5 Reasons to Hate That Basketball Team Up North

Why should we reserve our hate for Football?

Adam Bloom | February 19th, 2022

1. “Some people were born on 3rd and think they hit a triple.” Unlike Harbaugh’s laughable attack on Ryan Day (who has continued to win and be at the top of the college football world since being hired), this quote applies more directly to TTUN basketball coach Juwan Howard. Howard was hired with much fanfare by TTUN fans. He was a former player, just like Harbaugh, and took over his alma mater’s team. Howard was hired after John Beilein surprisingly left TTUN to coach the Cleveland Cavaliers. Coming off of a season in which the Wolverine’s won 17 straight, finished 3rd in the Big Ten, got a 2 seed in the tournament, and made the Sweet Sixteen under Beilein, Howard took over. He immediately continued the team’s national relevance, jumping up to #4 in the AP Poll, but the season ended early due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Howard took over where he left off and managed to win the Big Ten, making the tournament as a 1 seed, and making the elite eight. Seemingly Howard had taken the program up even more since taking over. But the 2021-2022 season has spelled trouble for Howard’s program up north. The Wolverine’s currently sit on the tournament bubble, and are at 7th in the Big Ten. Coming into the season with national title hype, Juwan Howard was born on 3rd and thought he hit a triple, only to be humbled by the gauntlet that is the big ten, and to find himself on the outside looking in as February begins to wrap up.

2. Ohio State is just a better program. We all know that the Buckeyes are infinitely superior to the Wolverine’s, but the football argument that relies on ancient history that TTUN leads the all time series and leads the nation in program wins doesn’t apply on the hardwood. Ohio State leads the all-time series between the two teams 101-73, and TTUN is 1-4 against the Buckeyes in the last 5 meetings between the two programs. Ohio State has more Final Four appearances, more tournament appearances, more Big Ten regular season and tournament titles, more Consensus First Team AllAmericans, more Big Ten players of the year, more all-time wins, and a higher all time winning percentage. Ohio State basketball is superior to TTUN’s program, and their fan’s arrogance about the ‘prestige’ of this team deserves our hate.

3. The TTUN Basketball team has a history of some of the worst cheating in NCAA history. In the 1990s, a booster named Ed Martin loaned four players $616,000. These violations came from an illegal gambling operation that was laundering money, and stands as one of the largest payment to players scandals in NCAA history. The FBI, IRS, and DOJ all got involved in the crimes of the Wolverines. Sure, NIL is legal now and players can (rightfully) profit off of their names, but at the time, this was clear cheating to give TTUN an edge over other teams.

4. TTUN fans didn’t even want a Basketball team in the first place. When the team was first created in 1908, they finished with an abysmal record and, after three years, the program was cut because fans were not attending games. The sport returned to Ann Arbor in 1917, and the team finished 0-10 in the Big Ten. Unlike in football where at least TTUN fans can point to their glory years under their great-great grandparents, TTUN basketball fans don’t have the past to fall back on.

5. They play for That School Up North. What else do we need to say? There isn’t a crime bigger in the Ohio State athletics world than playing for the Wolverines. Hate runs through these two states and these two schools, and this isn’t and shouldn’t be reserved for just Football. Whether it's basketball, gymnastics, wrestling, or rowing, the hate is real and there should be bad blood between these two schools in every sport. It’s the greatest rivalry in all of sports, after all.

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