Tony Garcia, Carlos Monarrez talk Michigan basketball at Big Ten tourney
Tony Garcia, Carlos Monarrez talk Michigan basketball at Big Ten tourney at United Center on Sunday, March 15, 2026.
Free Press sports writers Christian Romo and Ryan Ford break down Thursday’s NCAA Tournament Midwest region first-round game between No. 3-ranked Michigan basketball and Howard.
Fast facts
Matchups: 1-seed Michigan (31-3) vs. 16-seed Howard (24-10); NCAA Tournament Midwest region first round.
Tipoff: 7:10 p.m. Thursday, March 19; KeyBank Center, Buffalo, N.Y.
TV/radio: CBS, WCSX-FM (94.7).
At stake: Thursday’s winner advances to face either 8-seed Georgia or 9-seed Saint Louis in Saturday’s second round.
Series: Michigan leads, 1-0, with a 76-58 win on Nov. 11, 2016.
Michigan basketball: Meet the Wolverines
Location: Ann Arbor.
Coach: Dusty May.
School tournament record: 68-31 in 33 appearances (eight Final Fours, one championship).
Past 10 games: 8-2.
Scoring leaders: F Yaxel Lendeborg, 14.6 points per game; F Morez Johnson Jr., 13.1; C Aday Mara, 11.6.
Rebounding leaders: Johnson, 7.2 rebounds per game; Lendeborg, 7.0; Mara, 6.9.
Assist leaders: PG Elliot Cadeau, 5.6 assists per game; Lendeborg, 3.2; G L.J. Cason, 2.4 (out for season); Mara, 2.3.
3-point leaders: Cason, 40.2% (out for season); Johnson, 37.9%; G Nimari Burnett, 37.7%.
The buzz: The Wolverines looked like the most dominant team in college basketball for long stretches of the season, and their blemishes from arguably their greatest regular season ever are few. A non-conference loss to Duke plus a Big Ten Tournament loss to Purdue are the two biggest reasons why the Wolverines are not the No. 1 overall seed, but there are three big reasons why Michigan has a strong chance to win it all.
Reason No. 1 is big man Yaxel Lendeborg, the first-team All-American and Big Ten Player of the Year who does just about everything on the floor. Reason No. 2 is center Aday Mara, the 7-foot-3 defensive stalwart whose offensive game has matured in Ann Arbor. And reason No. 3 is big man Morez Johnson Jr., the “junkyard dog” that’s the beating heart of this Michigan team.
Howard dominated the paint against UMBC but will have a tough time matching up with even one of these star bigs, much less all three. The Wolverines should win, well, big.
Howard basketball: Meet the Bison
Location: Washington.
Coach: Kenneth Blakeney (97-106 in seven seasons, all at Howard).
School tournament record: 1-4 in five appearances (including a win Tuesday).
Past 10 games: 8-2.
Scoring leaders (entering Tuesday): Bryce Harris, 17.1 points per game; Cedric Taylor III, 17.1; Cam Gillus, 10.6; Ose Okojie, 10.5.
Rebounding leaders: Harris, 6.9; Taylor, 6.7; Gillus, 4.3.
Assist leaders: Gillus, 4.6; Taylor, 3.3; Harris, 2.5.
3-point leaders: Isaiah Brown, 43.8%; Okojie, 42.9%; BJ Powell, 40%.
The buzz: The Bison – so nicknamed to honor the Black “buffalo soldiers” who impressed Native Americans with their fighting spirit after the Civil War – picked up the first NCAA Tournament victory in program history on Tuesday, topping America East champs UMBC, 86-83. Still, Howard is no stranger to the NCAAs, making their third appearance in four seasons after winning the MEAC regular-season and tournament titles. Howard plays an opportunistic defense, with 8.7 steals per game, good for 27th nationally, to hold opponents to just 67.8 points a game, 40th in Division I.
The Bison and Wolverines shared a pair of opponents this season, with Howard falling to Duke by 37 on the road in November and losing to Northwestern by 20 on the road in December, while U-M lost to Duke by three in February and beat Northwestern by 12, also in February.