Juwan Howard shares how Michigan battled late Penn State run

Michigan almost blew its second-half lead against Penn State two separate times. They still managed to battle back and never trail once in the final 20 minutes – something head coach Juwan Howard took pride in when talking to the media following the 79-69 win.

“Well, we talked about it in a timeout and the conversation was very balanced from players to players, coaches to players,” Howard said after the win. “But the key with us is we gotta stay the course. And that was the main thing that was said, when that message was said, everyone knows what that means.”

The Nittany Lions tied the game five minutes into the second half before Michigan’s 13-0 run blew the game wide open. The Wolverines led by as much as 14 before Penn State came all the way back once against, cutting the lead to three with just over two minutes remaining. Michigan held firm, played strong defense and made their free throws to ice the game.

The win has catapulted the Wolverines to a quick 3-0 in Big Ten conference play after multiple not-so-impressive non-conference losses to begin the year. That leaves Michigan, No. 14 Wisconsin (3-0) and No. 24 Ohio State (2-0) as the only Big Ten teams undefeated to this point.

Business will pick up over the next several weeks for Michigan. The rest of its January slate consists of games at Michigan State, Iowa, Maryland and Penn State. The Wolverines also host No. 1 Purdue on Jan. 26 – a perfect opportunity to build their NCAA Tournament resume to counterbalance its losses to other tournament teams like Virginia, Kentucky and North Carolina.

Michigan’s next stop will be at Michigan State – a game that might prove tricky to come out the other side unscathed. The Spartans have put together a solid resume this season, and are favored over Michigan by ESPN and KenPom.