Junior outfielder Clark Elliott 

stared down Texas Tech pitcher 
Andrew Morris with an 0-1 count. 
His eyes locked onto the second 
pitch of the season and didn’t leave 
the ball until it reached the right 
field stands. The solo home run 
gave the Michigan baseball team 
an early 1-0 lead against the Red 
Raiders and led off an explosive 
but inconsistent offensive perfor-
mance on the weekend from the 
Wolverines.

Michigan (1-2) won just one of 

three games in the College Baseball 
showdown in Arlington, Texas, 
beating Kansas State (0-3), 10-2, 
and falling to No. 14 Texas Tech 
(1-2), 7-6, and Oklahoma (2-1), 6-1 in 
its opening weekend of the season.

The Wolverines cruised from 

the start against the Red Raid-
ers, continuing a rally through the 
second inning. Grad transfers Joe 
Stewart and Alex Fedje-Johnson 

found themselves in scoring posi-
tion after a walk and hit by pitch. 
After an RBI single by senior 
infielder Riley Bertram, Elliott 
found himself in the spotlight 
again with two runners on base.

He capitalized, barrelling his 

second hit of the night into right 
field to score both runners. Elliott 
was the Wolverines’ clear best hit-
ter on the weekend raking in two 
home runs, four RBIs and a .462 
batting average. 

“He’s one of the harder workers 

we’ve had and a guy that got a lot 
of confidence this summer com-
peting against the best out in the 
Cape Cod League and carried that 
confidence into this season so far,” 
Michigan coach Eric Bakich said. 
“ … He’s just very steady and just 
does a really good job staying cen-
tered mentally and with his routine 
putting together a lot of consisten-
cy in his preparation.”

The bats cooled off after the 

fiery start until two outs in the fifth 
inning. The Wolverines rattled off 
three straight singles, with senior 

infielder Jack Van Remortel hit-
ting Stewart to his second run of 
the night.

No runs were scored from the 

seventh inning on and the game fell 
on the shoulders of senior reliever 
Willie Weiss in the bottom of the 
ninth. He allowed the first three 
batters to reach base and sopho-
more outfielder Dalton Porter hit a 
sac fly to tie the game at six.

Texas Tech outfielder Owen 

Washburn stepped up to the plate 
for the biggest at bat of his career 
thus far. In his first ever college 
game, Washburn laced a walk-off 
single to right field, scoring senior 
infielder Cole Stilwell for the Red 
Raiders’ 7-6 win.

“I wouldn’t look back at that 

game and say ‘man, Texas Tech 
beat us,’ ” Bakich said. “I would 
look back at that game and say we 
lost that game. We had the lead. 
They did stop us from continuing 
to score, but we gave that one away 
with just the extra 90s and the 
freebies. You can’t do that.”

Saturday’s game against Kan-

sas State started off cold for both 
teams. The bullpens clamped 
down until the sixth inning when 
the Wildcats switched pitchers 
to sophomore Griffin Hassal who 
struggled to find the plate.

Junior catcher Jimmy Obertop 

advanced from first to third after 
two consecutive wild pitches. 
Michigan continued to pile on 
after a lucky error at first with two 
outs. Van Remortal batted in Fedje-
Johnson with a double and would 
later score off another Kansas State 
error to make it a 3-1 game.

The Wildcats tried to slow the 

Wolverines down with another 
pitching change at the top of the 
seventh, but it only made things 
worse. Michigan went off for a sea-
son-high seven runs in an inning 
capped off by Elliott’s second home 
run of the weekend to ice the game 
at 10-2.

The Wolverines again started 

cold against Oklahoma but had 
ample chances starting in the fourth 
inning. Junior infielder Ted Burton 
reached first via an error and was 

hit home by a double from Obertop.

The fifth inning looked like a 

return to the cold bats with two 
consecutive outs to start, but Ber-
tram and Elliott rattled off two 
singles to put men at first and third, 
giving Burton a chance to capitalize.

The Sooners made a pitch-

ing change and struck him out to 
halt Michigan’s momentum. The 
Wolverines didn’t put a runner in 
scoring position for the rest of the 
game. Oklahoma cleaned up in the 
eighth to secure a 6-1 victory over 
Michigan.

“The difference was that Kansas 

State made the mistakes against us 
that we made against Oklahoma 
tonight in terms of walks, errors, 
and extra 90s,” Bakich said. “When 
you give things away to good 
teams, they make you pay for it.”

