Michigan basketball: Juwan Howard defends decision to play in NIT
Michigan basketball’s 2022-23 season did not go as hoped, missing out on the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015. When the NIT came on the program’s radar, there was never a hesitation to extend the season.
Michigan wants to compete. And now it is one of 16 teams left in the NIT field heading into the weekend.
Head coach Juwan Howard addressed the decision to play after the 90-80 win over Toledo on Tuesday night, saying that there was no question his team would choose to compete. Unlike North Carolina, Michigan wanted a chance to end the season on a winning note.
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“I look at it like this, we were a team that brought the basketball to the park,” Howard said after the game Tuesday. “And the other two teams, and I mean like the five guys, there was one team that had five, another team had five, and Michigan we had our five but we brought the basketball. The other two teams didn’t have their basketball, we brought the basketball and so it was time to play.
“So what are we gonna do? We’re gonna take our basketball and go home because they didn’t pick us in the first game? Because the other five were allowed to play? So we’re not gonna cry over spilled milk, we’re not gonna act like we’re entitled, we’re not gonna act like it’s beneath us. Our season has been a season built on adversity, unfortunately injuries, we have a young team that’s growing in so many areas and we got chosen for the NIT.”
Michigan improved its record to 18-15 on Tuesday night in a much better showing than its previous three games. Players said afterward that a motivating factor was not ending the year with four-straight losses. Michigan is in it to win it as long as it can be.
“We respect the opportunity, we appreciate it, and we’re going to go out there and play because this is not only going to help grow us out there on the court. But this is a great life lesson that we can gain from this and that we’re also gonna grow from this. And so we’re not gonna be the team that takes our basketball and not let the other team play with it,” Howard said.
Next up for Michigan is a trip to Nashville to take on the Vanderbilt Commodores on Saturday, March 18. Tipoff is scheduled for 12 p.m. ET. Vandy held off Yale for a 71-62 victory on Tuesday night in their opening-round game.
