Michigan will be forced to play the remainder of its regular season schedule without head coach Juwan Howard, who's been suspended five games and fined $40,000 for his actions in a postgame scuffle with Wisconsin coaches and players this past Sunday.
The heated exchange occurred moments after the Wolverines suffered a 14-point road loss in Madison. On the postgame handshake line, Badgers head coach Greg Gard grabbed Howard by the arm to explain why he called a late timeout with the game already out of reach. Howard then argued with Gard, and the incident ultimately led to Howard hitting Wisconsin assistant coach Joe Krabbenhoft. Three players also received suspensions for their actions.
"This was pretty much what I thought [Michigan] would do. I didn't think they would fire Howard for this," Yahoo Sports national columnist Dan Wetzel told the Reiter Than You show on Wednesday. "I'd advise him not to do anything else -- don't do it again. It's not how Michigan likes to think of itself and how it wants to run its program. That said, he's an alum and a famous former player and they've liked what he's done, pretty much otherwise...
"They have four straight home games. There's no way a school wants to have the visual of their head coach coming back after three games, coaching the final game and getting a standing ovation... I'm not too surprised they ended up at this spot... This was a season where they had a terrific recruiting class and great freshmen. It's been a disappointing season... Hopefully, Howard is reflective on his role in all of this, and can move on and go forward better."
In response to the suspension, Howard released a statement, saying in part, "After taking time to reflect on all that happened, I realize how unacceptable both my actions and words were, and how they affected so many. I am truly sorry." While Howard is away, the Wolverines will be led by associate coach Phil Martelli, who spent two-plus decades as the head coach for St. Joe's.
Gard was also fined $10,000 for violating the Big Ten's sportsmanship policy, and Krabbenhoft hasn't received any punishment. Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel released a statement on Monday, saying in part, "Simply put, there is no room at U-M for the behavior we saw."
Michigan, which is just 8-7 in Big Ten play and 14-11 overall, will host Rutgers in a conference matchup on Wednesday. According to CBS Sports bracketology expert Jerry Palm, the Wolverines are listed as one of the first four teams out for this year's edition of March Madness. Howard won't return to the sidelines until Mar. 9, when the annual Big Ten tournament begins in Indianapolis.
The entire college sports conversation between Wetzel and Reiter can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow the Reiter Than You show on Twitter @sportsreiter and @CBSSportsRadio, and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.