Michigan survives Howard's ejection, beats Maryland in Big Ten quarters

Big Ten Coach of the Year Juwan Howard was ejected from the game midway through the second half, but No. 4 Michigan held on for a 79-66 win over Maryland on Friday to advance to the semifinals of their conference tournament.

With Michigan up by 10 with 10:44 to play, tempers flared between Howard and Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon, with both receiving technical fouls and the former receiving a second tech to trigger his automatic ejection:

According to Howard, the catalyst of the fracas was Turgeon drawing the referees' attention to his being out of the coaching box to contest a call on the floor; when Howard took umbrage with Turgeon's sideline tactics, the Terrapins head coach stepped toward him in an aggressive manner.

"(Turgeon) charged at me," Howard said postgame, according to 247Sports' Josh Henschke. "That right there, I don't know how you guys were raised but how I was raised by my grandmother and also by Chicago ... when guys charge you, it's time to defend yourself. Especially when a grown man charges you."

For his part, Turgeon said the beef went further back, alluding to unspecified previous incidents that occurred during Maryland-Michigan games.

"The league was well aware of what's transpired the first two games, and they'll handle it from here," Turgeon said, according to the Diamondback's Alexander Dacy. "But I thought I was as professional as I could try to be in the moment, standing up for myself, 34 years of doing it the right way, and for Maryland basketball."

Mike Smith paced the Wolverines to victory with an 18-point, 15-assist double-double, adding five rebounds and two steals for good measure. Teammates Franz Wagner and Eli Brooks chipped in 16 points apiece.

Eric Ayala led the Terrapins with a game-high 19 points.

The Wolverines now face the winner of Friday's game between Purdue and Ohio State in the penultimate round of Big Ten Tournament play.