Sawt Falasteen - Michigan coach Howard takes swipe at a Wisconsin assistant after loss

The Wolverine's coach reached into a crowd of players and coaches and escalated an already heated shoving match by taking a swipe at assistant coach Joe Krabbenhoft.

NCAA officials said in a statement that they are investigating the melee and will "take swift and appropriate disciplinary action when it completes its review."

Johnny Davis scored 25 points as Wisconsin broke open a close game late en route to a 79-66 victory.

Howard said he was angry about a late timeout called by Wisconsin. He had words with Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard in the handshake line and then others joined in.

"I thought it was not necessary at the moment, especially being a large lead," Howard said.

Video of the fracas also appeared to show Michigan player Moussa Diabate and Wisconsin's Jahcobi Neath throw a punch at each other.

No one appeared to be seriously hurt and the scrum was eventually broken up with the help of arena security.

Howard played in the NBA from 1994 to 2013 after the Washington Bullets -- now the Wizards -- made him the fifth overall pick in the 1994 draft. He is a two-time NBA champion having won the title in 2012 and 2013 with the Miami Heat.

He retired as a player in 2013 and was named head coach of Michigan in 2019.

U.AlSharif--SF-PST