By Gregory Lloydon Coleman
Howard University News Service
The Howard University men’s basketball team is looking to make a run back to “March Madness.” This season’s crop of talent are players stepping up from the season before in Bryce Harris, Marcus Dockery and Shy Odom and a new addition in Seth Towns to the squad.
They are seeking to build on the success of the 2022-23 season, when the Bison won the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) for the first time in over three decades and made it to the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament where they lost to the University of Kansas Jayhawks in the first round. Last season, the team was led by players such as Elijah Hawkins, Jordan Woods and Steve Suttle — all of whom have transferred schools.
So far in the season, the Bison have accumulated a record of six wins and 11 losses and only going 1-1 in conference play, suffering a loss to North Carolina Central University (NCCU) and getting a win at South Carolina State University (SCSU). They have gotten victories over the likes of Hampton, whom they will see again in the Invesco QQQ Legacy Classic at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, Boston University, Regent, Mount St. Mary’s and La Salle.
Head Coach Kenneth Blakeney has a roster of players who have fulfilled their roles thus far and look to continue doing so as the season moves forward. The graduate transfer student Seth Towns leads the team in scoring with 15.3 points per game, followed by center and junior Bryce Harris with 15.1 points per game and junior Marcus Dockery with 12.6 points per game.
While the Bison have been giving up 78.4 points per game to the opposing team this season, they are not far behind in the offensive side of things, scoring 76.1 points per game.
Howard has shot 36.1% from the three-point line this season and 45.8% from the field in general. As of right now due to their conference record and overall record, they are sitting in fourth place in the MEAC Conference behind North Carolina Central, Delaware State and Norfolk State, whom the Bison defeated last season to win the MEAC Conference Championship in the conference tournament in Norfolk, Virginia.
The Bison rank second in the MEAC in offense behind North Carolina Central who have scored 76.5 points per game. They also currently rank sixth in the conference in defense as North Carolina Central, Norfolk State, Coppin State, Delaware State and Maryland Eastern Shore, whom the Bison host on Jan. 13, all rank ahead in terms of defense. As conference play gets underway, the clear favorites right now to win the MEAC Conference seem to be North Carolina Central. They were also the favorites to repeat as MEAC champions in football prior to losing to the Bison at Greene Stadium — a victory that ultimately propelled the Bison to the MEAC championship. That is a matchup that we will keep tabs on.
Overall, the Howard University Men’s Basketball team has done a great job replacing Hawkins, Subtle and Woods and look to prove themselves as worthy contenders in 2024. The Mecca will be watching very closely.
Gregory Lloydon Coleman is a reporter for HUNewsService.com.
