Wagner vs. Howard First Four Prediction: March Madness Odds
The Seahawks are making their first appearance at the Big Dance since 2003 after claiming the Northeast Conference Tournament title with last week’s 54-47 victory over Merimack, which also extended their current win streak to three games, with each of those triumphs coming on the road. The Bison return to the NCAA Tournament for a second straight year after winning the MEAC Tournament crown with Saturday’s 70-67 win over Delaware State. The Bison have also won three straight going into March Madness and have atoned for a rough start to the season with victories in 10 of their past 13 contests.
The Bison are perched as 3.5-point favourites on Tuesday’s First Four odds. The Seahawks are listed as +135 underdogs on the March madness moneyline, and the total is listed at 127.5, with -115 odds favouring the OVER.
Wagner vs. Howard NCAA Tournament Point Spread and Betting
Tuesday evening’s First Four matchup at University of Dayton Arena marks the first meeting between these squads since November 1997, when Wagner rolled to a decisive 79-54 win in its first-ever clash with the Bison. For the Seahawks, this is also just their second all-time appearance at the NCAA Tournament, with the squad dropping an 87-61 decision to Pittsburgh as a 15-seed in their lone previous appearance in 2003. The Bison get set to make their fourth all-time appearance at March Madness still searching for their first win. Howard has fallen to defeat at the hands of Kansas while pegged as a 16-seed in each of its past two tournament appearances, capped by a crushing 96-68 First Round loss a year ago.
Wagner Seahawks
The Seahawks emerged as spoilers while posting wins over each of the top three seeds on their way to the NEC Tournament title, and have won outright in seven of 11 as betting underdogs. Low scoring has been a recurring theme, with the total failing to reach 130 during a 6-0 run for the UNDER. Junior guard Melvin Council Jr. led the squad this season with 14.6 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. But it was a pair of 22-point performances from junior Tahron Allen that proved to be the difference at the NEC Tournament.
Howard Bison
Losers in 11 of their first 16 games, the Bison turned things around once conference play got underway, going 13-5 over their final 18 contests including a 9-5 conference record to claim third place in the MEAC standings. Junior Bryce Harris led the squad this season in points, rebounds, steals, and blocks, and played all but four minutes at the MEAC Tournament while averaging 20 points per game and will be looking to atone for an ineffective performance in his appearance at last year’s NCAA Tournament.