5 Takeaways From Michigan’s First-Round Win Over Howard

Statistically, the No. 1 seed versus No. 16 seed matchup is as close to a ‘sure thing’ as there is in college basketball.

Since the 64-team format was introduced in 1985, a No. 16 seed has only emerged victorious two times. While Howard gave Michigan a spook, the Bison weren’t able to join those exclusive ranks, and the Wolverines ended the night with a 101-80 victory.

Michigan shot a towering 67.3% from the field on the game, and it scored more than 100 points in an NCAA Tournament game for the first time since 1992. 

While it wasn’t a complete 40 minutes of domination, the Wolverines’ solid second-half gives them ample momentum heading into Saturday’s bout with No. 9 seed Saint Louis.

Here are five key takeaways from Michigan’s first-round win…

Both teams were feeling themselves in the opening 20 minutes. While that was the expected result for the Wolverines, Howard wasn’t necessarily expected to keep pace the way it did.

The Bison missed their first five 3-pointers, and it looked like they might not be able to put up much of a fight, but they shot that idea down by knocking in 10 of their next 11 shots from long range. Every time Michigan threatened to pull away, Howard pulled another triple out of its hat to keep itself in the game.

The Wolverines themselves shot 7-for-13 from deep in the first half, keeping themselves firmly in the lead, if only by a slim margin. 

Whether the blame falls squarely on Michigan’s defense or it was simply an incredible display of shot-making from Howard, the first half provided plenty of offensive firepower.

Ever since senior guard Roddy Gayle Jr.’s 26-point epic against Texas A&M in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season, the legend of ‘March Roddy Gayle’ has been idly waiting to make its return.

While he didn’t explode for a career high or will his squad to a win, Gayle put together one of his best games in recent months. He scored 14 points on 6-for-7 shooting alongside one steal and one block in his 23 minutes of action.

Gayle got into a bit of foul trouble, but when he was on the court, he had everything figured out. He made cuts at the right time, played solid defense, and finished around the rim with ease. 

Especially with sophomore guard L.J. Cason sidelined for the season, getting this kind of production from Gayle off of the bench is paramount to Michigan’s success moving deeper into the tournament.

Given that the tallest player in Howard’s starting lineup stands at just 6-foot-7, it didn’t come as too much of a surprise that Michigan’s front court sporting a 7-foot-3 center and two 6-foot-9 forwards feasted near the rim.

Especially in the second half, the Bison had no answer for junior center Aday Mara and sophomore forward Morez Johnson Jr. Mara finished the game with 19 points, seven rebounds, and six assists, and he scored 12 of Michigan’s 14 points during a stretch in the second half.

Johnson led all Wolverines with 21 points on 8-for-8 shooting to go along with his 10 rebounds.

The Bison are no doubt the smallest team Michigan will play in the tournament, but the frontcourt’s domination was impressive nonetheless.

Particularly in the first half, the Wolverines’ defense looked lethargic. True, the Bison were shooting lights out, but part of the reason they were able to make those shots is because many of them were wide open.

With Michigan’s size on the interior — and Mara’s lack of perimeter mobility — opponents are trying to extend the Wolverines’ defense as much as possible. When their energy is high, they can mitigate the damage by helping, rotating, and recovering, but at times in recent weeks those rotations have been a touch too slow.

Michigan has been one of the best defenses in the country all season, but it hasn’t looked that way recently. If it wants a dream tournament run to formulate, it needs to return to its best defensive form.

Playing on a court with the iconic ‘March Madness’ scrawled across center court can sometimes cause unexpected nervousness even in the most experienced players. And a lot of times, those nerves manifest in tight shooting and turnovers.

Well, that didn’t appear to afflict the Wolverines, because they shot the three at an 11-for-24 clip, and they only turned the ball over 10 times. While 10 turnovers is still higher than head coach Dusty May would like, a couple of them came down the stretch when the game was already in the bag.

The Wolverines have the weight of a lot of expectations on its shoulders, but it looks like they are handling the pressure just fine.