“Juwan Howard ain’t just throwing no damn punch for no reason” - Kendrick Perkins believes Juwan Howard looked like the bad guy vs Wisconsin, says someone must’ve mumbled something

Juwan Howard and the Michigan Wolverines find themselves in the Sweet 16 after a tumultuous season. Without the run, the season may have been best remembered for his suspension for striking an assistant coach after a game last month.

ESPN's Kendrick Perkins believes someone from Wisconsin must have mumbled something to get such a reaction from Michigan's coach.

Michigan's 76-68 win over Tennessee brought Juwan Howard back into the spotlight with his postgame activities. He celebrated with former teammate Chris Webber and consoled a Tennessee player on Saturday.

As the sleeper Wolverines prepare to play sixth-ranked Villanova on Thursday, Perkins and Marcus Spears discussed Howard on the "Swagu and Perk Show."

"Juwan Howard ain't just throwing no damn punch for no reason, OK?" Perkins said. "It had to be something that was mumbled out of somebody's mouth – just flew under the radar – and he looked like the bad guy."

In the handshake line immediately following Wisconsin's 77-63 win over Michigan on Feb. 20, Howard and Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard began arguing. As the situation escalated, Howard struck Wisconsin assistant coach Joe Krabbenhoft with an open hand. A brief scuffle between the teams occurred.

The Wisconsin staff was upset that Michigan was pressing the Badgers' reserves with the game out of hand in the final minute. The Michigan staff was upset that Wisconsin called a timeout.

The Big Ten suspended Howard for five games – the final five of the regular season – and fined him $40,000. Gard was fined $10,000 but was not suspended. Three players – Michigan's Terrance Williams II and Moussa Diabate and Wisconsin's Jahcobi Neath – were suspended for one game.

Howard apologized for the incident a day later through a statement provided by the school. He was criticized for not taking responsibility during the postgame interview session. On March 9, in his first media availability since the Wisconsin game, Howard took responsibility for his role after the loss. He said:

“I can come with a thousand excuses, but I’m not. I take full ownership for my actions."

Howard's moment with Tennessee's Kennedy Chandler after the Wolverines upset the fifth-ranked Vols earned Howard praise.

The duality of Juwan Howard

Juwan Howard's showing after Tennessee is different than the coach who struck a Wisconsin assistant..

Howard's incident after the Wisconsin game made him look like a bad guy, but his hug after the Tennessee game made him look like a good person.

Howard's act of consoling Kennedy Chandler impressed Spears, who won a BCS national championship as a defensive lineman with LSU in 2003.

"For him to embrace a kid on another team that they just beat – because remember he was a part of the Fab Five that lost the game in the championship (in 1992 to Duke and 1993 to North Carolina) and was a team that was supposed to win a championship and never got it accomplished – he know what that hurt feel like.

"He understand what that moment meant for that young man, and he embraced him because it was natural. It was as natural as him throwing that damn haymaker."

The embrace has been one of the marquee moments of March Madness. The love he showed to Chandler was much different from his anger toward the Wisconsin assistant coach.

After the moment between Howard and Chandler, Howard celebrated with his teammates from Michigan's Fab Five. The heartwarming moment with Chandler and the joyful celebration with Chris Webber changed some people's perceptions of Howard.

Michigan (19-14), the No. 11 seed in the South, faces sixth-ranked Villanova (28-7), the No. 2 seed, on Thursday in San Antonio, Texas.