Michigan’s Juwan Howard lashes out at players after being pulled off referee

Michigan basketball coach Juwan Howard became irked with his players Wednesday night as they tried to pull him away from berating an official. 

With 36.3 seconds left and the Wolverines down 77-71 to North Carolina, Howard was yelling at a referee when two Michigan players pulled him back, seemingly trying to stop their head coach from receiving a technical foul. 

It had been a chippy game between the two blue-blood schools, with four technical fouls being assessed in the first half of play. 

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Howard did not appreciate being restrained, letting his players know how he felt about being yanked away from the referee.

Howard has a history of fiery on-court reactions. He was suspended for five regular season games in 2022 after taking a swipe at Wisconsin assistant Joe Krabbenhoft following a loss to the Badgers. 

The four first-half technicals came after Michigan center Hunter Dickinson fouled North Carolina guard Caleb Love.

Dickinson appeared to stand over Love after the foul, causing the two teams to skirmish. 

“I was fired up,” North Carolina head coach Hubert Davis said when asked about the chippy play, according to 247 Sports. “I was ready to compete… It’s hard to have played and then you can’t go out there because I’m 52. And so I’d love to be out there. I miss that. I miss that competition. I love that interaction. I love that competitiveness. And it doesn’t take very much at all for me to get into it. And so that’s just normal for me. Game. Practice. Shoot around.”

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The Tar Heels won the game 80-76, dropping Michigan to 7-4 on the season.