At the Buzzer: Michigan 101, Howard 80

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Rapid reaction to Michigan’s 101-80 win over Howard in the NCAA Tournament First Round.

THE MOMENT

From a little over 10 minutes in the second half to about the five minute mark remaining in the game, the No. 1 seed Michigan men’s basketball team went on a 17-1 run to completely quiet any chance of No. 16 seed Howard keeping pace. All night long the Wolverines were hot on offense, and for much of the first half the Bison were right there with them.

But that crucial stretch in the second half made reaching the second round of the NCAA Tournament impossible for Howard. In that time, junior center Aday Mara had 8 of 12 points and assisted on the other two scores over a dominant stretch. The Wolverines finally took advantage of their size difference to pull away with the first-round win.

THE TAKEAWAY

It was raining in KeyBank Center all night long, but especially the first half. Even though Michigan had one of its best first halves offensively, Howard kept pace the entire way. Although the Bison never led, the Wolverines constantly had to keep pace to stay ahead.

Both Michigan and Howard were above 50% from deep in the first 20 minutes, the Wolverines 54% on 7-for-13 shooting and the Bison 63% on 10-for-16 shooting. Whether contested or not Howard was dropping in 3-pointers the entire half and Michigan was either driving and kicking out or passing it around the ring to find the open man.

In the second half the Bison started on a similar clip but started to fade away. The Wolverines made it more difficult to take 3-pointers by being more active in lanes and contesting everything. By the end of the game, Howard was still 48.3% from deep, but Michigan kept pace by ending with a 45.8% clip and opened things up down low for its bigs to widen the gap.

The takeaway is that neither of these teams probably expected to shoot the ball as efficiently as they did. And for Michigan to come away on the winning side likely gives it some confidence heading into the second round.

THE STAR

Often deemed an unsung hero for his physicality and ability to bring out the energy in his teammates, sophomore forward Morez Johnson Jr. made the difference on a night where both teams were letting it fly from range.

Johnson’s stat line was the tangible evidence of the size difference between Michigan and Howard. Junior center Aday Mara also had lots of success finding cutting teammates in the lane over the top of the head of defenders, but Johnson imposed his will down low offensively. Johnson finished with a double-double on 21 points and perfect shooting from the field on eight shots, and 10 rebounds.

He only took one shot in the first half but was a perfect 7-for-7 in the second.

THE STAT

The 3-point shooting percentages could very well be the most notable stat considering how well both teams did. It allowed Howard to stay in the game and let Michigan separate itself when it needed to. But the key stat was how the Wolverines overall field goal percentage completed outweighed that of the Bison.

In the second half, Michigan really took advantage of its height difference down low and allowed Johnson and Mara to go to work, as well as took advantage of a getting out quick in transition for easy man-advantage layups. Rather than doubling the post, Howard often doubled the driver at the top of the key which left open either an open shot from deep or created a one-on-one situation at the block — both favorable outcomes for the Wolverines.

When all was said and done, Michigan shot 67% from the field and 84% on twos while Howard shot 43%, the Wolverines considerably higher than their already high 3-point shooting percentage and the Bison much lower than their stellar 3-point clip.

FOUR FACTORS