Howard Beats UMBC in First Four to Advance, What Experts and Fans Said About March Madness Win

Howard is on its way to the first round of the NCAA tournament for just the fourth time in program history after downing UMBC 86-83 in the First Four on Tuesday.

The No. 16 Bison will now take on top-seeded Michigan in the Round of 64.

Howard, which won the MAEC tournament to receive a bid to the tournament, has never won a first-round game but is looking to change that this year. Whether the Bison have what it takes to pull off the ultimate upset remains to be seen.

The early opinion appears to be that Michigan could be on upset watch.

Looking at the numbers, it's not really close between the two teams. Michigan has the third-best net rating on KenPom.com, while Howard ranks 208th.

The odds are also stacked against Howard, as just two No. 16 seeds have downed No. 1 seeds in 160 meetings.

But as we've seen before, numbers don't always matter in March.