Juwan Howard on 2022-23 narrative: ‘The season’s not over’
Michigan coach Juwan Howard and his team have had their share of heartbreak this year, the last week being a microcosm of the season … and the toughest to stomach. The Wolverines put themselves in position to win road games at Illinois and Indiana but came up short in both to put their NCAA Tournament chances in serious peril.
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While the computers and advanced metrics like Michigan, most still believe it will take two or three Big Ten tournament wins (at least) to make the dance. A few think a win over Rutgers Thursday will do it, and it would qualify as a quad 1 win despite the Scarlet Knights’ recent struggles.
Howard’s focus is solely on the 8-9 matchup in Chicago in two days, and he’s optimistic.
“I focus on one game. The message will be, ‘Rutgers.’ That’s all the focus is going to be — Rutgers,” Howard said Tuesday. … “Our team plays hard, man. They play tough … they’re competitive. They show their passion out there on the floor in every possession. It’s not easy with what they’ve been going through as of late, by losing some of these tough game and very close games. But overall, I see a lot of growth in the group, and I love how hard they play every possession.
“I just expect that now that we play in Chicago — and we’ve got one game at a time — we’re going to look at just Rutgers. Rutgers is the opponent that we’re going to be eyeing and game planning for, and I expect that our group is going to come out and compete.”
Unlike earlier in the season and maybe one or two Big Ten games (at Penn State), that hasn’t been an issue. Most of the Wolverines have played like they want it on every possession, “clawing, scrapping, giving it everything they can,” Howard said, and it’s clear the NIT won’t be good enough.
At the same time, playing hard is the minimal expectation for a program like Michigan that’s “for competitors only,” as Howard likes to say. You need to win, too. The last two regular seasons have been disappointments, and the sting of last season and blown, huge lead in the Big Ten Tournament last year was only erased by two NCAA Tournament wins.
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But that did help change the narrative, and Michigan will have an opportunity to do the same this year. They’ve just got to find a way to finish games. If they beat Rutgers Thursday, No. 1 seed Purdue is up Friday. That would provide a huge opportunity.
“It’s no surprise to me as far as the group of young men that we have … I trust that we’ll get some guys that are going to go out there and compete and give it their best,” Howard said. “Every team wants to win — so do we — and unfortunately there’s going to be one team that comes up short. For us, we’ve had the last two games where we didn’t finish.
“… [But] we’re going to continue to keep competing to the end, and that’s where I’m so proud of how our guys have really handled this season thus far. And the season’s not over. Now, we’re going into the second part of the season where we’re going to the Big Ten Tournament. We’re looking forward to the one game. We know we’re going to have two teams that are fighting hard, clawing and scratching and trying to advance to the next round. But we’re going to be dialed into every possession and lay it all in the line.”
If they do that, they’ll have a great chance to keep the tournament hopes alive for another day and continue their quest to change the season narrative like they did a year ago.
