Juwan Howard shares how Michigan has battled through adversity

Michigan secured a victory in their most recent game defeating Minnesota 60-56 in a Big Ten slugfest. The Wolverines may have left the Crisler Center with a victory, but lost starting guard Dug McDaniel in the first half to an ankle injury that kept him out for the rest of the contest and put him in a walking boot following the game. This isn’t the first sign of adversity Michigan has faced this season, which head coach Juwan Howard spoke about following Sunday’s game.

“Well nobody said no one said it was gonna be easy right?” Howard said. “And with adversity, which we’re facing a lot of adversity with injuries, we’re facing adversity from when we went to some to tough, close games early in the year and we’ve bounced back.”

Over half of the Wolverines’ first 10 games were games decided by 10 points or less, a trend that’s been common in their Big Ten conference games as well. Sunday’s game was no different for the Wolverines, as they defeated the Golden Gophers despite losing the field goal and three-point percentage battle.

Thankfully, the Wolverines shot stellar from the free throw line, including a 9-9 performance from the line from center Hunter Dickinson who led a second half scoring surge that helped propel the Wolverines to victory. Dickinson had 15 points in the second half, ending the game with 23 points and nine rebounds which both led the team.

“And so with saying that there’s a lot of season left, and we’re not gonna be losing the trust and losing the confidence that we have, we all have a goal as a team, each game we’re going to keep grinding,” Howard said.

There’s no question the Wolverines are one of the toughest teams in the Big Ten, as their 6-3 conference record puts them tied for second place and just 2.5 wins behind first. But their toughness and ability to fight adversity will be tested to the max on Thursday, as they take on No. 1 ranked Purdue in a premier matchup that tips off at 9:00 p.m. ET and airs on FS1.