Michigan basketball: Juwan Howard on NCAAs – ‘I love our chances’
Michigan head coach Juwan Howard was nothing but ecstatic after the NCAA Tournament brackets were revealed Sunday. The Wolverines will face No. 6 Colorado State as the 11 seed in Indianapolis, playing in the same venue as the Big Ten Tournament.
RELATED: Michigan basketball makes NCAA Tourney and will face Colorado St. in Indy
U-M lost a big lead and a second-round game to Indiana last Thursday, but Howard is elated his team will get the chance to atone on the same floor.
“I’m super excited for our team that we get an opportunity to get to play in the tournament,” Howard said Sunday night. “It’s great where we’ve been seeded. I thought we were well deserving. Our players worked extremely hard and have earned this right to be a part of the NCAA Tournament.”
Some weren’t as sure. Michigan was firmly on the bubble after losing to the Hoosiers, and some had them out of the tournament altogether. CBS’ Jerry Palm was one. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi had the Wolverines in a play-in game, but several others predicted U-M with one of the last four byes.
Howard didn’t care where they were seeded. He was just happy they made the field.
“I only control the controllables,” he said. “I didn’t follow along with the bracket predictions. If you start listening to a lot of that chatter that’s happening out there …
“Everyone’s entitled to their opinion. Everyone’s entitled to what they feel, where we play and where we’re seeded … if we’re going to play, be a part of it or not. But at the end of the day, I was just waiting to see what the selection committee decided. Now it’s out there. We’ll play Colorado State. We’re looking at it; we’ll dive into our film and prepare for Colorado State. And we’re looking forward to that matchup.”
He’s also hopeful Michigan fans will make the four-hour drive to Indianapolis and confident his team is ready for the moment. Michigan would also play a very good Tennessee team if it got by Colorado State. The Volunteers went 26-7 this year and won the SEC Tournament, and they’re also battle-tested.
Top 10
- 1Breaking
Curt Cignetti
Indiana agrees to raise, extension for HC
- 2New
Mike Neu
Report: NIU fires head coach
- 3Hot
Jake Paul tops Mike Tyson
Netflix fight ends in Paul victory
- 4
Nico Iamaleava update
UT QB status revealed vs. Georgia
- 5
Nick Saban
Coach regrets leaving LSU
Michigan, of course, finished as the eight seed in the Big Ten. Regardless, none of that matters now, Howard noted.
“I loved our team from day one. I loved our team from when there were some challenges we faced,” Howard said. “Learning how to play together, learning a new system, particularly DeVante’ Jones, Caleb Houstan and Moussa Diabate. Those are three guys in our starting lineup who have never played together. [But] Hunter Dickinson and Eli Brooks, this is their second year together, so they’re very familiar with one another. It took time for our team to learn how to win, develop the team chemistry and also understand what was asked of them.
“Each game we played non-conference, in the Big Ten season and also the one game in the Big Ten Tournament, I think there’s always room for improvement. But we’ve been battle tested. We’ve faced some high-level opponents in the non-conference, as well as in the Big Ten. Now, with postseason play … it’s something all the players are looking froward to, including the staff. It’s going to be a really good matchup for us Thursday.”
Michigan is an early two to 2.5-point favorite against the Rams. Howard said his team was eager to move on to its next chapter, whatever it holds, after going 17-14 in the regular season.
“It’s a new season now. This is the postseason,” he said. “So, we’re looking forward to Monday practice, and with Monday we have a few days to prepare. We’re going to work on some things that we showed we can improve on to prepare us to face our opponent on Thursday.”
And as for making some noise in the tournament?
“How our team is designed top to bottom, 1 thru 15?” he said. “I love our chances.”
