Juwan Howard made his return to the Michigan Wolverines bench on Thursday after serving a five-game suspension for striking a Wisconsin assistant in the head. Unfortunately, his presence didn't help the Wolverines come out victorious in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament as they were bounced by Indiana thanks to a ridiculous 28-4 second-half run by the Hoosiers.
While Michigan is still expected to make the Big Dance, Howard revealed that his team has a lot of learning to do from this performance. Via Mike Pegram:
Juwan Howard: "They earned it…we fought hard….unfortunately for us down the stretch…had some defensive breakdown..lots of teaching moments"
— Mike Pegram (@peegs) March 10, 2022
Michigan blew a 17-point lead and absolutely collapsed on both ends of the floor. They missed 12 straight field goals in the second half and couldn't contain Indiana defensively by any means. The squad also shot just 30% from downtown. Far from ideal. It was definitely a disappointing result for the #8 Wolverines, but now their focus will shift to what really matters: March Madness.
Wins over Michigan State and Ohio State recently essentially booked their ticket to the NCAA Tournament, but it's still extremely disappointing to bow out of the Big Ten tourney this early. It will be a learning process for Michigan as they await their seeding on Sunday for the main event. There was a chance the Wolverines could be a First Four team, but after this loss to Indiana, it's probably not the case now.
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