Juwan Howard explains final possessions of Indiana loss

Michigan was playing for their NCAA Tournament lives on Sunday in Bloomington. However, the Wolverines didn’t have enough to hold on down the stretch of the second half and overtime as they lost 75-73 to Indiana.

Still, as frustrated as he appeared, Juwan Howard liked the shots that his team got in the final seconds. To start, he addressed the final shot in regulation. After setting a pick up top, Hunter Dickinson popped out for a three at the top of the key. While it bounced off the back rim after a good contest from Jalen Hood-Schifino, Howard was very straightforward with how he felt about the look.

“We got a good shot,” said Howard. “We got a good shot.”

From there, Howard broke down their final play of overtime when they were down 3. After coming off a pair of screens, Kobe Bufkin threw it in to a posting Dickinson who had Hood-Schifino on him in a mismatch. The only problem was Race Thompson, who was chasing Tarris Reed Jr. baseline, was in perfect position to rip it. In the end, Howard says that’s just how it goes sometimes even when you get it in the right spot.

“We got the ball in the right situation. Unfortunately, the defender came in and tipped the ball away,” Howard said.

After Thompson missed four straight free throws, the door was still open for the Wolverines with four seconds left. A brutal turnover between Bufkin and Dickinson at halfcourt, though, ended the game and locked Michigan into the No. 8 seed in this week’s Big Ten Tournament. It also has put Howard’s squad in serious jeopardy of missing the NCAA Tournament depending on how their trip to Chicago goes.

2023 Big Ten Tournament field is officially set

The 2023 Big Ten Basketball Tournament is officially set after Sunday’s slate of basketball games. 

The seeding all came down to the final day of the regular season, which featured fascinating matchups like Maryland at Penn State, and Illinois at Purdue.

The Boilermakers kicked things off win a final win over the Fighting Illini. From there, Northwestern handled its business at Rutgers, Nebraska shocked Iowa inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena, and Wisconsin survived at last place Minnesota.

We did have some thrillers on the schedule, though. To start, Penn State came back from 16 down to win against Maryland thanks to a second straight game-winning basket from Camren Wynter. After that, Michigan tried to keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive with an overtime game at Indiana but ultimately fell short against the Hoosiers.

As for how the rest of the field looks moving forward, here’s the final Big Ten standings for the 2022-2023 season, which will set the stage for the Big Ten Tournament.

Big Ten Basketball Regular Season Standings: 

1. Purdue Boilermakers – 26-5 (15-5)
2. Northwestern Wildcats – 21-10 (12-8)
3. Indiana Hoosiers – 21-10 (12-8)
4. Michigan State Spartans – 19-11 (11-8)
5. Iowa Hawkeyes – 19-12 (11-9)
6. Maryland Terrapins – 20-11 (11-9)
7. Illinois Fighiting Illini – 20-11 (11-9)
8. Michigan Wolverines – 17-14 (11-9)
9. Rutgers Scarlet Knights – 18-13 (10-10)
10. Penn State Nittany Lions – 19-12 (10-10)
11. Nebraska Cornhuskers – 16-15 (9-11)
12. Wisconsin Badgers – 16-13 (8-12)
13. Ohio State Buckeyes – 13-18 (5-15)
14. Minnesota Golden Gophers – 8-20 (2-18)