Nope. What he did in no way instigated a fight.
For me, no dog in this fight. Objectively speaking, I don't really have anything but the tape to tell or show me what happened, but I did watch the Gard/McIntosh (AD) Wisconsin press conference after the game. Gard provided the explanation about having his bench players in the game with just seconds to play but wanted to call time out to get them an additional amount of time (10 seconds vice the 4 they had to deal with after a break in play) and to get them settled so they could advance the ball past the mid-court stripe using the full 10 seconds and then let the clock run out. He instructed them not to shoot the ball.
While I except that as truth, his reasoning really is not so great for doing it with his team up 77-63 at the time. Yes, he can call time out, and yes, he does need to teach/coach his team, but up 13 with seconds to go changes things. What he did seems a bit petty and unnecessary to me, and that further fanned flames from an earlier time out call he made with less than two minutes remaining in the game. I understand you want your kids to be coached up and prepared, and to make it as easy for them to succeed as you can in all situations, but to do this at the very end of this game is taking that to an extreme. Win graciously; lose graciously.
That said, Howard needs to be a little more of an example of strength and composure to his kids. You may not like getting your *** handed to you, but you log it away and get them the next time all the while trying to get your kids to play better.
Depending on my review of the facts and what Juwan Howard tells me, if I were the Michigan AD, I would find it very difficult not to relieve him of his duties. I am almost 100% sure that this will not happen, that in today's world of tolerating more shocking and undesirable behavior, he will survive and likely be suspended for a few games.