Michigan suspends Howard for rest of regular season after Wisconsin incident

Michigan has suspended men's basketball head coach Juwan Howard for the remainder of the campaign following Sunday's postgame incident with Wisconsin, the Big Ten Conference announced Monday.

Howard will miss five games as a result, including a pair of rivalry contests against Michigan State and Ohio State. He'll be eligible to return when the Big Ten tournament begins on March 9, according to Yahoo Sports' Dan Wetzel.

The conference also fined Howard $40,000 but declined to add any games to his suspension, citing the Wolverines' quick internal disciplinary actions.

Moments after Sunday's 77-63 loss to the Badgers, Howard struck Wisconsin assistant Joe Krabbenhoft, which triggered a brawl between the conference rivals.

The 49-year-old explained postgame that Gard's late timeout call made him upset. Gard then touched Howard in the handshake line, further angering the third-year bench boss. After initially refusing to apologize, Howard offered a mea culpa on Monday that included a personal apology to Krabbenhoft.

"After taking time to reflect on all that happened, I realize how unacceptable both my actions and words were and how they affected so many. I am truly sorry," Howard said in a statement The Athletic's Brendan Quinn obtained.

The Big Ten also announced one-game suspensions for Michigan forwards Terrance Williams II and Moussa Diabate for their roles in the melee. Both players will miss the Wolverines' next game against Rutgers.

Badgers forward Jahcobi Neath also got a one-game ban, which he'll serve Wednesday against Minnesota, while head coach Greg Gard received a $10,000 fine. Wisconsin will not hand out any additional internal punishments, a source told CBS Sports' Matt Norlander.

With five regular-season games remaining, Michigan currently sports a 14-11 record and sits seventh in the Big Ten. No. 13 Wisconsin, meanwhile, is 21-5 with four games left.