Juwan Howard physically strikes Wisconsin staffer following U-M loss

Following the Michigan Wolverines’ loss at Wisconsin on Sunday afternoon, head coach Juwan Howard and Badgers head coach Greg Gard got into an argument that lead to Howard physically striking at Wisconsin staffer Joe Krabbenhoft.

Terrance Williams and Moussa Diabate also got caught up in this. Jace Howard tried to control the situation as much as he could, and he also had to hold his father back from going any further.

Howard’s original frustration stemmed from Gard calling a timeout with about 30 seconds left while his team was up by double-digits.

“Apparently, he didn’t like that I called a timeout to reset the 10-second call because we only had four seconds to get the ball over half court,” Gard said following the game. “And I didn’t want to put my backups, I had all my bench guys in the game. I didn’t want to put them in that position of scrambling with only four seconds, so I took a timeout and got us a new 10 seconds to help them get organized and get the ball in. He did not like that when he came through the handshake line. So I’ll leave it at that, the tape will show the rest.”

Howard admitted to the media following the game the timeout ticked him off.

“Basically, I addressed with the head coach that I will remember that, because of that timeout. And for someone to touch me, I think that was very uncalled for him to touch me as we were verbalizing and communicating with one another, so that’s what ended up happening and that’s what escalated it.”

The Big Ten Conference issues a statement following the game that reads, “The Big Ten Conference is aware of a physical altercation involving Michigan head coach Juwan Howard at the conclusion of the Michigan Wolverines and Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball game. The conference is in contact with both member institutions and is currently assessing the incident. The conference will provide more information and will take swift and appropriate disciplinary action when it completes its review.”

There is zero doubt in my mind Howard will be handed a suspension from this. T-Will and Diabate could also be facing some discipline. Look for more on that in the coming days.