Michigan vs. Howard Dunkel Predictions & Vegas Odds - First Round

The No. 1 seed Michigan Wolverines (31-3) are heavily favored (-30.5) to beat the No. 16 seed Howard Bison (24-10) in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday at KeyBank Center. The contest starts at 7:30 p.m. ET on CBS. Here are some insights into this Midwest Region contest for those filling out their brackets. The matchup's over/under is 151.5.

Michigan heads into this contest following an 80-72 loss to Purdue on Sunday. Yaxel Lendeborg's team-leading 20 points paced Michigan in the losing effort. Howard's last contest on Tuesday ended in an 86-83 victory against UMBC. Ose Okokie's team-high 23 points paced Howard in the victory.

Michigan vs. Howard Odds and Game Time

• When: Thursday, March 19, 2026 at 7:30 p.m. ET
• Where: KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York
• Spread favorite: Michigan -30.5
• Moneyline favorite: Michigan -50000
• Moneyline underdog: Howard +4675
• Over/Under: 151.5 points

How to watch Michigan vs. Howard

• TV Channel: CBS
• Check out the rest of our Dunkel Index NCAA Basketball Picks!

Betting the Over/Under: Michigan vs. Howard

• Michigan and its opponents have combined to outscore Thursday's total (151.5 points) 20 times this season.
• In Howard's 31 games this season, 10 finished with more combined points than Thursday's point total of 151.5.
• Together, the two teams combine for 164.5 points per game, 13.0 points more than the point total of 151.5 for this game.
• This game's over/under is 14.1 fewer points than the 137.4 these two teams combine to give up per game in 2024.
• Michigan has a 156 average over/under in its games this season, 4.5 more points than the over/under in this matchup.
• Howard's games have an average over/under of 145.9 points this season, 5.6 points lower than the over/under for this matchup.

Betting the Spread: Michigan vs. Howard

• Michigan has 16 wins against the spread in 34 games this year.
• The Wolverines covered the spread in their only game when favored by 30.5 points or more.
• Howard has 23 wins against the spread in 31 games this year.
• The Bison have been underdogs by 30.5 points or more once this season and covered the spread.
• At home this year, Michigan is 9-6 against the spread and 14-1 overall.
• Michigan is unbeaten ATS (1-0) as a 30.5-point favorite or more at home.
• Away from home, Howard is 7-6 overall and 9-4 against the spread.

Betting the Moneyline: Michigan vs. Howard

• This season, Michigan has been moneyline favorites 33 times and won 30, or 90.9%, of those games.
• The Wolverines have not entered a game this season as a bigger favorite on the moneyline than the -50000 odds on them winning this game.
• The moneyline for this contest implies a 99.8% chance of a victory for Michigan.
• Howard has come away with five wins in the nine contests it has been listed as the moneyline underdog this season.
• This is the worst odds of a win that sportsbooks have given the Bison this season with a +4675 moneyline set for this game.
• Oddsmakers have implied with the moneyline set for this matchup that Howard has a 2.1% chance of pulling out a win.