The Howard University men's basketball team will be looking to win its fourth straight win when it hosts the College of William and Mary on Saturday at 4 pm in Burr Gymnasium.  The Bison (3-2) were excited following their win over the University of Central Arkansas in the Middleweight championship of the Men Who Speak Up event on Wednesday.  But the excitement soon wore off following the news of a key injury to junior guard James "JT" Miller, who suffered a fracture to his shooting hand in the win over UCA.

"The win was bittersweet," said Howard head coach Kevin Nickelberry.  "To win a championship was exciting but it bittersweet as it had to be tempered with the injury to JT.  His loss is huge to how this team is built.  It is going to be hard to replace him and what he does."

Miller was off to a great start, averaging almost 16 points and five rebounds per game.  He and Daniel form what is one of the best backcourts in the country.
In the game against the Tribe, the Bison will have to face a team whose strength is three-point shooting, something that has not gone unnoticed by Nickelberry.

"William and Mary is one of the better three-point shooting teams in the country," he says.  "They have multiple weapons.  Four of the five players that they start can shoot the three effectively.  It is a hard matchup for us."  As a team, the Tribe shoot 40 percent from beyond the arc while the Bison have held their opponents to 29 percent from that range.

Howard will continue to employ the formula that has brought them early season success, riding the talent of Daniel, who has emerged as one of the top players in the country.  The 5-11 junior from Hampton, VA, leads the country in scoring at 27.8 points per game and in free throws made, and he is third in steals and in free throw attempts.

The Bison, who starts five juniors who have played together for three years,  are now getting production from guard Damon Collins, center Marcel Boyd and reserves center Oliver Ellison, forwards Tyler Stone and Solomon "Solo" Magnham and guard Kofi Andoh, who have all increased their production from the previous two years.

Even with that, there is no getting around the fact that they will miss the production of Miller and what he brings.

"This team in very resilient," says Nickelberry.  "This is not the first time that we as a coaching staff have faced this kind of challenge.  We have been here before and I expect us to answer the challenge."

NEXT UP: The Tribe will host Old Dominion at home on December 1 while the Bison host Central Penn on Monday at 7 pm in Burr.

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