WATCH: Juwan Howard talks Michigan loss to Purdue, Terrance Williams II laments lack of fan support
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan Wolverines basketball head coach Juwan Howard, senior forward Terrance Williams II and junior guard Jace Howard met with the media following their team’s 84-76 loss to No. 3 Purdue Sunday afternoon at Crisler Center. Watch video of Howard in the player at the top of the screen and the players in the embed below.
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• Michigan basketball loses 5th straight, falls 84-76 to Purdue
Purdue center Zach Edey went off for 35 points on 14-of-18 shooting from the field with 7 made free throws, adding 15 rebounds in a double double performance. The Michigan head coach took his hat off to the Purdue big man.
“Well, Zach, as we know, last year was the player of the year, has a chance to win it again,” Howard said. “He’s 7 foot 4, but he’s also a talent. There were times when we were undermanned — undersized, I would say — because of [sophomore forward] Tarris Reed [Jr.] being in foul trouble, and there were times when we had [redshirt sophomore forward] Will [Tschetter] guarding him, and Will was just out of his sick bed but giving his all. And then Jace was guarding him. And I really appreciate how our guys really stood in there as competitors and battled.
“And not just Edey, but an entire Purdue team. The effort and energy that our guys displayed today was special, and it was inspiring to watch.”
Howard explained that Michigan threw a bunch of different looks at Edey but couldn’t find success stopping his individual scoring.
“We threw everything at Zach and his teammates. We threw everything and the kitchen sink,” Howard said. “Zone, we doubled, played one on one, man. Give Purdue credit. They are a great team, as well as a well coached team with a great staff and a great coach in Matt Painter. He, of course, threw different types of looks offensively at us, ducking Edey in the paint. There were times where he put him on the low block. There were times when he set ball screens. At the same time, I think we did a really good job of countering. He scored 35 points; he probably would have scored 35 points on me, too.
Added the Michigan coach: “But what does not show up on the box score is heart — and our guys played with heart. If they had heart here as something that was in this box score, I think we would’ve won, when it came to heart.”
