Michigan vs Howard College Basketball Prediction, Odds, Picks, Best Bets for NCAA Tournament First Round

An opening-round NCAA Tournament matchup will see the No. 1-seed Michigan Wolverines (31-3) hit the court against the No. 16 seed Howard Bison (24-10) on Thursday at KeyBank Center. The contest tips off at 7:30 p.m. ET, on CBS.

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

Michigan vs. Howard Game Info and Odds

• Game day: Thursday, March 19, 2026
• Game time: 7:30 p.m. ET
• TV channel: CBS
• Location: Buffalo, New York
• Arena: KeyBank Center

Read these betting insights and trends before you wager on Thursday's Michigan-Howard spread (Michigan -30.5) or total (151.5 points).

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Michigan vs. Howard: ATS Betting Stats and Trends

• Michigan is 15-19-0 ATS this season.
• Howard has covered 22 times in 30 games with a spread this year.
• As a 30.5-point favorite or more in 2025-26, Michigan is 1-0 against the spread compared to the 1-0 ATS record Howard puts up as a 30.5-point underdog.
• The Wolverines have covered the spread in a higher percentage of their home games than away games. They have covered eight times in 15 opportunities when playing at home, and they've covered four times in 11 opportunities in road games.
• Against the spread, the Bison have performed better at home (8-3-0) than on the road (9-4-0).

Michigan vs. Howard: Moneyline Betting Stats

• Michigan has been chosen as the moneyline favorite in 32 games this year and has walked away with the win 29 times (90.6%) in those games.
• Oddsmakers have given the Wolverines the best odds of winning they have seen this season with a -100000 moneyline listed for this contest.
• Howard is 5-4 in games it was listed as the moneyline underdog (winning 55.6% of those games).
• The Bison have not played a game this season with moneyline odds of +7000 or longer.
• Oddsmakers have implied with the moneyline set for this matchup that Michigan has a 99.9% chance of pulling out a win.

Michigan vs. Howard Head-to-Head Comparison

• Michigan is outscoring opponents by 17.6 points per game with a +599 scoring differential overall. It puts up 86.8 points per game (11th in college basketball) and gives up 69.2 per outing (57th in college basketball).
• Yaxel Lendeborg is 334th in the nation with a team-high 14.6 points per game.
• Howard's +323 scoring differential (outscoring opponents by 9.5 points per game) is a result of putting up 77.7 points per game (129th in college basketball) while giving up 68.2 per contest (41st in college basketball).
• Bryce Harris' team-leading 17.1 points per game rank him 146th in college basketball.
• The Wolverines are 18th in the nation at 36.7 rebounds per game. That's 9.6 more than the 27.1 their opponents average.
• Morez Johnson Jr. tops the Wolverines with 7.2 rebounds per game (133rd in college basketball play).
• The 32.7 rebounds per game the Bison accumulate rank 130th in the nation, 4.5 more than the 28.2 their opponents pull down.
• Harris paces the team with 7.1 rebounds per game (146th in college basketball).
• Michigan records 107.5 points per 100 possessions (15th in college basketball), while giving up 85.7 points per 100 possessions (10th in college basketball).
• The Bison average 98.3 points per 100 possessions on offense (165th in college basketball), and give up 86.3 points per 100 possessions (14th in college basketball).

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