Michigan is not unfamiliar 

with rough starts to the season. It 
schedules many of the best non-
conference opponents for open-
ing weekend to highlight its own 
weaknesses early. 

“It’s good for us to get knocked 

down a little bit and face a little 
adversity early this year,” Bakich 
said. “That’s why we scheduled 
the teams that we scheduled. … We 
expect that there’s going to be some 
getting knocked down where we’re 
going to have a response. We’ll cer-
tainly use that to our advantage 
and it helped us in the past, cer-
tainly helped us in 2019.”

Michigan has suspended coach 

Juwan Howard for the remainder 
of the regular season, Yahoo Sports 
first reported Monday evening.

Howard will miss the Wolver-

ines’ five remaining regular sea-
son games as the team attempts to 
secure an NCAA Tournament bid 
and play its way off the bubble. In 
his absence, associate head coach 
Phil Martelli will serve as Michi-
gan’s acting head coach, while 
director of basketball operations 
Chris Hunter will temporary fulfill 
the third assistant coaching posi-
tion.

The suspension follows Sun-

day’s incident in which Howard 
took a swipe at a Wisconsin assis-
tant coach in the postgame hand-
shake line, inciting a full-out brawl 
between the two sides.

Howard will also be fined 

$40,000.

“After taking time to reflect on 

all that happened, I realize how 
unacceptable both my actions and 
words were, and how they affected 
so many,” Howard said in a state-
ment released Monday evening. “I 
am truly sorry. I am offering my 
sincerest apology to my players and 

their families, my staff, my family 
and the Michigan fans around the 
world. I would like to personally 
apologize to Wisconsin’s Assistant 
Coach Joe Krabbenhoft and his 
family, too.

“Lastly, I speak a lot about being 

a Michigan man and representing 
the University of Michigan with 
class and pride, I did not do that, 
nor did I set the right example in 
the right way for my student-ath-
letes. I will learn from my mistake 
and this mistake will never happen 
again. No excuses!”

After Sunday’s transgression, 

Michigan athletic director Warde 
Manuel released the following 
statement:

“I am aware of and watched the 

end of our men’s basketball game. 
There is no excuse for any of our 
staff or student-athletes to get into 
a physical altercation with oth-
ers regardless of instigating fac-
tors. I reached out and apologized 
to Chris McIntosh and President 
Coleman has reached out to UQ 
Chancellor Blank to apologize for 
the totally unacceptable behavior. 
We will review the situation more 
thoroughly and work with the Big 
Ten Conference as they determine 
their disciplinary actions and will 
determine if any further disciplin-
ary actions are needed.”

In his press conference after 

the game, Howard did not issue an 
apology, instead doubling down on 
his sentiment.

“I addressed it with (Gard) that 

I will remember that because of 
that timeout,” Howard said. “For 
someone to touch me, I think that 
was very uncalled for him to touch 
me, as we were verbalizing and 
communicating with one another. 
So that’s what ended up happening. 
And that’s what escalated it.”

While Big Ten rules state that 

disciplinary fines will “not exceed 
$10,000” and suspensions for “no 
more than two contests,” Michigan 
worked alongside the Big Ten to 
amplify the punishment, extend-
ing the length of the suspension.

In addition to Howard, two Wol-

verines will be suspended one game 
each: Freshman forward Moussa 
Diabate and sophomore forward 
Terrance Williams II, who both 
appeared to throw punches during 
Sunday’s brawl. The suspensions 
are effective immediately, mean-
ing Diabate and Williams will miss 
Wednesday’s contest against Rut-
gers.

On the Wisconsin side of things, 

guard Jahcobi Neath will receive 
a one-game suspension, while 
coach Greg Gard will be fined 
$10k. Meanwhile, assistant coach 
Joe Krabbenhoft, who was also 
involved in the altercation, will not 

receive any sort of punishment.

“Big Ten Conference coaches 

and student-athletes are expect-
ed to display the highest level 
of sportsmanship conduct,” Big 
Ten commissioner Kevin War-
ren released in a statement. “I 
am grateful for the partnership 
with Michigan Athletics Direc-
tor, Warde Manuel and Wisconsin 
Athletics Director, Chris McIn-
tosh. Our expectation is that the 
incident yesterday will provide our 
coaches and student-athletes with 
the opportunity to reflect, learn 
and move forward in a manner that 
demonstrates decorum and leader-
ship on and off of the court.”

