Michigan basketball season beyond saving. Now, questions mount about Juwan Howard future.

For those hoping to feel better about the Michigan basketball program, it doesn't appear likely to come this season.

The Wolverines' (7-15, 2-9 Big Ten) tumultuous campaign has been well documented; Juwan Howard's club isn't just in the midst of its second five-game losing streak of the past two months and 1-10 overall in its past 11 games, but the road appears to get harder from here.

Michigan's next six matchups are all Quad 1 games according to the NET rankings (where U-M is currently ranked No. 111, between Youngstown State and Santa Clara), and are against NCAA tournament bound teams, a stretch that begins with No. 11 Wisconsin (16-6, 8-3) at Crisler Center on Wednesday.

The Wolverines are 2-6 in eight such games this season — they're also just 2-5 in Quad 2 games — and no matter which split one takes, it doesn't look good for U-M which is below .500 at home (4-7), at neutral sites (1-3), on the road (2-5) and in Quad 3 games (2-3).

Even in Quad 4 games, Michigan is .500 (1-1) thanks to its home loss to Long Beach State.

It's hard to believe something, anything, will work, which only puts more emphasis on the remainder of the season on building toward the future. Howard indirectly said as much Saturday after Rutgers outscored Michigan by 25 points in the final 17 minutes and his team blew yet another double-digit lead.

"We're going to continue to work in practice, drill the habits we feel will help us and then at the same time hold guys accountable," Howard said. "When you're not doing your job, I'm primarily standing up, so you will sit next to coach Howard Eisley or Saddi Washington."

Moments later, shortly before he said one of the fixes he considered was playing the walk-ons because he knows they will follow the game plan, Howard continued his fiery speech.

When asked if it was a problem with his coaching scheme or if it was on the end of the players' buy-in and execution he said, "the (expletive) works," as he pointed to his past resume that consists of a Big Ten championship, a 2021 AP Coach of the Year Award, and what would've been three straight NCAA tournament appearances (if not for COVID-19), including an Elite Eight and another Sweet 16.

Michigan is 44-46 since the Sweet 16 loss, and all but guaranteed to miss the Big Dance in consecutive years for the first time since 1998-2008.

The question now is whether this stretch is the low point for the program or a worrisome trend?

'The totality of the situation'

Athletic director Warde Manuel sat tall as he answered questions in late January at Sherrone Moore's introductory news conference, seemingly ready for the incoming inquiries about Howard's program, which the AD not-so-subtly redirected toward football.

Everybody wanted him to get rid of Jim Harbaugh after 2020, Manuel reminded, when he made the opposite decision following the lowest point of the coach's Michigan tenure.

"Somebody asked me about patience," Manuel said. "I think that's the key with all of our programs."

He pointed out the unusual nature of the 2020 season, which was mangled by the pandemic, and thought of it as an anomaly, not a breaking point.

While the comparison may be apples to oranges in some ways, Manuel acknowledged U-M basketball had its own share of adversity off the court before this season, too, when Howard went through a heart procedure and had to stay in the hospital for more than two weeks post-surgery. He endured multiple days of physical therapy per week, as he tried to rehab his way back to his team. In total, he was sidelined for three months.

"Let's not discount what he went through personally," Manuel said. "This is not 'he had a cold.'"

Manuel has heard the cries from an upset fan base in recent weeks, but said it's his job to look at the program in "the big picture" which goes beyond the wins and losses of one season, and that he would not make a decision on anything until the season was done.

"Life's not just about wins and losses," he said. "Athletics is really important to me ... but that's not all life is about. You have to analyze and understand the people, the process that people are putting together, before you just make a decision about what to do and how to do it.

"Fans tend to overreact ... that doesn't mean I have to judge people out of context and only focus on what's in the win and the loss column. ... My patience is trying to evaluate the totality of the situation in the context that we find ourselves in."

'THE (EXPLETIVE) WORKS': Juwan Howard calls out Michigan basketball buy-in, touts past

Off the court troubles

If the bigger picture beyond the court is intended to be the selling point for the future, that may be a problem, considering there have been a number of issues unrelated to losing during the Howard tenure.

The first came in the 2021 Big Ten tournament, when Howard was ejected in the second half against Maryland. He got into a shouting match with Terps coach Mark Turgeon during a timeout and Howard eventually had to be held back by two assistants before he was tossed.

"He said, 'Juwan, I'm not going to let you talk to me. Don't talk to me ever again,'" Howard told reporters of Turgeon after the game. "Then he charged at me. I don't know how you were raised, but the way I was raised is when someone charges you, you defend yourself."

The next season, Howard's actions reached an even greater boiling point, when he got into a verbal dispute in the postgame handshake line following a loss at Wisconsin. He and Badgers coach Greg Gard exchanged words before the matter escalated to the point where Howard smacked Wisconsin assistant coach Joe Krabbenhoft in the face, setting off a brawl between the teams.

