Big Ten Brawl: Michigan coach Juvan Howard beats Wisconsin assistant Joe Crabbenhoft after losing; Howard suspended 5 games: ESPN

Madison, Wisconsin – Angry over what Wisconsin called a late timeout, Michigan coach Juvan Howard started a quarrel after the match.

Moments later, he hit Badger’s assistant in the head, and chaos ensued.

Raamahi’s inability to boost its NCAA standings was the least of their concerns following Sunday’s 77-63 defeat at number 15 on Wisconsin. Their head coach may face serious discipline after his tic turned the fight into a push and a push into a brawl filled with punches.

According to ESPN sources, Howard will be suspended in five games until the end of the regular season.

Howard hit Wisconsin assistant Joe Crabbenhoft after hitting Wisconsin coach Greg Gard during a handshake. The “Big Ten” said it planned to “take swift and appropriate disciplinary action once the review is complete.”

During his post-game press conference, Howard said he did not like Wisconsin calling for a timeout with 15 seconds left and the Badgers leading by 15.

“I thought it wasn’t necessary at the moment, especially because it’s a big inclination,” Howard said.

Guard said he scheduled a time-out because his reserves were in play and had only four seconds to bring the ball out of midfield. The timeout gives them 10 seconds.

“I wasn’t going to put them in a position where the ball had already been knocked off the field to break the press in four seconds,” Gard said.

After the game Howard pointed his finger at Garda, complaining about the late move. Howard later reached out through the crowd to get to Crabbenhoft – repetitions showed that Howard was open when he hit Crabbenhoft on the left side of his head.

Players from each side got involved in the fight, and a video appeared showing Musa Diabat of Michigan and Jacobi Neath of Wisconsin striking.

Howard said he reacted after someone from Wisconsin laid his hands on him. He said that “at that moment I felt it was time to defend myself.”

The video showed Gard touching Howard’s hand or wrist with his hands, trying to explain why he called the timeout.

“Someone touched me, and I think it was very unnecessary for them to touch me when we were talking and talking to each other,” Howard said. – That’s what made it worse.

Wisconsin Sports Director Chris Mackintosh said he had already contacted Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren about the situation, adding that Wisconsin staff had “suffered and been injured”.

“There is no place, no place for such behavior in any competition, especially in the Big Ten,” said Mackintosh. “The Big Ten are proud of their athleticism. The Big Ten are proud to work with the class. That didn’t happen today.”

Michigan Sports Director Ward Manuel made a statement saying he apologized to the Mackintosh and that Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman had contacted Wisconsin Chancellor Rebecca Blank “to apologize for being absolutely unacceptable.”

“There is no excuse for any of our staff or student-athletes to engage in a physical quarrel with others, regardless of inciting factors,” Manuel said.

The Big Ten issued a statement saying they “know about the physical altercation involving Michigan head coach Juvan Howard” and that she assesses the incident. Howard said he would respect any decision made by the big ten.

“We will take a closer look at the situation and work with the Big Ten conference as they determine their disciplinary action and determine whether further disciplinary action is needed,” Manuel said.

This is not Howard’s first high-profile incident with another Big Ten coach.

Last season, Howard fought with then-Maryland coach Mark Turjan during a conference tournament. Howard had to be restrained. He handled two technical fouls and was removed from the game. Michigan eventually won 79-66.

Johnny Davis scored 25 points to help Wisconsin (21-5, 12-4) move into the closed game. Wisconsin beat Michigan 44-25 in the last 18 1/2 minutes.

Davis went into the personal series with a score of 9-0 and blocked the shot for 2 minutes 12 seconds to bring the Badgers ahead 56-41.

Hunter Dickinson scored 21 points behind Michigan (14-11, 8-7), who scored just 4 of 25 from a 3-point distance. Eli Brooks scored 14 points and Devante Jones finished with 11.

Stephen Crowley scored 11 points for Wisconsin, while Brad Davison, Chuckie Hepburn and Tyler Wall added 10 each.

Wall said nothing unusual happened during the game that could have predicted what would happen next.

“I’d say it was just a good 40-minute basketball game – a physical game, Big Ten basketball,” Wall said.

Everything changed in the line of handshake after the game.

HONORING FINLY

Wisconsin picked up the jersey of former Badger star Michael Finley at number 24 during the break ceremony. The band from Wisconsin wore white T-shirts throughout the game № 24.

Finley joins Ebo Nicholas (№ 8) and Frank Kaminski (№ 44) as the only Wisconsin players to have knitted T-shirts in the rafters. These three numbers can still be worn by current and future Badgers.

“I came to the university not for a purpose,” Finley said before the game. “My main focus was to win as many basketball games as possible, to put the Wisconsin basketball program at stake, and everything that happened after that happened.”

Finley, the first Badger to score 2,000 points in his career, played for Wisconsin from 1991 to 1995 and led the 1994 team to its first in 47 years of participating in the NCAA Tournament. He played in the NBA from 1995 to 2010, won the San Antonio Spurs title in 2007 and won two qualifiers for the All-Star Game.

The big picture

Michigan: The Wolverines squandered the opportunity to increase their credentials in the NCAA tournament and heard the Wisconsin crowd chanting “NIT” in the final seconds. But the bigger question now is Howard’s immediate future and what discipline he may face.

Wisconsin: Davis is the guy who could carry the Badgers on a deep post-season run, but Crowley and Hepburn’s performances are also encouraging.

SUMMARY OF THE SURVEY

After winning in Indiana with this home triumph over Michigan, Wisconsin is set to climb several places on Monday when trying to return to the top 10.

NEXT

Michigan: Ratters hosts Wednesday.

Wisconsin: Minnesota on Wednesday.