The Howard Bison take on the Wagner Seahawks in a First Four game on Tuesday, March 19. The play-in game will determine which team reaches the Round of 64, and which team’s postseason is over before it really began. The winner of the game will take on No. 1 North Carolina. Only two No. 16 seeds in history have ever defeated a No. 1 seed in the first round of the tournament.
Tip-off is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. ET, and the game will air on TruTV.
No. 16 Howard vs. No. 16 Wagner picks
Spread: Howard -2.5
Over/Under: 127.5
Moneyline: Howard -148, Wagner +124
Howard (18-16, 9-5 MEAC) won the Mid-Eastern American Conference as a No. 4 seed. The Bison, led by guard Bryce Harris and forward Seth Towns, rank 276th overall at KenPom and 192nd in adjusted offensive efficiency. The Bison defeated top-seeded Norfolk State in the conference tournament after losing twice to them in the regular season.
Wagner (16-15, 7-9 NEC) went on a major run in the Northeast Conference as the No. 6 seed, defeating each of the top three seeds to earn the conference title. The Seahawks rank 293rd overall at KenPom and 171st in adjusted defensive efficiency.
Pick: Wagner +2.5
With two low-ranked teams going head-to-head, I like this Seahawks team, which enters with a lot of momentum from their conference tournament run. Wagner keeps things running very, very slow — in fact, they have the second-slowest pace of play in the country — and if they can control this game and force Howard into their pace, they should advance to the Round of 64. Howard also struggles with turnovers, which won’t help in a slow game with fewer chances to make up for lost possessions.