Howard was suspended the final five games of the regular season, fined $40,000 and put on a zero tolerance policy by Manuel.

The policy was put to the test earlier this season, when Howard and former strength and conditioning coach Jon Sanderson got into a dispute in December.

Sanderson, a John Beilein holdover and the longest tenured staffer, filed an HR complaint and stepped away from the program, but upon an internal investigation, Manuel determined no punishment was deemed necessary.

"Nothing was found to warrant disciplinary action for anyone involved," his statement read. "As such, we will move forward with a focus on our team and our season.”

Michigan won at Iowa the day after Sanderson left the program, but has gone 2-10 since.

Leading scorer Dug McDaniel hasn't been in ideal academic standing since the second semester began; it became an issue to the point he has been suspended indefinitely from road games for the past month.

"It's next man up mentality," point guard Jaelin Llewellyn said. "Ready for anything the coaches want, so yeah, just want to help the team win."

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Recruiting and portal dip

While Howard and the staff can't go to class for the students, they can make sure they do their own homework on students' academic standing prior to trying to lure them to Ann Arbor.

The basketball program is operating at a disadvantage from an name, image and likeness perspective — one of the major reasons All-Big Ten center Hunter Dickinson left the program — and its academic admissions requirements make it particularly difficult to enter as a transfer.

Just ask Nojel Eastern, who announced his transfer from Purdue to Michigan as a done deal before the 2021 season, only to ask out of it later once he understood he wouldn't meet university standards.

The same goes for Terrence Shannon Jr. — who now has serious allegations levied against him off the court but has been an All-Big Ten player on it — who ended up at Illinois.

It's also the case with Caleb Love, a former standout at North Carolina having the best year of his career (18.9 points, five rebounds, 3.3 assists) at Arizona. Last summer, he said he was coming to Michigan.

Even freshman Papa Kante had to ask out of his national letter of intent once it became clear he wouldn't meet Michigan's admissions requirements. He's now at Pittsburgh.

"It’s a great place and a great academic school,” Manuel said. “I’m not going to shy away from that. That’s who we are. We have been very successful with our student-athletes on and off the field."

Roster construction and continuity

If that's the approach Manuel and the higher ups are taking with the basketball program, it only heightens the importance of roster construction and leads to the question of how stable is the current model of program building?

Many have pointed out the winning came early with Beilien holdovers and that the sustainability hasn't been there in recent years. That's hard to argue with, as most of high level players Michigan brought in during the 2021 and 2022 classes (both which finished in the top 10 in the country) didn't stick around long.

Moussa Diabate, Caleb Houstan, Jett Howard and Kobe Bufkin all opted to leave after their first or seasons in Ann Arbor to take their shot at the NBA and to this point only Houstan has made any sort of impact.

Diabate has played just 10 NBA games in this, his second NBA season, and one since November; 2023 lottery picks Howard has played just 11 games with Orland and Bufkin has played in just three NBA games for Atlanta.

Only Will Tschetter remains from the six-man 2021 class, as Frankie Collins (Arizona State) and Isaiah Barnes (Tulsa) both left via the transfer portal.

The five-man class of 2022 has two impact players on the roster: McDaniel and Tarris Reed Jr., while Youssef Khayat hasn't played more than 10 minutes in a game until Jan. 18.

The 2023 class had one player, George Washington III, who finished outside the top 125 consensus, and has made a field goal in just two games this season.

Currently, the class of 2024 has one commit, Khani Rooths, a 6-foot-7 wing from IMG Academy rated No. 29 in the country on the 247Sports Composite. Keeping him committed is one of the top priorities this offseason.

So, now what?

Apathy toward the program will only continue to grow as losses mount for a program that has played in two national championships in the past decade.

Those winning days feel like a long time ago, given the past three seasons.

U-M is 5-19 the past two seasons in games decided by six points or fewer or in overtime, and 1-12 during Howard's five-year tenure in one-possession games. This season, the Wolverines have lost a game eight times after leading by seven points or more.

The football program felt similarly lost with a former star as its coach not that long ago, only for it to return to the mountain top. Manuel will decide this offseason if he will give Howard the same chance.

Howard, the former Fab Five standout, seemingly has no plans of backing down.

"You have to look yourself in the mirror and say it starts with me first," Howard said Saturday of the mentality every person in the program must have. "We're going to keep rolling up our sleeves and keep teaching. That's all I know, all my staff knows."

Contact Tony Garcia at apgarcia@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter at @realtonygarcia.

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Next up: Badgers

Matchup: Michigan (7-15, 2-10 Big Ten) vs. Wisconsin (16-6, 8-3).

Tipoff: 7 p.m. Wednesday; Crisler Center, Ann Arbor.

TV/radio: Big Ten Network; WWJ-AM (950).

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan basketball season beyond saving, questions mount about future