Howard vs North Carolina Central College Basketball Prediction, Odds, Picks, Best Bets for MEAC Tournament Championship

The top-seeded Howard Bison (22-10, 11-3 MEAC) will play the No. 3 seed North Carolina Central Eagles (14-17, 8-6 MEAC) in the MEAC championship game with an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament on the line. The game on Saturday at Norfolk Scope Arena begins at 1 p.m. ET.

Before you place your bet on this matchup at FanDuel Sportsbook, here are the NCAA basketball odds and spreads you need to know.

Howard vs. North Carolina Central Game Info and Odds

• Game day: Saturday, March 14, 2026
• Game time: 1 p.m. ET
• TV channel: ESPN2
• Location: Norfolk, Virginia
• Arena: Norfolk Scope Arena

Howard vs. North Carolina Central Picks and Prediction

All college basketball win probability predictions and picks are according to numberFire.
Prediction: Howard win (90.9%)

Howard is a 12.5-point favorite against North Carolina Central on Saturday and the over/under is set at 144.5 points. Below are a few betting trends and insights before you place a wager on the contest.

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Howard vs. North Carolina Central: ATS Betting Stats and Trends

• Howard has put together a 21-7-0 record against the spread this season.
• North Carolina Central is 14-13-0 ATS this year.
• Howard (5-1) covers a higher percentage of games when it is favored by 12.5 points or more this season (83.3%) than North Carolina Central (5-3) does as a 12.5+-point underdog (62.5%).
• Against the spread, the Bison have played better at home, covering eight times in 11 home games, and nine times in 13 road games.
• The Eagles have performed better against the spread on the road (9-7-0) than at home (3-6-0) this season.
• Howard has 12 wins against the spread in 15 conference games this season.
• North Carolina Central's MEAC record against the spread is 8-8-0.

Howard vs. North Carolina Central: Moneyline Betting Stats

• Howard has come away with 14 wins in the 19 contests it has been listed as the moneyline favorite in this season.
• This season, the Bison have come away with a win six times in seven chances when named as a favorite of at least -847 or better on the moneyline.
• North Carolina Central has been the underdog on the moneyline 13 total times this season. North Carolina Central has finished 3-10 in those games.
• The Eagles have played in four games as a moneyline underdog with odds of +550 or longer without earning a win.
• Bookmakers have implied with the moneyline set for this matchup that Howard has a 89.4% chance of pulling out a win.

Howard vs. North Carolina Central Head-to-Head Comparison

• Howard outscores opponents by 9.8 points per game (scoring 77.7 per game to rank 133rd in college basketball while allowing 67.9 per outing to rank 40th in college basketball) and has a +313 scoring differential overall.
• Bryce Harris' 17.2 points per game lead Howard and rank 139th in the country.
• North Carolina Central's -109 scoring differential (being outscored by 3.5 points per game) is a result of putting up 72.1 points per game (272nd in college basketball) while allowing 75.6 per contest (231st in college basketball).
• Gage Lattimore's 16.7 points per game leads North Carolina Central and ranks 175th in college basketball.
• The Bison rank 142nd in the nation at 32.5 rebounds per game. That's 4.5 more than the 28 their opponents average.
• Harris is 181st in college basketball play with 6.8 rebounds per game to lead the Bison.
• The Eagles are 324th in college basketball at 28.8 rebounds per game. That's 5.3 fewer than the 34.1 their opponents average.
• Khouri Carvey averages 6.3 rebounds per game (244th in college basketball) to lead the Eagles.
• Howard ranks 172nd in college basketball with 98 points scored per 100 possessions, and 11th in college basketball defensively with 85.6 points conceded per 100 possessions.
• The Eagles' 92.1 points per 100 possessions on offense rank 309th in college basketball, and the 96.6 points they concede per 100 possessions rank 217th in college basketball.

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