Is Michigan basketball barrelling their way towards the end of the Juwan Howard era? The head coach's seat likely got at least a little hotter after the team's poor second-half showing against No. 14 Illinois, which turned a competitive contest into an 88-73 blowout loss for the Wolverines.
The Fighting Illini got to the free throw line with regularity and tallied 51 points in the final 20 minutes of action to blow past their Big Ten foe. Michigan center Tarris Reed Jr. had a terrific night offensively with 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting but struggled to crash the glass (team-high five rebounds). That was a theme for the whole squad, one that left Howard feeling none too pleased afterwards.
“They had 13 offensive rebounds for a reason,” he said, per Anthony Broome of On3 Sports. “It’s about effort and toughness.” The 2021 AP Coach of the Year was not done venting his frustrations.
When pressed about Michigan's propensity for allowing its opponents to go on large scoring runs, he responded, “if you can find out why, let me know.” The Wolverines continue to scuffle in conference play, dropping to 2-5 and 7-11 overall. Unless it obtains several pairs of magical Michael Jordan sneakers a la “Like Mike,” the program will miss the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive year.
Losing is one thing, but a lack of effort and focus would be a huge gut punch to the fans and university, and possibly mark the termination of Howard's tenure in Ann Arbor.
But there are multiple opportunities to put that type of speculation to rest, with a road meeting versus No. 2 Purdue awaiting Michigan basketball on Tuesday. It is up to Wolverines legend Juwan Howard to get his guys ready for that matchup and the rest of the season.
Otherwise, a rough campaign will regress into a fully embarrassing one. If it hasn't already.
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