BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Morez Johnson Jr. had 21 points and 10 rebounds on a perfect shooting night, and No. 1 seed Michigan rode a second-half surge to a 101-81 victory over 16th-seeded Howard in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday.
Towering center Aday Mara had 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists for a Wolverines team that set the Big Ten regular-season record with 19 conference victories. Johnson shot 8 of 8 from the field as Michigan (32-3) moved within one win of matching a program record set in 2017-18.
Top-seeded teams improved to 160-2 against No. 16 seeds, with Duke outlasting Siena earlier in the day.
Duke's struggles — the Blue Devils won 72-65 after trailing by 13 points — were top of mind for the Wolverines before tipoff.
“A 16-1 game, you kind of look at them like this should be a cakewalk, but that’s just really never the case,” said Roddy Gayle Jr., who scored 14 points. “Every team deserves to be here, and you can’t look at any team like that.”
Michigan advanced to play ninth-seeded Saint Louis (29-5) on Saturday.
Cam Gillus and Bryce Harris scored 21 points each, and Cedrick Taylor had 19 points and six rebounds for Howard (24-11). The Bison were playing two days after their 86-83 win over UMBC in the First Four at Dayton, Ohio, on Tuesday — the program's first March Madness victory in six appearances.
Michigan’s depth and relentless, come-from-anywhere attacking style eventually overwhelmed Howard — though it took the Wolverines a while to get rolling. Howard's 46 points in the first half were the third most by a 16 seed against a 1 seed in tournament history, and the most since Florida A&M scored 52 in a 96-76 loss to Kentucky in 2004.
“We have a lot of respect for Howard,” said Wolverines coach Dusty May, before citing the book “David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants” by Malcolm Gladwell.
“David and Goliath, according to Malcolm, wasn't necessarily an upset because there was a slingshot involved. In the first half, Howard had their slingshots out,” May said. “We thought we took a haymaker from them in the first half. And our guys never played scared.”
After the Bison cut the lead to 50-48 on Ose Okojie’s drive into the paint 14 seconds into the second half, Michigan began to pull away, eventually building a 77-59 edge on Gayle's 3-pointer 7:30 into the period.
Howard's 3-point shooting went cold. After hitting 11 of their first 17 attempts, the Bison finished 14 of 29.
Otherwise, the Bison showed little fear in the face of a daunting challenge.
“You play the game to win. We’re just as talented as they are,” said Harris, a fifth-year senior. “We have talent, too. I feel like we showed that in the first half for sure.”
Harris then turned his attention to the Wolverines.
“Big shoutout to Michigan; they’re a great team. It could have been very easy for them to — like other past teams that have been upset — to totally dismantle,” he said. “Kudos to them. That’s the sign of a good team.”
Fans get a peek at a closer game
Once the Wolverines opened a 20-plus-point lead, the crowd in Buffalo was more interested in watching the double-box broadcast on the scoreboard and cheering on the final minute of VCU’s 82-78 win over North Carolina.
Gayle comes up big in homecoming
Gayle is from nearby Niagara Falls, and the Michigan senior played with plenty of family and friends in the stands.
“I tried my hardest to not look in that direction. I’m focused on the game plan,” the backup guard said. “But at the end of the day when you hear the crowd erupt, all the nerves and the stress just kind of lift away. You just play free.”
Blakeney says goodbye to Bison seniors
Howard coach Kenneth Blakeney was emotional as he bid farewell to Harris and Okojie, seniors who made it to March Madness three times in four seasons.
“I can't express how grateful I am for these guys. They've been unbelievable people, people that I would do anything for,” Blakeney said. “I’m so proud of these guys, and I love them so much.”
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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
