Senior guard Zak Irvin sparked a 14-4 second-half rally and fellow senior Derrick Walton Jr. scored 20 points to lead Michigan to a 76-58 season-opening victory over Howard on Friday night at Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, Mich.

The Bison (0-1) trailed by only five with less than 12 minutes to go when Irvin, who had struggled most of the game, took over to squelch any thought Howard had of pulling off the upset.

Solomon Mangham had just connected on a 3-pointer to make the score, 41-36. After a TV timeout, Irvin went to work.

Irvin's jumper and long-range 3-pointer, coupled with a jumper from D.J. Wilson, put Michigan up 49-38. Moritz Wagner and Wilson each hit two free throws, Irvin added two free throws and the Wolverines (1-0) could breathe a sigh of relief.

Irvin finished with 11 points on 4 of 13 from the field, including 1 of 6 from long range.

Damon Collins led the Bison with 12 points.

The Bison struggled mightily from the free throw line, connecting on less than 49 percent (14 of 29). Conversely, the Wolverines were stellar from the charity stripe, making 23 of 26.

This was a game Michigan was expected to win with relative ease. The Wolverines return their entire starting lineup from last season. John Beilein's squad was ousted in the first round of the NCAA Tournament by Notre Dame and finished with a 23-13 record.

Even though the Bison, like the Wolverines, are a veteran squad, Howard was without its best player. James Daniel, the nation's leading scorer from a year ago who averaged 27.1 points per game and led the nation with 280 free throws made, injured an ankle late last month and remains sidelined for another couple of weeks.