Wolverine Watch: Howard's First Tourney Team Is Forming

Wisconsin couldn’t do it. Neither could Seton Hall, Penn State, Indiana, Minnesota, Purdue or Illinois, for that matter.

Ranked teams, Big Ten contenders, you name it. Not one squad had invaded The Rack — Rutgers’ home basketball haven — and come away with a win.

Until Michigan arrived, that is.

The Wolverines’ 60-52 there win stands with an early victory over Gonzaga and the recent home win over Michigan State among their top three to date, for many reasons. One, teams have gone to The Rack and slammed home a victory this year as many times as Greta Thunberg has smilingly offered “Energy lives here” on an Exxon commercial.

Two, the Wolverines did so without junior forward Isaiah Livers, one of their top two players. Livers appeared in a walking boot, the latest kick to the shins of his season.

And it ultimately didn’t matter. Because three, Juwan Howard is finding all the right buttons to push, and unlikely stars and contributors keep responding. At Rutgers, sophomore center Colin Castleton emerged from the shadows to deliver five points, four rebounds, a block and just the right boost at the right time.

Castleton played a combined 20 minutes in the half-dozen games leading up to this one. When called upon, he responded like an offensive lineman at a half-price happy hour pizza buffet.

“You never know when your name is going to be called on, but when you have that positive mindset and you’re staying ready, staying locked in, feeding energy and cheering for your teammates, knowing what’s happenin on the floor, buying into film, coming in on off days, getting shots up for yourself — I feel comfortable going with him,” Howard insisted.

Howard’s crew has been locked in for wins in six of its last seven games, going from teetering on the brink of oblivion to a possible strong seed in the NCAA Tournament. Howard himself is quickly shedding the “unproven college coach” tag.

The only way to go from unproven to proven remains … well, prove it.

• Beat Michigan State in year one — check. That hadn’t happened for a first-year Michigan coach since Brian Ellerbe did so with Steve Fisher’s leftovers in 1997-98.

• Win on the road — check. It took a bit, but the Wolverines are getting comfortable away from Crisler.

• Make the NCAA Tournament — and don’t leave early. This team — absent an absolute collapse — has a great chance to check both of those boxes as well.

The outlook entering The Rack was simple — steal a win in one of four remaining road games, then hold serve at home against Wisconsin and Nebraska. Michigan took care of the first part immediately, giving rise to the notion that the 3-3 finish scenario undersold them.

Maybe it did. But Brian Boesch, voice of the Wolverines on Michigan Radio, urges both caution and optimism. He insists the match-ups for the Wolverines were best against Rutgers, then increasingly tougher at Purdue, Ohio State and Maryland.

“You don’t want to get too carried away,” Boesch said. “But what I love is, in a vacuum, yesterday’s game was bigger for Rutgers than it was for Michigan. When it comes to the [NCAA] Tournament, Rutgers could ill-afford [to lose]. They’ve got the hardest schedule down the stretch. They’ve lost four of six. Unquestionably, in the NCAA Tournament picture, that game was bigger for Rutgers.

“Yet Michigan went in there and took care of business. Outside of maybe the late stages of the first half and the first few minutes of the second half, Michigan controlled that game. The long-term effects of that game might be more beneficial for Michigan.”

Boesch insists the Wolverines have all but eliminated having to play on the first day at the Big Ten Tournament. From there, Howard’s crew can write its own ticket.

“Michigan is out of the first day, if it beats Wisconsin and Nebraska, period,” he said. “And, if they do steal another one, maybe two on the road, they’re out of that 8-9 purgatory in the NCAA Tournament.

“Listen, on its best day, I think Michigan can beat anybody in the country. But I also don’t want to have to worry about seeing that until the Sweet 16 or Elite Eight. That would be ideal.”

Again, it doesn’t get easier on the Big Ten road. But the Wolverines have another shot on Saturday at Purdue’s Mackey Arena, a venue as welcoming as Alcatraz in its heyday.

“It’s going to be the exact same situation on Saturday at Purdue,” Boesch said. “Purdue needs that win to get into the tournament a heck of a lot more than Michigan does. The Wolverines, right now, if they win their two home games, they’re going to get in, regardless of how they do at home or even in Indianapolis.

“Purdue has to win that game. They’re running out of chances, and Michigan doesn’t have to, but the Wolverines sure as heck want to — and that’s the formula they used against Rutgers.”

Whatever the formula, the ingredients appear to be mixing in nicely — especially with the eventual added pinch of Livers. Tournament time is creeping closer, and Michigan’s acting like it.

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