Former NBA Star Juwan Howard Sets Off Wild College Basketball Brawl

It's not often a coach sets off an all-in melee but that's exactly what happened during a college basketball game earlier today.

Former NBA player and coach and current head coach of the Michigan men's basketball team Juwan Howard set-off the brawl during the post-game handshake line when he took a swipe at Wisconsin assistant Joe Krabbenhoft's face

Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard stopped Howard in the handshake line, leading to the two men exchanging words before being surrounded by a few players and coaches. Howard then turned things physical when he grabbed Gard's sweater before Krabbenhoft came over in the middle of the scrum. It was then that Howard went for his face, setting a firecracker to the interaction and causing players from both sides to jump in.

Michigan forwards Moussa Diabate and Terrance Williams appeared to throw punches while Wisconsin guard Jahcobi Neath also looked to throw a punch.

The Big Ten, the Division I collegiate athletic conference that both sides play in, said it would review the matter for "swift and appropriate disciplinary action."

"The conference is in contact with both member institutions and is currently assessing the incident. The conference will provide more information and will take swift and appropriate disciplinary action when it completes its review," the conference said in a statement.

While Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel apologised to fellow Wisconsin AD Chris McIntosh post-game, Howard was less apologetic for his actions.

"I didn't like the timeout they called, and I'm being totally honest with you," Howard said. "I thought it was not necessary at that moment, especially with it being a large lead. ... I thought that wasn't fair to our guys. And so that's what happened."

Howard said he reacted after someone from Wisconsin put hands on him, though he didn't specify who did it.

"Someone touched me, and I think it was very uncalled for, for them to touch me, as we were verbalizing and communicating with one another. That's what escalated it," Howard said.

This isn't Howard's first incident with an opposing coach since taking over at Michigan in 2019 with the former Miami Heat assistant getting into a shouting match with Maryland coach Mark Turgeon at last year's Big Ten Tournament. The two head coaches exchanged words before Howard began walking toward Turgeon, with Howard needing to be held back by his assistant coaches.