Michigan basketball, undermanned and struggling, but still fighting as Purdue looms
There's a fine line between excuses and reality.
Michigan basketball coach Juwan Howard won't allow any of the former, but must accept the latter.
His lead point guard, Dug McDaniel, has been absent from six straight road games with an academic suspension. His top forward, Olivier Nkamhoua, labored through a wrist injury for more than a month before he was forced to shut down his year with season-ending surgery. Jaelin Llewellyn missed the start of the season as he rehabbed from a torn ACL, Tray Jackson suffered a concussion (as well as a broken nose) which sidelined him for weeks, Jace Howard was out more than two months with a stress fracture in his knee, while Terrance Williams II and Will Tschetter have both missed games due to the flu.
Howard said the virus has been "spreading like wildfire" through the team this month, so much so the Wolverines (8-19, 3-13 Big Ten) even had to run their offense without Howard Eisley, their lead offensive assistant coach and play caller, on Thursday at Northwestern.
Even still, Michigan fought to a 44-43 lead in the second half, before running out of steam down the stretch.
“What I saw last night is exactly what any coach would really appreciate," Howard said Friday on a video call. "When you have a team where it’s late in the season and you have injuries and guys being down because of having the flu bug or teams just mentally just out of it because they’re so competitive and the record doesn’t show exactly where you want to be as far as having a chance and an opportunity to be one of the top teams in our league.
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“But the level of competitiveness that I saw last night, I appreciate that — I really do — as a coach."
Only Tarris Reed Jr. and Nimari Burnett have been available for all 27 games this season, however Michigan should be healthier on Sunday when it takes on No. 3 Purdue (2 p.m., CBS). The hope is a few extra days will give Tschetter the time he needs to get back in the lineup. And even with McDaniel being available in the confines of Crisler Center, the task remains tall.
The Boilermakers, led by reigning national player of the year Zach Edey (23.3 points, 11.7 rebounds per game), are on the top of the Big Ten standings and 9-1 in their past 10 games.
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They've gotten enough punch from transfer Lance Jones (12.9 points per game), while the sophomore back court of Braden Smith (12.8 points, 7.1 assists ) and Fletcher Loyer (10.2 points) has given Matt Painter a balanced attack that makes Purdue the favorite to repeat as Big Ten champions.
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McDaniel's full-time return remains uncertain as Howard said Friday he's "waiting to hear back from the committee" on a ruling. Still, despite losing 14 of the past 16 games, U-M is fighting back any feelings of too little, too late.
"It's been something I've never ever imagined," Howard said. "Now that we've experienced this, we've always tried to have a mindset, and will continue to have the positive mindset of appreciating each day and moment that we get. But while we're out there on the floor ... we look at it as a job. We appreciate the opportunity to represent this university.
"Our goal is to win at home and we're going do whatever we can.”
Contact Tony Garcia: apgarcia@freepress.com. Follow him at @realtonygarcia.
Next up: Boilermakers
Matchup: Michigan (8-19, 3-13 Big Ten) vs. No. 3 Purdue (24-3, 13-3).
Tipoff: 2 p.m. Sunday; Crisler Center, Ann Arbor.
TV/radio: CBS; WWJ-AM (950).
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan basketball, undermanned and struggling, but still fighting
