B1G Office: 'No Further Action' After Michigan Coach Ejected for Shouting at Maryland Bench
Michigan head coach Juwan Howard was ejected midway through the second half of the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals Friday against Maryland after getting into a shouting match with the Terrapins bench.
The No. 4 Wolverines went on to win 79-66 and reach the Big Ten semifinals, playing the remaining minutes of regulation without their head coach.
During a timeout with just over 10 minutes remaining, Howard walked to midcourt and shouted toward the Maryland bench.
The refs called two technical fouls on Howard and another on Terrapins coach Mark Turgeon, who was not ejected, ESPN reports.
After the game, Howard apologized to the team for his actions and said he loved how the team stepped up for him but that it wasn't the right way to handle the situation.
Howard further explained that he left the coaching box to communicate to officials that he disagreed about a possession call and how it went off the hands of Michigan guard Mike Smith.
"It's tough to communicate when it's loud and also you have masks on," he said.
Howard said Turgeon said some words and appeared to charge at him, and he went into defense mode.
Smith went on to finish the game with 18 points and set a Big Ten Tournament record with 15 assists for top-seeded Michigan (20-3).
Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren said the office would review the situation from a policy standpoint following the game and said the office found it was handled correctly.
"There'll be no further action," Warren said. "We feel the officials handled it appropriately on the court and diffused the situation."
Warren said the B1G has incredibly passionate coaches, players and fans, and said he is looking forward to the upcoming games.
With the victory, the Wolverines advance to the semifinals and will face No. 9 Ohio State or No. 21 Purdue in Saturday's first semifinal game.