Wisconsin basketball owns Michigan in two years since Juwan Howard’s slap
We are nearing two full years — February 20, 2022 — since Juwan Howard and Greg Gard got into a scuffle in the postgame handshake line after the Badgers’ 77-63 win over the Wolverines, which famously led to Howard slapping Wisconsin assistant Joe Krabbenhoft, igniting a brawl.
Our thoughts on the matter have been made clear. Howard’s five-game regular-season suspension was far too light given the magnitude of the incident. The suspension should have extended into postseason play and truly been for the rest of the 2021-22 season.
Related: Michigan’s Juwan Howard suffered a historic loss to Rutgers yesterday
Either way, Wisconsin plays at Michigan on Wednesday night. The game should tell the tale of two polar opposite teams this season — the Badgers are 16-6 (8-3 Big Ten) and in second place in a tough Big Ten race, while the Wolverines are 7-15 (2-9 Big Ten), ranked No. 101 in KenPom and are clearly the worst team in the conference.
So this led to a larger exercise. Given the two programs’ opposite trajectories at the moment, which has had the upper hand since Howard slapped Krabbenhoft?
Related: Wisconsin social media irate after the Badgers’ narrow loss to No. 2 Purdue — Takeaways from Wisconsin’s deflating loss to No. 2 Purdue
That answer, to no surprise, is Wisconsin.
The Badgers are 40-24 since that date including this year’s stellar 16-6 record. Their worst season was 2022-23, which still ended at 20-15 and a deep run in the NIT.
The Wolverines, meanwhile, are a lowly 30-35 since the incident including a bad 18-16 season in 2022-23 and this year’s complete disaster 7-15 start. The program will miss the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year and continue the steep decline since it was in the Elite Eight in 2020-21.
A fight broke out between Michigan and Wisconsin during the postgame handshake line. pic.twitter.com/AiWIwyzj8w
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) February 20, 2022
One may ask “But what’s their head-to-head record?” It’s just 1-1. Wisconsin won at the Kohl Center last season, but lost on the road at the Crisler Center.
So I guess Wednesday night could be viewed as the rubber match between the two programs — though it should already be decided, Wisconsin has the clear upper hand since the incident.
