Michigan Basketball Program Facing Lethal Off-Court Opponent

Believe it or not, the Michigan basketball program blew yet another first-half lead last night, falling to Maryland 64-57 and dropping to 6-10 (1-4 Big Ten) on the season. Yet, the loss is not what is devastating about UM Hoops in year five of the Juwan Howard era; in fact, it’s something much worse: apathy toward the team.

Michigan basketball program facing dangerous off-court issue: apathy from its fans

Now, it certainly does not help Michigan basketball and Juwan Howard that Jim Harbaugh and Michigan football just won the National Championship — or, perhaps it does, as it takes attention off their struggles. Regardless, the bottom line is that the Wolverines have slowly but surely devolved into one of the worst teams in the entire Big Ten, maybe even the worst, over the past few seasons, yet no one seems to care.

If you looked around social media last night or talked to a Michigan basketball fan, you would hardly know that the Wolverines are four games below .500 and ranked 13th (of 14 teams) in the Big Ten Conference right now. Why? Well, Michigan is facing a lethal off-court opponent at the moment — apathy toward the program.

How much does another Big Ten loss really matter to the fans?

Over the last few seasons, Michigan basketball has slowly turned into a program that not even its own fans care to watch anymore — the story often remains the same with first-half leads, close games, and last-second heart-breaking losses. Like last season, it’s clear that this year’s Wolverines are an NIT team at best; it’s been clear since the first few games of the year.

With the Jon Sanderson investigation hitting the program, the losses piling up, Juwan Howard deciding that Phil Martelli can be the head coach of a crucial Big Ten game against Penn State, Dug McDaniel being suspended for way games but allowed to play home games, and more, it has become very clear that this year’s team is not one that even Michigan basketball fans find worth watching. Frankly, after years of success under the past regime, can you really blame them?

Juwan Howard and Michigan basketball have a bigger issue to fix than anything on the court

As much as I hate to say it, this is not something that will be solved overnight — it’s going to be an issue until the Wolverines can give fans hope for the future, which doesn’t seem to be on the table right now. As I’ve said, the Michigan basketball program is getting increasingly hard to watch, especially with a 3-10 record over its past 13 games, and a 1-4 record in its first five Big Ten games.

Michigan basketball will face Ohio State next week at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, MI — perhaps a win over the Buckeyes could re-install some interest in the 2023-24 Wolverines. Yet, regardless of that game’s outcome, there is a lot of apathy surrounding the Maize and Blue right now, and that’s a sign of a dying program. Can Michigan turn things around? I don’t know, but what I do know is that most fans don’t really care one way or another right now, especially with a football Natty to celebrate.

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