McNeese L, 87-76 Jan. 4 Minnesota L, 73-71 Jan. 7 vs. Penn State# L, 79-73 Jan. 11 at Maryland L, 64-57 Jan. 15 Ohio State W, 73-65 Jan. 18 Illinois L, 88-73 Jan. 23 at Purdue L, 99-67 Jan. 27 Iowa L, 88-78 Jan. 30 at Michigan State L, 81-62 Feb. 3 Rutgers L, 69-59 Feb. 7 Wisconsin W, 72-68 Feb. 10 at Nebraska L, 79-59 Feb. 13 at Illinois L, 97-68 Date Opponent Time/TV Feb. 17 Michigan State L, 73-63 Feb. 22 at Northwestern 9 p.m./FS1 Feb. 25 Purdue 2 p.m./CBS Feb. 29 at Rutgers 8:30 p.m./FS1 Mar. 3 at Ohio State 4 p.m./CBS Mar. 10 Nebraska Noon/BTN Mar. 13-17 Big Ten Tournament $ TBA All times Eastern * Gavitt Tipoff Games, Madison Square Garden, New York; ^ Battle 4 Atlantis, Paradise Island, Bahamas; % Jumpman Invitational, Charlotte, N.C.; # The Palestra, Philadelphia; $ Target Center, Minneapolis ❱ 2023-24 Michigan Men's Basketball Schedule