Over the weekend, the rumor mill started churning out accusations against Juwan Howard, the head coach of the Michigan Wolverines men’s basketball team, who is still recovering from pre-season heart surgery. As the University of Michigan continues its investigation into Howard’s alleged incident with the team’s strength coach, Michigan basketball actually appears to be turning things around, recently earning a huge 90-80 quad-one win at Iowa — the team’s first Big Ten victory of the 2023-24 season — ahead of a bout with EMU this Saturday.
Michigan basketball gets back to .500 with a win at Iowa
On Sunday afternoon, Michigan basketball bounced back in a huge way, beating Iowa by ten points in their own gym. The win was much-needed for the Wolverines, who got off to a hot start this year yet started to skid following a heartbreaking loss to Long Beach State.
The Iowa win, which was Michigan’s first Big Ten win of the season, improves the Wolverines’ record to 5-5 overall and 1-1 in conference play. On Saturday, Michigan basketball will have another big opportunity ahead of it to get back in the win column when the Eastern Michigan Eagles (5-4 overall) come to the Crisler Center. The Wolverines then have two more non-conference games — McNeese State and Florida — before January rolls around and the bulk of Big Ten play starts.
Juwan Howard scandal rumors still flying
The University of Michigan is investigating an incident surrounding Juwan Howard and Michigan basketball strength coach Jon Sanderson, which reportedly occurred late last week. While the investigation remains ongoing, nothing more has been said, though a number of insiders have stated that the altercation was not “physical,” as it had been rumored.
Of course, after Juwan Howard hit a Wisconsin assistant in 2022, he is on a zero-tolerance policy with the university. This has been a key detail that a number of reports have pointed to, though again, the current belief is that nothing was physical between Howard and Sanderson.
Regardless of the noise surrounding Juwan Howard and Jon Sanderson, Michigan basketball is showing signs of life heading into its bout against Eastern Michigan this weekend.
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