Juwan Howard explains what happened on final play in loss to Oregon

The Michigan Wolverines dropped an overtime heartbreaker to Oregon on Saturday by a score of 71-70 in overtime, but had the ball in their hands with a chance to win it on the final possession.

Unfortunately, they did not get much of a look with the ball in Zavier Simpson’s control for the duration of the possession with about 10 seconds to go despite not having the best offensive game. Head coach Juwan Howard explained the possession and why it went the way he wanted it to despite the miss.

“Well, we got the ball in the hands of the right person we wanted to have it,” Howard said. “I love the look that we had. We had the opportunity to either drive it for a basket, throw it back to (Isaiah Livers) or if they came to help – which, they brought everyone to the paint for the spray. So, great decision on (Zavier Simpson’s) part. We live with the results.

“And, by the way, we had a chance to tip it in and it just didn’t fall for us.”

With the loss to Oregon, that gives Michigan losses in three of the last four games heading into a week where they do not play again until Saturday.

“It’s gonna be a tough week, man. It’s gonna be a tough week for all of us,” Howard said. “Because you know what? Overall, we all care. We care about each one another, we care about the results, whether it’s a win or losses. And when you lose two in a row, it’s gonna sting, because we’re human. And I’m not gonna sit up here and give you some sort of a politically correct answer. We have Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday to think about two losses. It’s gonna be painful. All our guys in that locker room, they hurt right now. So am I.”