In a performance for the record books on Thursday at KeyBank Center, the Michigan Wolverines high-flying offense overwhelmed the Howard Bison 101-80, beginning their 2026 NCAA Tournament run in style.<\/p>\n
The top-seeded Michigan shot 67.3% from the field<\/a>, the highest in March Madness<\/a> since the Villanova Wildcats shot 71.4% against the Oklahoma Sooners in the 2016 Final Four, while also hitting 11 of 24 three-pointers (45.8%). They also made 11 of 24 three-pointers (45.8%).<\/p>\n Despite the eventual blowout, the first half was evenly matched. Howard connected on 10 of 16 three-point attempts (62.5%) before halftime and finished with 14 total threes. Bryce Harris and Cam Gillus each scored 21 points, while Marcus (Cedric) Taylor III finished with 19. The Bison shot 51.5% overall in the first half and trailed just 50-46 at the break, one of the highest-scoring halves by a No. 16 seed against a No. 1 seed in tournament history.<\/p>\n The Wolverines countered with interior efficiency. Morez Johnson Jr. recorded 21 points on a perfect 8-of-8 shooting night along with 10 rebounds. Aday Mara contributed 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting, along with six assists, seven rebounds, and three blocks. The duo combined to shoot 16-of-18 from the field, anchoring Michigan’s inside game and giving the Wolverines a 52-18 scoring advantage.<\/p>\n In the second half, Michigan took control, with Johnson scoring 12 of the team’s first 15 points. A 12-1 run, followed by a 17-1 stretch, expanded the lead from single digits to over 25 points. The Wolverines also hit 10 consecutive field goals during one crucial stretch. Howard’s shooting dropped to 33.3% after halftime, including just 4-of-13 from beyond the arc.<\/p>\n Michigan benefited greatly from its roster depth. Nimari Burnett scored 15 points with three three-pointers, Roddy Gayle Jr. added 14 points off the bench, and Trey McKenney chipped in 10. The bench accounted for 32 points, ensuring no offensive drop-off.<\/p>\n The Wolverines (32-3) also won the rebounding battle 35-23 and executed eight swats, while the Bison had none. Michigan’s 101 points gave them their ninth 100-point game of the season and first since December 29. The Wolverines will next face the Saint Louis Billikens on Saturday at 12:10 p.m. ET in the Round of 32.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In a performance for the record books on Thursday at KeyBank Center, the Michigan Wolverines high-flying offense overwhelmed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":668923,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3723],"tags":[7,217,7456,28515,231,772,1544],"class_list":{"0":"post-668922","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-basketball","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-college-basketball","10":"tag-march-madness","11":"tag-michigan-basketball","12":"tag-ncaa","13":"tag-ncaa-basketball","14":"tag-ncaab"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116262147880450840","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/668922","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=668922"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/668922\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/668923"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=668922"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=668922"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=668922"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}