Takeaways From Michigan’s NCAA Tournament Victory Over Howard

The No. 1-seeded Michigan Wolverines took down No. 16-seeded Howard in its opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday afternoon (March 19), 101-80. Morez Johnson Jr. led the Maize and Blue offense with 21 points and 10 rebounds, shooting 8-for-8 from the floor.

(1) WOLVERINES HANDLE BUSINESS 〽️

Michigan rolls in the second half to defeat (16) Howard 101-80 ‼️#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/0nwQb3gO1y
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 20, 2026

Here are four takeaways from Thursday’s win.

Couldn’t Put the Bison Away Early

It was a high-scoring first half, in which the Wolverines let the Bison stick around. Michigan went into the break with only a four-point lead (50-46) after UofM turned the ball over in the final seconds of the half and Howard nailed a shot from deep in the final second of the half.

Both teams were shooting lights out from deep. Michigan finished the half 7-for-13 from deep, while Howard was 10-for-16. Over half of the Bison’s baskets came from beyond-the-arc as they made 17 total field goals in the opening 20 minutes.

The Wolverines began to take over about five minutes into the second half, expanding their lead to double-digits (68-58). UofM then held the double-digit advantage for the remainder of the contest, eventually moving ahead by 20 points with just over eight minutes remaining.

Roddy Gayle Jr. Stepped Up

One of the more impressive performances was backup guard Roddy Gayle Jr. With back up point guard L.J. Cason out for the rest of the season due to injury, Gayle Jr. was a spark off the bench.

Gayle Jr had an impressive first half, shooting an impressive 4-for-4 with nine points, a steal, a rebound, a assist and one three-point basket made in 12 minutes of action. He was also impacting the game outside of the stat sheet on the defensive side of the ball. He finished the game with 14 points overall, shooting 6-for-7.

Roddy Gayle Jr. drives against Howard. — Mar 19, 2026; Buffalo, NY, USA; Michigan Wolverines guard Roddy Gayle Jr. (11) shoots the ball against Howard Bison guards Ose Okojie (11) and Cam Gillus (2) during a first round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Keybank Center. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

If Michigan wants to make a run, it needs its bench players to continue to provide a spark off the bench, whether it is Gayle Jr, Will Tschetter or Trey McKenney.

The Michigan Offense was Flowing

Although the Wolverines’ defense wasn’t as sharp as fans would hope to see in a game they were expected to win in dominating fashion from start to finish, the offense was flowing for the majority of the game.

As a team, UofM finished with 27 assists on 37 field goals.

Facilitating the offense was Elliot Cadeau, registering a game-high nine assists in the win, while Michigan big man Aday Mara continues to show his versatility with six assists. A lot of times when Cadeau was off the floor, Mara did a good job of finding cutting guards from the top of the key. A skillset not a ton of centers have in college basketball.

Yaxel Lendeborg shoots against Howard. — Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg (23) shoots a 3-pointer against Howard during the first half of NCAA Tournament First Round at KeyBank Center in Buffalo on Thursday, March 19, 2026. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Big Ten Player of the Year Needs to be More Involved

Looking ahead, Big Ten Player of the Year Yaxel Lendeborg is going to need to be featured more if the Wolverines want to make a run. At times, it felt like he wasn’t touching the ball enough and when he did, he wasn’t aggressive enough.

Lendeborg finished the game with nine points, four assists and four rebounds, which is a fine performance. But Michigan will need its star to shine as the tournament goes on, needing to put the ball in his hands a bit more.

Up Next

Michigan will now take on the winner of Georgia and Saint Louis on Saturday, March 21, in the round of 32.