Michigan
32-3,19-1Big Ten
Howard
24-11,11-3MEAC
Wolverines Hit Century Mark in Record-Setting NCAA Tournament Opener
3/19/2026 11:28:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The third-ranked and top-seeded University of Michigan men's basketball team put up triple digits on a historic shooting night against No. 16 seed Howard, winning 101-80 on Thursday night (March 19) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at KeyBank Center.
Howard made 10 three-pointers in the first half to keep the halftime score within two possessions, but Michigan's tournament program-high performance (67.2 percent shooting) helped it to pull away in the second half for a decisive victory. U-M shot 65.4 percent (17-for-26) in the first half and followed it with a 20-29 (69.0 percent) performance in the second.
Leaders and Best
Morez Johnson Jr. led Michigan with 21 points on 8-for-8 shooting, and added 10 rebounds for his eighth double-double of the season. Aday Mara scored 19 points with seven rebounds, six assists and three blocks. Nimari Burnett added 15 points with three triples and four rebounds. Roddy Gayle Jr. contributed 14 points and Trey McKenney had 10, both from the bench.
Turning Point
Only five minutes into the second half, after a tight first half that saw strong shooting from the Bison, U-M started a 12-1 run over two and a half minutes to build an 18-point lead.
Second Half
Johnson was responsible for the first five Michigan (32-3) points of the half with a pair of buckets and a shot from the charity stripe to put U-M on top, 61-52. Burnett and Johnson made three-pointers on consecutive possessions, followed by a Johnson jump shot from the paint. He scored 12 of the 15 points that U-M scored in the first four minutes.
Michigan scored 12 points between the media timeouts, propelled by two shots from deep by Elliot Cadeau (his first field goal of the contest) and Gayle at the 12:35 mark to put the Wolverines ahead 77-59. Gayle's bucket was the last of 10 consecutive field goals in seven minutes. Howard (24-11), on the other hand, scored only four points and made just one field goal in nine attempts.
Starting at the 9:52 mark, Michigan went on a 21-3 run, with 12 points from Mara, including three straight dunks. This stretch ended with 3:13 to play and U-M holding a 98-70 advantage. Oscar Goodman tossed a lob to Malick Kordel and gave the Wolverines 100 points for the first time in 13 games.
First Half
Cadeau found Mara above the rim eight seconds in, and Howard responded with a layup two possessions later, but the Wolverines scored six points in the next two minutes. The final of these points was a three-pointer from Yaxel Lendeborg, the first of three U-M triples in the first six minutes to give U-M a 14-6 lead early.
The first double-digit Wolverines lead, 16-6, came out of the first media timeout after a pair of Johnson free throws with 13:41 to play. Howard started 0-for-5 from three but made seven straight and clawed back to within striking distance. Will Tschetter rattled in the first U-M three-pointer in over six minutes and made another two possessions later for a 34-29 U-M lead with 6:18 remaining.
Burnett and McKenney hit triples at 4:09 and 3:12, but McKenney's 12-foot turnaround jumper reclaimed U-M's double-digit lead, 45-34. Howard and Michigan then traded 5-0 runs, but the Bison's seven consecutive points in the final 37 seconds cut the Michigan lead to 50-46 at halftime.
What's Next
The Wolverines advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the 10th consecutive time. They will take on either No. 8 seed Georgia or No. 9 seed Saint Louis on Saturday (March 21) at KeyBank Center. Tipoff time and network designation are to be determined.
Notes
• Tonight's game was the second all-time meeting between Howard and U-M. The foes met at Crisler Center as part of the 2K Classic on Nov. 11, 2016 -- a 76-58 Michigan win.
• U-M is the first team in NCAA Tournament history to score 100 points at KeyBank Center.
• Johnson is the first player since 2009 to score 20 points or more on 100 percent field-goal shooting with 10 rebounds or more in an NCAA Tournament game. It is his fifth 20-plus point performance of the season and first away from Crisler Center.
• Tonight was Michigan's first 100-point performance in an NCAA Tournament since a 102-90, second-round victory over East Tennessee State on March 22, 1992. There were only four 100+ point performances prior to that.
• Tonight marked the Wolverines' ninth 100-point performance of the season and the first since a 41-point victory against Penn State at Crisler on Feb. 5. It is also their first game with 50 first-half points since that PSU game.
• With nine points, Lendeborg reached the 500-point mark for the second straight season and the third time in his career. He tallied 654 points at UAB in 2024-25 (17.7 ppg) after posting 568 points at Arizona Western in 2022-23 (17.2 ppg).
• With his nine assists, Cadeau has 198 on the season, putting him on the doorstep of 200. Two assists would make him the Wolverines' seventh player to reach the 200-assist plateau. He posted a career-best 231 at North Carolina last year and has 23 games of five-plus assists this season.
• With his three three-pointers, Burnett surpassed Nik Stauskas (172) on U-M's all-time list and now ranks 11th all-time.
• Mara's three blocks give him 92 on the season and now sits just five shy of Roy Tarpley's single-season record of 97, set in the 1985-86 season.
