The incident, which sparked a broader scuffle between the two teams, appeared to start after Howard did not shake Wisconsin coach Greg Gard’s hand during the postgame handshake line.
"Apparently, he didn't like that I called a timeout to reset the 10-second call, cause we only had four seconds to get the ball over halfcourt and I didn't want to put my backups— I had all my bench guys in the game—I didn't want to put them in that position of scrambling with only four seconds," Gard told CBS Sports' broadcast afterward. So I took a timeout and got us a new 10 seconds and helped us get organized and get the ball in and he did not like that when he came through the handshake line. So I'll leave it at that and the tape will show the rest.
"I didn't like the timeout being called," Howard told reporters. "And I'll be totally honest with you, I thought it was not necessary in that moment especially being in a large lead.
I thought that that was what I felt wasn't fair to our guys and that's what happened."
Michigan center Hunter Dickinson told reporters afterward the Wolverines did not like how the Badgers handled the conclusion of the game.
The two teams had been tied at 31 at half, but No. 15 Wisconsin outscored Michigan, 46–32 to win the contest. The victory moved the Badgers to 21–5 on the season. Michigan dropped to 14–11 with the loss.
Last March at the Big Ten tournament, Howard and then-Maryland coach Mark Turgeon got into an incident that featured the two coaches shouting at each other and both teams eventually gathering near court. Howard had to be restrained in that incident and was subsequently ejected. He was not suspended for that incident.
Howard, 49, has been the Wolverines’ coach since 2019, having previously served as an assistant from 2013 to ’19. He attended the university from 1991 to ’94 before a nearly two-decade long NBA career.