Norfolk, VA—A lot will be riding on the line when the Howard University men's basketball team begins its quest for a tournament title and chance to dance in the NCAA when they face North Carolina Central University on Tuesday at 6 pm in the first round of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament at the Scope Arena.
The Bison (12-19) enters the tournament as the Number 10 seed while the Eagles (12-18) are the seventh seed. The championship will be played on Saturday at 1 pm on ESPN2. The two met once during the regular season and Howard prevailed 71-69 on a James "J-Byrd" Daniel, III 10-foot floater that not only gave the Bison their first conference win, but snapped NCCU's 38-game home win streak which was second in the nation at that time. It snapped a six-game streak held by NCCU, which leads the series, 40-27.
Since that encounter in early December, both teams have had facelifts. The Eagles, the defending regular season champs, struggled through most of the early season but may have found something down the stretch, splitting their last four games.
NCCUare led by Dante Holmes (15.6 points per game), Jeremiah Ingram (10.7 ppg, 6.1 rpg) and Dujuan Graf (4.0 assists per game).
Is well documented that the Bison have been wracked with injuries all season. Junior guard James "JT" Miller and junior forward Solomon "Solo" Mangham have missed most of the season as they combined for almost 25 points and 13 rebounds between them. Miller, who averaged almost 17 per game, missed the game at NCCU and has not played since.
There have been several others along the way, including Damon Collins (10.0 ppg, 4.7 rebounds) who missed the last game of the season versus Norfolk State, but will be expected to be back in the starting lineup for this game.
The one constant, however, has been the sterling play of Daniel, the junior guard who leads the nation in scoring with 27.2 points per game and was named the MEAC Player of the Year and a first team all-conference selection. On numerous occasions, the talented native of Hampton, VA, has put the team on his back and carried them on his back and out them in a position to win.
He is now the school's all-time leading scorer and needs only 10 points to eclipse the 800-point mark on the season. He has won four games with game-winning shots, scored 30 or more points nine times and has scored in double figures every game this season.
For the undermanned Bison to have a chance to advance in the tournament, they will have to get consistent support from junior center Marcel Boyd (10.1 ppg, 9.6 rpg), junior forward Tyler Stone (7.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg), Collins, sophomore guard Dalique Mingo (4.5 ppg, 2.8 rpg) and junior reserve guard Kofi Andoh (4.4 ppg).
Boyd has emerged as a force, especially on the defensive end where he is a strong rebounder and an effective "rim protector."
When Stone has played well, Howard has had success and Collins, who is having his best season, is a factor.
Click the link for game notes: /documents/2016/3/8//HU_NCCU_MEAC.pdf?id=425
The winner will face Norfolk State, the Number 2 seed, on Thursday at 2 pm.
