Michigan's Juwan Howard Swings at Wisconsin Assistant Coach During Postgame Fight

Michigan head coach Juwan Howard might have earned himself a lengthy suspension after swinging his right hand at Wisconsin assistant Joe Krabbenhoft.

During the customary handshakes following the Badgers' 77-63 win over the Wolverines, Howard exchanged words with Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard. Things escalated from there when Howard struck Krabbenhoft in the head with an open palm:

Here's a closer look at the altercation (warning: video contains profanity):

Gard said on CBS he thought Howard took exception to a timeout he called with 15 seconds left. He had called the timeout because he was concerned about a 10-second violation with his backups on the floor:

He elaborated further during his postgame press conference:

Howard told reporters the timeout didn't sit well with him and he also didn't like how Gard stopped him in the handshake line:

Wisconsin athletic director Chris McIntosh told reporters that "there is no room for that in our competition" and confirmed he has reached out to Big Ten officials.

"It's unfortunate what transpired," McIntosh said. "I expect the league will act swiftly. It's difficult for me to compose myself."

Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel also issued a statement saying that "there is no excuse" for a Michigan coach or student to get involved in a physical altercation:

It looked as though Howard, while visibly agitated, was prepared to continue walking down the sideline before Gard grabbed his right arm. Without that, the entire scuffle might have been avoided.

But that's unlikely to earn Howard much of a reprieve when the Big Ten weighs any potential punishments for those involved.

The conference said in a statement that it would issue "swift and appropriate disciplinary action" after completing a review of the matter:

This isn't the first time the 49-year-old got heated on the sideline. He was ejected from a Big Ten tournament game against Maryland last March after arguing with Terrapins head coach Mark Turgeon. He needed to be restrained as he walked toward the Maryland bench.

Maryland alleged to the Big Ten that Howard had threatened Turgeon, while Howard said he was initially animated about an out-of-bounds call. He also claimed Turgeon "charged at me" as they were arguing, which led him to respond in kind.

Michigan, which fell to 14-11 overall and 8-7 in the Big Ten with Sunday's loss, has five games left in the regular season.

ESPN's Joe Lunardi projected the Wolverines to be one of the last four teams in the NCAA tournament and thus qualify for the play-in games. Assuming a suspension is on the table, Michigan might have to seal a berth in the Big Dance without its head coach.