Michigan Fans Split On Juwan Howard's Defensive Philosophy

In Michigan's double-overtime victory Thursday over Purdue, Juwan Howard made the decision not to offer help to senior center Jon Teske against Boilermaker sophomore Trevion Williams. The 6-9, 270-pounder went off for a career-high 36 points, doubling his previous best of 18 points.

In the post-game press conference, Howard explained his rationale, arguing he didn't want to leave Purdue's three-point shooters open, even if the Boilermakers make just 33.2 percent of their threes on the year and were shooting 31.6 percent in the game.

Howard's decision is part of an overarching philosophy in which he does not double-team an opponent's big man, a strategy that has created a bit of a stir among the fan base after Iowa's Luka Garza had 44 points and eight rebounds, Illinois' Kofi Cockburn had 19 points and 10 boards, Michigan State's Xavier Tillman had 20 and 11, and Williams finished with his 36 and 20 rebounds.

Ahead of tomorrow's game at Minnesota, a Golden Gophers' team featuring 6-10, 240-pound sophomore Daniel Oturu averaging 19.3 points and 12.3 rebounds per game, Michigan fans are split on Howard's approach of single-coverage defense against an opponent's big man.

Do you agree with Juwan Howard's decision not to double opposing bigs?
— Michael Spath (@MichaelSpathITH) January 10, 2020

Minnesota makes 34.0 percent of its threes, ranking 126th nationally, and it's likely that Howard will stick with his guns.

On my radio show Friday, both Zach Shaw and I argued that within the scope of a game, it would make sense for Howard to vary up his defensive approaches, showing some help if the situation dictated it, as it appeared to Thursday as Williams scored 11 of Purdue's final 13 points in regulation going one-on-one with Teske on the low block.

We'll see what Howard does tomorrow with Oturu. Perhaps this is the game he doubles down low or perhaps not: U-M opponents are scoring just 20.8 percent of their points against Michigan from behind the arc, ranking 347th out of 353 teams (meaning the Wolverines are seventh best). That approach has helped lead the Maize and Blue to an 11-4 record.

Meanwhile, Minnesota is the most reliant team in the Big Ten on threes, getting 35.4 percent of its points from the arc.