The No. 9 Michigan women’s bas-

ketball team had been here before in 
Ann Arbor. 

Fighting once again for control of 

the Big Ten in their matchup with 
Maryland, the Wolverines found 
themselves in a familiar place. Less 
than a month ago, Michigan faced 
off with Indiana under the same cir-
cumstances.

The biggest difference between 

the two? Senior wing Leigha Brown’s 
absence.

Against the Hoosiers, Brown 

was tied for second-leading scor-
er. Without her, the Wolverines 
have struggled to make up for 
her 14.8 points per game average, 
falling in consecutive outings to 
Michigan State and Northwest-
ern. 

But in Michigan’s 71-59 victory 

over the Terrapins on Sunday, the 
Wolverines finally found the sec-
ondary scoring they had lacked in 
their previous two contests. Spe-
cifically, the team’s guards made 
up for Brown’s lost production. 

“We’re really tough to guard 

when everyone’s being aggres-
sive,” junior guard Maddie Nolan 
said. “(There were) shots in the 
second half where they started 
double teaming Naz so we were 
able to find Laila (Phelia) and me 
and Danielle (Rauch).”

Much like in the matchup 

against Indiana, Hillmon mostly 
carried Michigan’s offense early 
on. Without any offensive pres-
ence outside the post, the Ter-
rapins were able to sag off their 
defenders and condense into the 
paint against Hillmon throughout 
the first half. Heading into half-
time Michigan knew they’d have 
to recalibrate.

Struggling to score for nearly 

three minutes into the second 
half, the Wolverines needed a 
spark. Phelia — a freshman guard 
— was the first to light up, finding 
her way into the lane for a driv-
ing layup. On the next play, Phelia 
drained a 3-pointer at the tail end 

of the shot clock.

“When we’re having an inside-

outside attack, we’re at our best,” 
Michigan coach Kim Barnes 
Arico said. “And there’s always so 
much pressure on Naz, a double-
team, a triple-team … so we were 
just really encouraging them at 
halftime to shoot the ball and to 
be aggressive from that guard 
spot as well.”

Nolan kept the streak alive 

throughout the fourth quarter, 
scoring eight of her eleven points 
in the final frame. Going 3-for-5 
from the 3-point line and grab-
bing five rebounds, Nolan made 
herself indispensable down the 
stretch.

With the win-by-committee 

style the Wolverines found for the 
first time since Brown’s absence, 
Rauch — a senior guard — also 
found her stride late in the game. 
The second leading scorer against 
both the Spartans and the Wild-
cats, Rauch has filed nicely into 
the missing gaps left behind by 
Brown.

Sophomore guard Elise Stuck 

also brought depth off the bench 
notching four points and one 
assist in just three minutes. 

Attacking the Terrapins’ lim-

ited bench which had only eight 
dressed players, the Wolverines 
tired them out with multiple dif-
ferent looks and offensive sets.

“They were able to kind of send 

more waves in against us,” Mary-
land coach Brenda Frese said. 
“And they had more depth.”

The losses to Michigan State 

and Northwestern highlighted 
many problems, but one was glar-
ingly obvious: Simply relying on 
Hillmon is no longer enough for 
the Wolverines. Other teams key 
in on the paint and focus their 
entire defense on stopping her. 
When Michigan’s guards are 
producing offensively, it disrupts 
opposing teams’ game plan.

With control of the Big Ten 

on the line, Michigan needed its 
role players to step up. And after 
multiple missteps in their last two 
losses, against Maryland, they 
finally did.

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com 
Sports
Wednesday, February 23, 2022 — 11 

Michigan loses to Wisconsin with grim 
second half performance, ugly scrum

An ugly performance for the 

Michigan men’s basketball team 
turned uglier after the final buzzer 
sounded Sunday afternoon. 

After Michigan (14-11 overall, 

8-7 Big Ten) fell to No. 15 Wiscon-
sin (21-5, 12-4), 77-63, the postgame 
handshake line morphed into a 
physical altercation. Several Wol-
verines engaged in the scuffle and 
Michigan coach Juwan Howard 
threw a punch at a Wisconsin assis-
tant coach. 

