UMBC vs. Howard First Four Game Preview, Picks, Betting Odds & Data

By Thom Cunningham | Mar 17, 2026, 8:25pm

To begin the 2026 March Madness event, the UMBC Retrievers will face the Howard Bison in a First Four showdown to be played in Dayton, Ohio. The Retrievers won the America East crown and also hold the accolade of being the very first No. 16 seed to beat a No. 1 seed. Below are all the betting odds, information, data and picks you need for this First Four game!

UMBC vs. Howard Game Information

Date: Tuesday, Mar. 17, 2026
Time: 6:40 p.m. ET
Network: truTV
Region: Midwest
Location: Dayton, Ohio
Venue: UD Arena

UMBC vs. Howard Betting Resources

UMBC vs. Howard Betting Odds

UMBC vs. Howard Betting Data

UMBC Retrievers

Region Odds:
Sweet 16 Odds:
Elite Eight Odds:
Final Four Odds:
National Title Odds:

Seed: No. 16
Record: 24-8
Conference: America East
PS/G: 76.2
PA/G: 67
ORtg: 113
DRtg: 99.3

Howard Bison

Region Odds: n/a
Sweet 16 Odds:
Elite Eight Odds:
Final Four Odds:
National Title Odds:

Seed: No. 16
Record: 23-10
Conference: MEAC
PS/G: 77.5
PA/G: 67.8
ORtg: 110.4
DRtg: 96.5

UMBC vs. Howard Key Players

UMBC Retrievers

Jah’Likai King (JR) – 13.9 ppg, 3.4 rpg
DJ Armstrong (SR) – 13.2 ppg
Ace Valentine (JR) – 12 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 4.0 apg

Howard Bison

Bryce Harris (SR) – 17.1 ppg, 6.9 rpg
Cedric Taylor (JR) – 17.1 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 3.3 apg
Cam Gillus (JR) – 10.6 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 4.6 apg

UMBC vs. Howard Betting Analysis

Despite being a play-in team, UMBC is very dangerous for bettors to fade against with a solid 10-5 ATS mark away from home. UMBC is actually 19-11 on the spread this season, entering the March Madness event on a six-game ATS streak. The big question will be how UMBC plays on a neutral court, their first of the season. Despite a solid 10-5 ATS road mark for UMBC, Howard also has its perks to consider.

The Bison are 4-1 against the spread when playing on a neutral court this season, and own a very impressive 21-8 ATS record overall. Howard is also 7-2 ATS when playing as an underdog, currently +1.5-points dogs as of this writing. Both schools also own a 13-17 O/U record.

UMBC vs. Howard Best Bet, Pick & Prediction

Despite the shared 13-17 O/U records from each school, we’ll take the Over based on the line given. UMBC has also gone Over 141 total points in 11 of 12 conference games when playing at night.

Score Prediction: Howard 72, UMBC 71
Best Bet: Over 141.5 (-110)

Thom Cunningham

Thom Cunningham is the Lineups.com News Editor and has been involved with sports media for almost two decades at Spectrum, VegasInsider.com, Oddschecker, VSiN and much more as a content producer - focused on the betting and gaming space over the last decade tracking insights, data analytics and covering various markets from the NFL to the Oscars.