Michigan basketball's Tuesday game against Purdue postponed
Michigan basketball’s game against Purdue scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 11 has been postponed due to continued internal COVID-19 protocols within the Wolverines’ program, the team announced Sunday afternoon.
On Friday night (Jan. 7) following medical testing, Michigan fell below the Big Ten Conference roster minimum with fewer than seven scholarship players available, causing its rivalry game with Michigan State on Saturday (Jan. 8) to be postponed. U-M still would fall below that minimum for Tuesday’s contest.
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The programs are coordinating with the conference office to reschedule both games.
According to a report from The Athletic, Michigan would have had just five scholarship players available for the contest against the Spartans. The Wolverines played last Tuesday at Rutgers without four athletes (three on scholarship) not having made the trip due to COVID-19 protocols. Sophomore guard Zeb Jackson is not with the team due to a personal issue.
In a Zoom press conference with reporters Friday, Michigan head coach Juwan Howard explained that his team struggled to have a normal practice structure all week.
“We haven’t been good to go 100 percent,” he said. “We’ve just been figuring out ways to navigate through what we’ve been dealt with COVID and COVID protocol. We’re trying to stay afloat and stay ready, and day by day we’ll continue to keep working to try to get to that point.
“I’ll be honest with you — it’s frustrating. But it’s frustrating for us all in the sports world and non-sports world.”
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Howard was pleased with his shorthanded team’s performance despite a Michigan loss at Rutgers Tuesday.
“I really commend and respect — and always have — and been a big fan of how our guys have been able to deal with adversity,” the Michigan coach continued. “And while that’s not making excuses, we have a type of mentality within our group where we roll up our sleeves and embrace the suck.
“So, I’m not making an excuse, which we never will — we’re a non-excuse-based type of group. What we have, who’s available to play, we trust that each and every guy is going to play hard, play together, play smart and play to win.”
Michigan’s next game is scheduled for Friday, Jan. 13 at Illinois at State Farm Center in Champaign. That game is set for an 8 p.m. CST tipoff on FS1.