After the game Howard seemed 

prepared to suffer the consequences 
of his actions, although he did not 
utter an apology:

“I respect whatever the Big Ten 

decision that they make,” Howard 
said. “It’s up to them and I will 
respect whatever decision they 
end up making.”

Frustrations boiled over for 

Howard, perturbed that Wiscon-
sin coach Greg Gard took a time-
out with 15 seconds left in a game 
that was a foregone conclusion. 
But the punches also came after 
a lamentable second half perfor-
mance for the Wolverines, who 

saw a tied game at halftime turn 
into a blowout loss. 

The first half played out as a 

tug-of-war, with neither team able 
to drag itself towards a win. Play-
ing at a snail’s pace, both teams 
grinded through possessions, not 
finding many open buckets or 
chances to run in transition. The 
teams combined for just one three 
pointer, further adding to the ugly 
offensive pace. 

Instead, the main battle trans-

pired in the paint. The Wolver-
ines leaned on sophomore center 
Hunter Dickinson, who scored 15 
of their 31 first half points. The 
Badgers refused to commit to 
double teams and Dickinson took 
advantage, constantly flipping 
hook shots toward the rim. But, 
Wisconsin challenged Michigan’s 
interior defense with similar suc-
cess, equalling the Wolverines’ 31 
points with 22 coming inside the 
paint.

Neither team could find any 

separation at the halfway point.

Michigan appeared to break 

the seal on its rim to start the 
second half, as it raced out to 7-0 
run and went up 38-33. Instead, 
the quick offensive spurt proved 
to be a mirage. Empty offensive 
possessions piled up — including 
a plethora of missed threes — and 
an instant lead in the second half 
turned into a growing deficit. 

“I think a lot of our shots were 

good 
shots,” 
Dickinson 
said. 

“They just happened not to go 
in. But when you stop shooting, 
that shows a lack of confidence 
in yourself. And that’s the worst 
thing that can happen in basket-
ball is when you don’t have confi-
dence in yourself.”

Suddenly trailing with less 

than twelve minutes to go, the 
offense looked to break out from 
its slog and prevent the game 
from completely unraveling. But 
there was no solace on that end of 
the floor. Offensive fouls, blocked 
shots and 3-point attempts clang-
ing off the rim ultimately spelled 
doom for the Wolverines. A 38-33 
lead had turned into an astonish-
ing 56-41 deficit. 

“We just had some mental laps-

es on defense,” graduate trans-
fer guard DeVante’ Jones said. 
“I think that was a big thing for 
us. And (Badgers’ guard) Johnny 
Davis hit some tough shots and 
they just kind of fed off that.”

The Wolverines had no answer 

for Davis, who amassed 23 points 
on 11-for-16 shooting. The offense 
completely disappeared, espe-
cially Dickinson, who scored just 
six points in the final 20 minutes 
after his scorching start. Michi-
gan as a team shot an atrocious 
4-for-25 from beyond the arc and 
was never able to cut into the lead 
once it fell behind — trailing by 
double digits for a majority of the 
second half.

An abysmal second half show-

ing caused a game within reach 
for the Wolverines to completely 
slip away. The forgettable result, 
though, didn’t kill Michigan’s 
postseason hopes. 

But the actions that followed 

postgame will long be remem-
bered. The fight creates a number 
of problems — and almost cer-
tainly some suspensions — that 
will make what’s been a difficult 
season for the Wolverines that 
much harder to navigate as the 
finish line nears.

JOSH TAUBMAN
Daily Sports Editor

Hot and cold hitting hampers Michigan, leading to 1-2 start

ZAIN RODGER

Daily Sports Writer

Michigan’s guards 

step up in second half 

against Maryland

Michigan to suspend Juwan Howard 

for rest of regular season

NICHOLAS STOLL AND 

JARED GREENSPAN

Managing Sports Editors

DOMINICK SOKOTOFF/Daily

Juwan Howard will miss 

Michiga’s five remaining regular 

season contensts while serving 

a suspension. 

ABBIE TELGENHOF
Daily Sports Writer

ANNA FUDER/Daily

Michigan blew a winnable game against the Badgers in the second 

half, and then frustration soon boiled over.

JULIA SCHACHINGER/Daily

Michigan’s guards complimented forward Naz Hillmon in Michi-
gan’s win over Maryland.

JULIA SCHACHINGER/Daily

Clark Elliot’s solo home run 

against Texas Tech set the tone 

for the weekend.

