Washington, DC---The Howard University men's basketball team has a pivotal home stand over the next three days, starting with Saturday's big Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference showdown with the streaking Tigers of Savannah State (8-12, 5-2 in the MEAC) at 4 pm in Burr Gymnasium. 

The Bison (5-15, 2-3 in the MEAC) are coming off a disappointing 74-39 road loss at North Carolina Central on Monday. Howard was encouraged after coming off an inspiring road win over North Carolina A&T last Saturday, but the Eagles jumped all over the Bison and never looked back in handing Howard its lowest scoring effort of the season. 

James "JT" Miller and Charles "CJ" Williams combined for 56 points between them in the NC A&T game, but the duo never could get untracked against NC Central. Miller, a 6-4 red-shirt junior guard from Clinton, NC who leads the team in scoring, went scoreless for only the second time in his career while Williams, a 6-5 fershman guard from Richmond, VA, who had a career-high 30 against the Aggies, finished with only eight points before sitting out most of the second half. 

Without their scoring punch, the Bison struggled to get points. 

The Tigers will be a huge challenge for Howard. SSU comes into the game, having won four in a row and averaging over 86 points in those wins. The Tigers lead the country in three pointers made per game at almost 15 and they are 3rd in scoring with 86 points a contest. 

Despite the gaudy statistics, the Bison could exploit the Tigers defense, or lack of. SSU is allowing 95 points per contest. 

More importantly, a win would give Howard a 3-3 record in conference play and allow it to stay close in the tight race that appears to be wide open. 

Surprisingly, the Bison will be looking for their first home MEAC win of the season and it would surely give them momentum headed into Monday's big showdown against South Carolina State. That game will be televised on ESPNU and will tip off at 7 pm.

Game Notes: /documents/2017/1/28//MBBALL_21.pdf?id=516