UM's Juwan Howard, Maryland's Mark Turgeon differ on what led to heated exchange

Indianapolis — Michigan’s Juwan Howard made his postseason coaching debut Friday.

However, Howard didn’t make it to the end of the game as he was ejected in the second half of Michigan’s Big Ten tournament quarterfinal win at Lucas Oil Stadium following a fiery argument with Maryland coach Mark Turgeon.

With 10:44 remaining, Howard and Turgeon exchanged words and had to be separated during a media timeout. As tempers flared, Howard had to be restrained by the coaching staff, drew two techs and was tossed for the first time in his two years at the helm. Turgeon also received a technical.

According to Howard, the heated exchange started when Turgeon was complaining about him being out of the coaching box when he walked toward midcourt to dispute an official's call that was made before the stoppage.

“My version, because there’s always going be so many versions — my version, his version — but at the end of the day, I’m going to tell you the truth how it all happened,” Howard said after the 79-66 win that put Michigan in Saturday's Big Ten tournament semifinals. “I noticed that (Galin) Smith went for an offensive rebound and it went off his hands last, but the referees called the ball out of bounds and I think it was their possession. I’m like, no, that’s not how I saw it. So, I was out of the coaching box and I went down to explain it was off of Smith. I mean, it’s tough to communicate when it’s loud and also you have a mask on.

“Turg saw that I was out of the box. He's telling the referee look at my feet, I’m out of the box. I’m like, ‘Come on, man. This is what we’re doing today? You’re worrying about my feet being out of the box?’”

The two coaches jawed back and forth, but Howard erupted when Turgeon pointed angrily and took several animated steps toward him.

“He said to me, ‘Juwan, I’m not going to let you talk to me. You don’t talk to me ever again,’ and he charged at me,” Howard said. “And that right there, I don’t know how you guys were raised, but how I was raised by my grandmother and also by Chicago, because I was raised by Chicago. I grew up in the South Side. When guys charge you, it’s time to defend yourself, especially when a grown man charges you.

“That right there, I went into defense mode and forgetting exactly where I’m at, because that’s not the right way how to handle the situation when you come at and charge someone. I didn’t charge him. So when he charged me, I reacted, and I reacted out of defense. That’s it. Words were exchanged, and then I got tossed. That’s the story.”

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According to Turgeon, Friday’s fracas was a culmination of simmering tensions between the two sides.

“I’ve been doing this for 34 years and I’ve called the conference office, called the commissioner about what transpired in the first two games,” said Turgeon, who didn’t specify what the issue was. “And I said I wasn’t gonna take it in the third game. So I stood up for my team, I stood up for me. There’s a rumor out there I said something about the banner. All I said is, ‘Don’t talk to me. Don’t talk to me.’ Nothing about a banner. Never backed down. I just stood there and said, ‘Don’t talk to me.’

“The commissioner of the league, the league was well aware of what’s transpired in the first two games and they’ll handle it from here. I thought I was as professional as I could try to be in the moment standing up for myself, 34 years of doing it the right way and for Maryland basketball. That’s all I did, just stood up for myself and my program and said ‘Don’t talk to me,’ and it escalated.”

Howard said he never heard from the league office about Turgeon’s complaints following the two regular-season meetings between the teams and didn’t sense friction building.

During a postgame interview with Big Ten Network, Michigan assistant coach Phil Martelli acknowledged there was friction in the first game but no problems in the second encounter.

In the Dec. 31 win at College Park, there were four technical fouls called in the first half — one on each team’s bench, one on Turgeon and one on freshman center Hunter Dickinson, who flexed and glared at Maryland's bench several times. Then in the Jan. 19 rematch in Ann Arbor, there were three technicals assessed in the second half — one on Maryland guard Darryl Morsell after he was upset with an official for not calling a foul when he was hit in the face on a layup and one on both benches after that play.

Sophomore wing Franz Wagner and senior guard Chaundee Brown didn’t know what was said during the verbal altercation and didn't know what trigged the shouting match.

Regardless, the Wolverines responded after the ejection, rattling off a 14-5 run to build a 13-point lead that never dipped below six points over the final seven minutes.

"We just knew we had the game in the bag and basically we just wanted to do that for him," Brown said. "We know that he always has our back and we have his back."

Howard said he wasn’t pleased with his actions and apologized to his team afterward.

“That’s now the way you handle situations like that under adverse moments. You can’t let your emotions get the best of you,” Howard said. “I love how our guys stepped up and supported their coach, because they know I’m always gonna support to them. But I’m going to always take ownership when I’m wrong and admit when I’m wrong. That’s not the right way how to handle that situation.”

During an interview on BTN, Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren said the incident was reviewed and there will be no further action after Howard's ejection.

Slam dunks

Senior guard Eli Brooks returned to the starting lineup after suffering a left ankle injury in last weekend’s regular-season finale at Michigan State.

According to Howard, Brooks was a game-time decision and didn’t practice leading into Friday’s game. He finished with 16 points and made four 3-pointers in 36 minutes.

"I think those couple airballs explain to guys that I was not telling you a story or I'm not telling you the truth about Eli didn't practice,” Howard said. “While his teammates the last few days have been preparing to play, he didn't have any rhythm. I was trying to keep him on a minutes restriction, but Eli is a competitor. He's a warrior. He figures it out. We just need more Elis like that in basketball because this kid is special.”

… Senior forward Isaiah Livers played a season-low 15 minutes and was scoreless on 0-for-5 shooting, with four of those shots coming from 3-point range. He checked out with 14:42 remaining and never returned.

It was the first time Livers finished a game without a point since Michigan’s Sweet 16 loss to Texas Tech two seasons ago.

“He was giving his best to the game and trying to affect the game in any kind of way possible,” Howard said. “Now we're going to do our best to look at film and see what is best to move forward to help Isaiah be ready for the next game."

… Michigan has won 14 straight opening games in the Big Ten tournament, the most of any major conference tournament team.

jhawkins@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @jamesbhawkins