The 1-seed Michigan Wolverines used a dominant second-half performance to defeat the 16-seed Howard Bison 101-80 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday in Buffalo.
Dusty May’s team led by just four points at halftime before outscoring Howard, 51-34, in the second half to secure a spot in the Round of 32 for a second straight season.
Here’s how it all went down.
FIRST HALF
Michigan got off to a quick start as Elliot Cadeau
found Aday Mara for an alley-oop dunk just seconds into the game, followed by Yaxel Lendeborg, Roddy Gayle Jr. and Nimari Burnett burying three-pointers to give the Wolverines an 11-4 lead.
Later in the first half, Mara showed off his footwork with an impressive post move that resulted in a made hook shot. Just moments later, Gayle Jr. finished back to back layups to extend the lead to 24-17 with 10:35 remaining in the half.
It appeared Michigan was going to create some separation as Will Tschetter drilled a pair of three-pointers to go up 34-26, but Howard immediately responded with a barrage of three-pointers of their own to keep the deficit within single digits.
Trey McKenney made an instant impact off the bench as well, scoring five consecutive points to push the lead to 45-34. However, Howard answered yet again — finishing the first half on a 7-0 run to trim Michigan’s lead to 50-46 at halftime.
The Wolverines shot well from beyond the arc – making 7-for-13 from three-point territory, but the Bison shot even better. Howard connected on 9-for-15 shots from three-point range in the first half, which allowed them to remain within reach.
HALFTIME: MICHIGAN 50, HOWARD 46
SECOND HALF
Morez Johnson Jr. was relatively quiet in the first half but he quickly woke up in the early stages of the second half, compiling 10 points on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting in less than four minutes to help Michigan extend the lead to 63-56.
Following a media timeout, the Wolverines continued to seize control by making eight straight shots including Cadeau hitting a 3-pointer and Lendeborg scoring a layup – taking the largest lead of the game (70-58) with 13:51remaining.
Michigan was clicking on all cylinders on both ends of the floor, making 10 straight shots and holding Howard without a field goal for over four minutes. During that span, the Wolverines went on a 12-1 run to put the game out of reach.
Mara got into the mix in the ensuing minutes — scoring six straight points including an alley-oop dunk from Lendeborg. Howard just couldn’t handle Mara’s size as the Michigan center threw down another dunk to extend the lead to 87-65.
The Wolverines later went on a 17-1 run to take a 94-65 lead as Mara finished a left-handed dunk and found McKenney for a fastbreak layup. Michigan eventually put the finishing touches on a blowout win to move onto the second round.
Howard kept it much closer than expected in the first half, but Michigan totally dominated the second half in all facets. In the end, the Wolverines held massive advantages in paint points (52-18), bench points (32-9) and rebounds (35-23).
Johnson Jr. finished with a team-high 21 points and 10 rebounds on 8-for-8 shooting from the field, becoming just the fifth player in NCAA Tournament history to record a 20-point double-double while shooting 100 percent from the field.
Meanwhile, Mara absolutely stuffed the stat sheet with 19 points, seven boards, six assists and three blocks in the win. Burnett totaled 15 points and four rebounds, while Gayle Jr. added 14 points off the bench in a return to his home state.
FINAL SCORE: MICHIGAN 101, HOWARD 80
MICHIGAN STAT LEADERS
- F Morez Johnson Jr: 21 points, 10 rebounds
- C Aday Mara: 19 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 blocks
- G Nimari Burnett: 15 points, 4 rebounds
- G Roddy Gayle Jr: 14 points
- G Trey McKenney: 10 points, 4 rebounds
HOWARD STAT LEADERS
- G Cam Gillus: 21 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds
- F Bryce Harris: 21 points
- G Cedric Taylor III: 19 points, 6 rebounds
UP NEXT
Michigan now advances to face the 8-seed Georgia Bulldogs or 9-seed Saint Louis Billikens in the second round on Saturday in Buffalo.
