Bruce Pearl on Michigan-Wisconsin scuffle: 'It takes two to tango'

The postgame scuffle between Michigan and Wisconsin on Sunday brought in a variety of opinions from around the sports world. Wednesday, Auburn coach Bruce Pearl weighed in.

Pearl weighed in on the punishments and the altercation itself during Wednesday’s episode of Jalen & Jacoby on ESPN. Michigan coach Juwan Howard received a five-game suspension — the rest of the regular season — as a result and Wisconsin coach Greg Gard had to pay a fine. Three players were also suspended.

Pearl didn’t specifically blame anyone, but indicated he thinks both teams were at fault in some way.

“I’m not in position to be judge and jury on this one,” Pearl said. “I think everybody’s been accountable for their mistakes. It’s a bad look. It takes two to tango. Obviously, when Coach Howard threw the first punch, that obviously took it to a different level.

“Look, everybody’s accountable. We all make mistakes. We’re all competitors. You deal with the punishment, you learn from it and you move on. You just move on. It didn’t require any more than it’s gotten. I think it’s been adjudicated properly.”

ESPN analyst reveals how Wisconsin’s Greg Gard should’ve handled Juwan Howard argument

The dust is settling on Sunday’s Michigan–Wisconsin melee, and the punishments have been handed out. Tuesday, one ESPN analyst explained how Wisconsin coach Greg Gard probably should’ve handled the situation.

Seth Greenberg, a 34-year coaching veteran, spoke from personal experience about the situation after Sunday’s game. Michigan coach Juwan Howard took exception with a late timeout and Gard tried to explain himself in the handshake line. That’s when things went south.

Speaking on ESPN’s Get Up on Tuesday, Greenberg shared a story from his coaching career to illustrate how Gard should’ve approached things.

“I think Greg Gard thought he was disrespected that Juwan didn’t extend a hand,” Greenberg said. “I’ll give you a perfect example. Jim Larrañaga’s a dear friend. The first time I played the University of Miami when he was the head coach, they beat us. I extended my hand, he gave me the wet fish. I waited until we got behind, through the tunnel, and I turned to him and I said ‘Jim, how could you do that? I’ve known your for 25 years. You’re going to give me the wet fish? At least put your hand out, shake my hand, look me in the eye and say, hey, good luck the rest of the season.’

“I did handle it behind closed doors. And Greg could’ve done that. There’s no doubt it. I think what happened is the lack of respect in the initial contact.”