Juwan Howard discusses balance between tough loss, learning opportunity

Michigan has been a roller coaster so far this season. The Wolverines do sit at 5-2 but, when you really look at the games, Juwan Howard’s team has been all over the place. While the inconsistency will reasonably frustrate many, Howard says his squad has learned a lot already because of it.

Following Michigan’s 70-68 loss to Virginia in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, Howard said one thing they’ve learned so far is the value of a possession. While they’re not all going to go the Wolverine’s way, they all are worth the same and that’s why he appreciated how his players competed during each one on Tuesday.

“In this game of basketball, there’s gonna be some possessions that you’re not gonna always love. There’ll be some possessions where you do well in and you’re able to capitalize. There’s gonna be some possessions where you don’t…But, overall, I love how our team competed tonight,” said Howard.

They may have competed, but it wasn’t enough to stop the rally from the No. 3 Cavaliers. Virginia stormed back from a double-digit halftime deficit to steal the victory in Ann Arbor. With that being the case, Michigan had to throw that game in with their close calls against Eastern Michigan and Ohio as well as their 25-point beatdown from Arizona State as outcomes that have the Wolverine faithful scratching their heads.

Still, Howard believes his team is closer to the one we saw in their win over Pittsburgh and the one we saw in the first half against Virginia than in those other games. If they show the same level of fight he says he saw from his guys earlier this week, Howard says they’ll find some better consistency as they move forward this season.

“The way how we competed? The effort that we brought for 40 minutes? That’s a great positive you can take away from this game,” Howard said. “You’ll see a lot of very positive things coming from this team.”

Michigan will want to see these positive things come together quickly considering their next matchup. They’re scheduled to head across the pond this weekend and face off with No. 19 Kentucky in London. With another Top-20 team in their sights, Howard is hopeful that the effort will show again so, this time, the Wolverines can finish the job and return to the states with a sixth win.