Howard vs. Wagner: 2024 NCAA Tournament Odds & Picks
Now that the 2024 NCAA Tournament brackets have been announced, it’s time to make your sports betting picks to increase the excitement of March Madness. Let's take a look at the early odds and picks for the 2024 NCAA Tournament game: Howard vs. Wagner. And make sure to check out our 2024 NCAA Tournament Bracket Optimizer to take down your pools!
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2024 NCAA Tournament Odds & Picks: Howard vs. Wagner
Howard 2024 NCAA Tournament Preview
The fourth-seeded Bison (18-16) secured their second consecutive conference title by defeating top-seeded Norfolk State in Friday’s semifinal and then triumphing over the sixth-seeded Hornets. However, Howard’s defense is not known for its stinginess. The team struggles to generate steals that result in easy points and tends to commit numerous fouls, granting opponents many free-throw opportunities.
Despite ranking higher in offensive efficiency, Howard doesn’t dominate on that end of the court either. However, one offensive strength they possess is their ability to sink three-pointers. In their conference title game against the Hornets, the Bison shot an impressive 47 percent from beyond the arc in the first half, establishing a lead of up to 10 points. If they expect to truly shock the world, they need to step up for some offense and either make every single three-pointer or be fouled on every shot.
Wagner 2024 NCAA Tournament Preview
With a 16-15 record, it was surprising to see the six-seeded Wagner Seahawks take down the Northeast Conference Tournament, earning an auto-bid into the tournament. We will get to their offense in a second, but first, I want to highlight their defense. With a slow pace and solid perimeter defense, Wagner’s unit was the reason they are here. Against Merrimack, they held the NEC player of the year, Jordan Derkack to four points, going 1-10 from deep as the one-seed was held to 47 points in the conference tournament final. As one of the slowest teams in the nation, Wagner’s pace can trip up opposing offenses, and with their limitation of second-chance looks and consistent play, it’s tough to plan an offensive gameplan around these Seahawks.
The problem is their offense. With the 360th-ranked field goal percentage and a ton of mid-range shots, there isn’t really anything promising to write about this unit. They have faced the 352nd-ranked strength of schedule and do not have a win over a top-150-ranked program. It was not pretty, even looking at their three games against the top 150 opponents on KenPom. I don’t expect Wagner to go far in this tournament, but crazier things have happened, I guess.
2024 NCAA Tournament Predictions: Howard vs. Wagner
It's hard to project this game because both teams are… well... bad. Wagner's offense and Howard's defense both rank 334th in KenPom, so at least they're evenly matched. What I see this game coming down to is depth. Wagner ranks 315th in bench minutes percentage of the year, and Howard will be a big pace-up spot. Howard's defense should handle everything Wagner has to throw at them, and I simply see Howard as the clearly better team here.
2024 NCAA Tournament Picks: Howard vs. Wagner
Bet: Howard -3 (-110 via DraftKings Sportsbook)
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2024 NCAA Tournament Sports Betting Picks
Now that the 2024 NCAA Tournament brackets have been announced, it’s time to make your sports betting picks to increase the excitement of March Madness. Let's take a look at the early odds and picks for the 2024 NCAA Tournament
EAST REGION
- UCONN v Stetson (1v16)
- Iowa St. v South Dakota St. (2v15)
- Illinois v Morehead St. (3v14)
- Auburn v Yale (4v13)
- San Diego St. v UAB (5v12)
- BYU v Duquesne (6v11)
- Washington St. v Drake (7v10)
- Florida Atlantic v Northwestern (8v9)
MIDWEST REGION
- Montana St/Grambling St PLAY IN
- Virginia/Colorado St. PLAY IN
- Tennessee vs. Saint Peter’s (2v15)
- Creighton vs. Akron (3v14)
- Kansas vs. Samford (4v13)
- Gonzaga vs. McNeese (5v12)
- South Carolina vs. Oregon (6v11)
- Utah St. vs. TCU (8v9)
SOUTH REGION
- Boise St./Colorado PLAY IN
- Houston vs. Longwood (1v16)
- Marquette vs. Western Kentucky (2v15)
- Kentucky vs. Oakland (3v14)
- Duke vs. Vermont (4v13)
- Wisconsin vs. James Madison (5v12)
- Texas Tech vs. NC State (6v11)
- Nebraska vs. Texas A&M (8v9)
WEST REGION
- Howard/Wagner PLAY IN
- Arizona vs. Long Beach St. (2v15)
- Baylor vs. Colgate (3v14)
- Alabama vs. Charleston (4v13)
- Saint Mary’s vs. Grand Canyon (5v12)
- Clemson vs. New Mexico (6v11)
- Dayton vs. Nevada (7v10)
- Mississippi St. vs. Michigan St. (8v9)
2024 NCAA Tournament Bracket Pool Strategy & Picks
Below we provide strategy, advice, and picks to create the optimal NCAA Tournament bracket. And be sure to use our FREE bracket optimizer to build a winning men’s NCAA tournament bracket and take down your contest!