Newsstand: Juwan Howard updates Jett Howard's injured ankle
Lost in the shuffle of Michigan basketball’s 84-72 win over Michigan State on Saturday was an injury to star freshman Jett Howard. He went down with an ankle issue in the second half of the game, but his team was able to find a way to win without him.
Writhing in pain on the floor, it appeared that trainers were working on his right ankle. It was wrapped and he returned to the bench but was unable to check back into game action. This, of course, comes weeks after he sprained his left ankle and missed the game against Purdue.
Head coach Juwan Howard did not have an update to share after the game, instead saying that Jett would get treatment and do everything he could to get back on the floor before Thursday night’s game at Rutgers.
“I haven’t heard anything yet. Just praying, we need him, need a healthy Jett,” his father said after the game.
Howard is needed for a Michigan team that needs all hands on deck down the stretch. The Wolverines still have time to play themselves onto the NCAA Tournament bubble at 15-12 (9-7 B1G), but are not on it currently. Rutgers is up next on Thursday before a home game against Wisconsin on Feb. 26. Road games at Illinois and Indiana follow on March 2 and 5, respectively. The Big Ten Tournament starts on March 8 from United Center in Chicago.
Tweets of the day
Michigan quote of the day
“I think getting everybody back together was good. Getting my team back together was good. I do think the competition helped. A win would’ve helped more, because it was right there. [There was] 1:57 left and he hits a Hail Mary. We didn’t respond from there. The final score was not indicative of the game, but they deserved to win the game because they did it fair and square. I respect that.
“We shot it well [early], but the turnovers … we gave them two turnovers. Give [Dug] McDaniel credit, but he had two layups and a 3 we just didn’t guard. That was the first thing Tyson [Walker] said. I did a poor job at the start. We were good enough offensively — we weren’t very good defensively or with the turnovers.”
– Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo on the scene at Crisler Center on Saturday night
Headlines of the day
Tom Izzo praises his team and U-M, laments missed opportunity
Fab Five: Takeaways from Michigan’s win over Michigan State
Dug McDaniel’s energy had Juwan Howard’s attention in win over Michigan State
Michigan hockey finishes disappointing weekend with loss to OSU
