Michigan men's basketball coach Juwan Howard took a swipe in the face of Wisconsin assistant Joe Krabenhoft at the postgame handshake line between the teams, which included coaches and players from both sides.
Wisconsin coach Greg Guard stopped Howard at the handshake line, causing the two to exchange words before being surrounded by some players and coaches. Howard put his finger on the guard's face and grabbed the guard's sweater before Krabenhoft was in the middle of the scrum. Howard then reached out and hit Krabenhoft in the face.
Both teams began pushing and pushing, with Michigan leading Moussa Diabet and Terrence Williams to punch. Wisconsin guard Jahkobi Neeth also appeared to be punching.
Big Ten said it would review the case for "rapid and appropriate disciplinary action".
“The Big Ten Conference is aware of a physical altercation involving Michigan Head Coach Juwan Howard at the conclusion of the Michigan Wolverines and Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball game. The conference is in contact with both member institutions and is currently assessing the incident. The conference will provide more information and take prompt and appropriate disciplinary action when it completes its review," the conference said in a statement.
Michigan athletic director Varde Manuel said in a statement that he apologized to Wisconsin AD Chris McIntosh, and University President Mary Sue Coleman was reaching out to Wisconsin Chancellor Rebecca Blank.
"I know and see the end of my men's basketball game. There is no excuse for any of our employees or student-athletes to get into physical altercations with others, regardless of provoking factors. I told Chris McIntosh and President Coleman has reached out to UW Chancellor Blank to apologize for the completely unacceptable behavior." "We will review the situation more thoroughly and work with the Big Ten Conference as they determine their disciplinary actions and determine whether further disciplinary actions are warranted."
McIntosh said he had contacted Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren about the situation, adding that there were staff members in Wisconsin who were "affected and injured."
"There is no place for this kind of conduct in any competition, no Big Ten competition," McIntosh said. "The Big Ten is proud of sportsmanship. The Big Ten is proud of acting with class. It didn't happen today."
Howard said he was annoyed by Wisconsin's use of the timeout. Wisconsin called two timeouts in the last minute, with 15 seconds left in one when the Badgers led 15. Wisconsin won 77–63.
"I didn't like the timeout they called, and I'm completely honest with you," Howard said. "I thought it wasn't necessary at the time, especially with it being a big lead... I felt it wasn't fair to our people. And that's what happened."
Howard said he reacted after someone in Wisconsin laid a hand on him, though he did not say who did it.
He said, "Someone touched me, and I think it was very unnecessary for them to touch me, because we were talking and communicating verbally with each other. That's what led to it."
In a postgame interview with CBS, the guard explained his rationale for the timeout, specifically one with 15 seconds.
"Apparently they didn't like that I called the timeout to reset the 10-second call. Because we only had four seconds to get the ball on the half court," the guard told CBS. "I didn't want to have my backup - I had all my bench guys in the game - I didn't want to put them in a position to be scrambling with only four seconds. So I took a timeout and gave us a new 10 seconds and that gave them Being organized and getting the ball in helped. And he didn't like it when the handshake line came through. I'll leave it at that and the rest of the tape will show."
This is not Howard's first incident with an opposing coach since taking over at Michigan in 2019. At last year's Big Ten tournament, Howard was kicked out after being involved in a shouting match with Maryland coach Mark Turgan. The two head coaches exchanged words before Howard began walking towards Turgon, with Howard needed to be held back by his assistant coaches.