After dominating their respective conferences, UMBC and Howard will face off as No. 16 seeds in the First Four of March Madness.
After going 14-2 in conference play during the regular season, UMBC (24-8) won the America East Tournament. During their championship run, the Retrievers won each of their tournament games by double digits.
In fact, the Retrievers have won 12 consecutive games. Led by head coach Jim Ferry, they haven’t lost since mid-January, and they don’t plan to see that winning streak snapped anytime soon.
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Howard, led by head coach Kenneth Blakeney, doesn’t intend on losing either after winning the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
The Bison (23-10) have won eight straight contests including the MEAC Championship over North Carolina Central. Most of those games were decided by 10 points or more as well.
It’ll be a battle between two battle-tested mid-majors, and it could very well end up being a close one.
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UMBC vs. Howard Odds
Howard is a +1.5 college basketball betting odds underdog against UMBC on BetMGM, with the Over/Under being 139.5 as of this writing.
The moneyline for UMBC is -118, while it’s -102 for Howard.
UMBC vs. Howard On TV
The matchup between UMBC and Howard will be televised on truTV. The game will tip off at 6:40 p.m. ET on Tuesday, March 17.
The contest is taking place at UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio.
UMBC vs. Howard Prediction
I predict Howard will win and therefore cover the 1.5-point spread. I also project the game will go Over 139.5 total points.
I really do think this game will be decided by a narrow margin. But I like Howard a little bit more in this matchup.
The Bison are pretty well-rounded on the offensive end. Cedric Taylor III and Bryce Harris are both averaging 17.1 points per game while Cam Gillus is averaging 10.6 and Ose Okojie is scoring 10.5 points per contest.
Howard is averaging 84.2 PPG in its last 10 outings, while UMBC is averaging 79.8. The Bison are also making nearly 50% of their shots during that stretch. They will be tough to stop, I believe.
UMBC has been pretty tough defensively lately, so that could be a problem. But I think Howard will find ways to score. I expect its efficiency from the field will continue and that the Bison will ultimately move on to face top-seeded Michigan in the first round.
