The second round of the Midwest Region of the NCAA Tournament tips off Saturday when top-seeded Michigan takes the court in Buffalo against the No. 9 seed, St. Louis.
Michigan enters the matchup as a heavy favorite after pulling away late from Howard and winning 101–80. The Wolverines’ frontcourt, led by Morez Johnson Jr. and Aday Mara, dominated the paint all night but really wore down the Bison in the second half, combining for 40 points and 17 rebounds in the game while shooting a near-perfect 16-for-18 from the field. That interior size and length is expected to be the difference again Saturday against St. Louis. With a win, Michigan will secure its ninth Sweet Sixteen appearance in the last 12 tournaments.
Saint Louis controlled their opening round game start to finish in their First Round game, smacking Georgia, 102–77. While Michigan’s primary strength lies in their ability to dominate the paint, St. Louis features one of the nation’s most lethal perimeter attacks, shooting over 40% from three-point range. All eyes will be on their versatile 6-foot-10 senior center Robbie Avila, nicknamed “Cream Abdul-Jabbar,” whose ability to stretch the floor and knock down shots from deep presents a unique challenge for Michigan’s bigs who traditionally do not stray far from the paint on the defensive end of the court.
This matchup presents a classic contrast of styles: Michigan’s physical, rim-protecting defense against SLU’s high-octane, “no-dribble layup” philosophy and perimeter sharpshooting. While the Wolverines are 12.5-point favorites, the Billikens’ efficiency—ranking in the Top 5 nationally in several offensive categories—makes them a dangerous opponent capable of sending the top seed in the Midwest home.
Lets take a closer look at this Round 2 matchup and take into consideration lineups, injuries, and other factors affecting the line and total.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on how to catch tipoff, odds courtesy of DraftKings recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
Game Details and How to Watch Live: Michigan vs. St. Louis
- Date: Saturday, March 21, 2026
- Time: 12:10PM EST
- Site: KeyBank Center
- City: Buffalo, NY
- Network/Streaming: CBS
Rotoworld has you covered with all the latest NBA Player News for all 30 teams. Check out the feed page right here on NBC Sports for headlines, injuries and transactions where you can filter by league, team, positions and news type!
Game Odds: Michigan vs. St. Louis
The latest odds as of Friday courtesy of DraftKings:
- Moneyline: Michigan Wolverines (-900) vs. St. Louis Billikens (+600)
- Spread: Michigan -12.5
- Total: 161.5 points
This game opened Michigan -13.5 with the Total set at 161.5.
Be sure to check out DraftKings for all the latest game odds & player props for every matchup this week on the NCAA Basketball schedule!
Expected Starting Lineups: Michigan vs. St. Louis
Michigan Wolverines
- G Nimari Burnett
- G Elliot Cadeau
- F Yaxel Lendeborg
- F Morez Johnson Jr.
- C Aday Mara
St. Louis Billikens
- G Amari McCottry
- G Quentin Jones
- G Trey Green
- G Dion Brown
- F Robbie Avila
Important stats, trends and insights: Michigan vs. St. Louis
- Michigan is 15-19 ATS overall this season
- St. Louis is 17-15 ATS overall this season
- The OVER has cashed in 17 of St. Louis’ 33 games this season (17-16)
- The OVER has cashed in 14 of Michigan’s 35 games this season (14-21)
- This is the first time these teams have met.
- Dion Brown led the Billikens in their Opening Round rout of Georgia with 18 points
- Five Billikens scored in double figures in Round 1
- Morez Johnson Jr. was 8-8 from the field in the first round as part of his 21-point, 10 rebound effort against Howard
Rotoworld Best Bet
Please bet responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.
Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the NCAA calendar based on data points like recent performance, head-to-head player matchups, trends information and projected game totals.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projections next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Saturday’s game between Michigan and St. Louis:
- Moneyline: Rotoworld Bet is staying away from a play on the Moneyline
- Spread: Rotoworld Bet is leaning towards a play on St. Louis +12.5
- Total: Rotoworld Bet is leaning towards a play on the Game Total UNDER 161.5
Follow our experts on socials to keep up with all the latest content from the staff:
- Jay Croucher (@croucherJD)
- Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper)
- Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports)
- Trysta Krick (@Trysta_Krick)
