Michigan's Juwan Howard keeps cool after returning to sideline

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Juwan Howard was on his best behavior in Michigan's Big Ten Tournament opener.

Sure, he worked the officials. Yes, he spent most of Thursday's game barking out instructions to his players. He even hugged Indiana's players and coaches in the handshake line.

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But after serving a five-game, league-imposed suspension for taking a swing at Wisconsin assistant coach Joe Krabbenhoft on Feb. 20, the Wolverines coach was much more muted as Michigan's NCAA Tournament hopes may have slipped away with a 74-69 loss to the Hoosiers.

"I'm human, I have feelings, I care," Howard said after his team blew a 17-point lead in the final 13 minutes. "It's been an emotional road. Did I get sleep last night? No."

Whether it was the sleeplessness, the suspension or something else, Howard wasn't his usual fiery self on the sideline.

And given the stakes — with Michigan and Indiana both trying to play their way into the 68-team NCAA Tournament field — Howard easily could have lost his cool as Indiana charged back in the second half, a highly partisan crowd providing the energy to come back.

Michigan head coach Juwan Howard calls to his team from the sidelines against UNLV during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Friday, Nov. 19, 2021, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker)

But if Howard was sweating this one, he never let it show. Instead, Howard just kept urging his team to slow down, settle down and run the offense as Phil Martelli, Howard’s temporary replacement to end the regular season, remained seated.

"We came out with a lot of energy in the first half because we were happy to have our coach