The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1517673
42 THE WOLVERINE ❱ APRIL 2024 BY CHRIS BALAS M ichigan's 66-57 loss to Penn State March 13 capped a number of milestones for the basketball program in a historically bad season. Head coach Ju- wan Howard was let go two days after the setback, the earliest Big Ten Tournament exit in program history (the tournament started in 1998), and the search for a new coach had begun in mid-March. With his departure, several Michigan players have begun to explore the transfer portal. Point guard Dug McDaniel entered when it opened on March 18, and he was joined by freshman George Washington III and forward/center Tarris Reed Jr. Following Michigan's loss to the Nit- tany Lions, McDaniel told reporters that he considered Howard "a great coach, a great uncle." "I'd have him back," the sophomore continued. "We have that great relation- ship. I don't see a problem with it. "Anything is possible. You can't win them all. Seasons like this happen to the best of teams. Michigan has a lot of pedi- gree, a lot of history behind it. I know that the turnaround is coming soon." McDaniel missed several games this year after being suspended for Big Ten road contests in January due to academic issues, and there had been rumblings he was going to look for a change of scenery following the season. No matter who returns, the program will be facing a major rebuild after finish- ing 8-24, setting a record for losses in a season (two more than the 22 in 2007-08, John Beilein's first season). The Wolver- ines finished dead last in Big Ten play for the first time since 1966-67 with a 3-17 record, going 2-19 overall in their last 21 games. Other records in futility: • Michigan lost nine consecutive games to finish the campaign, the longest in- season losing streak in program history and tied for U-M's overall longest losing streak. • Opponents shot 44.6 percent against the Wolverines this season. It was the highest percentage Michigan has allowed since the 1986-87 season, the first year with the three-point line. In addition, Michigan's adjusted defensive efficiency (a KenPom.com stat measuring that end of the floor based on level of competi- tion, etc.) was U-M's worst ever (since that metric began being tracked in 1996- 97) and ranked 89th out of 94 high-major teams this season. • The Wolverines were the only confer- ence team to not have any players on any of the All-Big Ten teams — first, second, third, defensive or all-freshman. • It was so bad, in fact, that assistant Phil Martelli won more games (five) in 10 games as Michigan's interim head coach than Howard did after returning from heart surgery (three in 22 games). INITIAL CANDIDATE LIST Several names had been mentioned as potential candidates for the U-M head coaching vacancy as of March 16, includ- ing Florida Atlantic's Dusty May, who led his team to the Final Four last year, and Oklahoma's Porter Moser. There have been rumblings Moser "wants out" of Norman, and there were rumors he was going to take the DePaul job closer to his Chicago roots before former Ohio State coach Chris Holt- mann snagged it, though he shot them down. Moser is in his third season at Oklahoma after he spent a decade coach- ing Loyola Chicago. Others who have been mentioned in- ❱ MICHIGAN BASKETBALL Historically Bad Season Leaves Questions About The Future Following head coach Juwan Howard's dismissal and his own in-season suspension, sophomore point guard Dug McDaniel entered the NCAA transfer portal on March 18. He led U-M with 16.3 points and 4.7 assists per game this year. 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 L, 76-62 Feb. 25 Purdue L, 84-76 Feb. 29 at Rutgers L, 82-52 Mar. 3 at Ohio State L, 84-61 Mar. 10 Nebraska L, 85-70 Mar. 13 vs. Penn State $ L, 66-57 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