The MEAC has run through Washington, D.C. for the last five seasons. The conference tournament is held in Norfolk, Virginia, but the league's best team over that time has been the Howard Bison. The Bison making the NCAA Tournament under head coach Kenneth Blakeney has become the norm in the MEAC, but given that the program was among the worst in the country when he took over, it should be a much bigger story.
Coach Blakeney took over Howard in the 2019 season. The program hadn’t had a winning season in 18 years and had only two over 28 seasons. Now the Bison are the premier program and the team to beat in the MEAC. Howard has qualified for their fifth NCAA Tournament and third in the last 3 years. They are likely to end up in Dayton, with a chance to win their first-ever NCAA Tournament game.
Bryce Harris
Harris is unique because basketball doesn’t see players like him stay at their school for all four seasons. Harris has stuck it out with coach Blakeney and Howard for the duration of his college career, in the NIL and portal era of college basketball; that should be recognized as an achievement more than it is. Harris has had plenty of potential suitors in the portal and would have been a key portal pickup for a big team. The guard is too busy dominating the MEAC to worry about going to another school.
The MEAC player of the year is an elite scorer who may arguably be the best shooter in the country. He is a volume shooter who shoots a very high percentage from the floor. In addition to that, he is one of the best rebounding guards in the country and averages over a 1 steal and 1 block per game. He is a stat stuffer and will impact a game on both ends of the floor.
Harris is the heart and soul of the Howard program, and he epitomizes what it means to play for Coach Blakeney. He plays at 100% the entire game, takes smart shots, and plays exceptional defense. Those things all lead to winning. Even if the superstar guard never wins a game in the NCAA Tournament, he will always be remembered at Howard as a key piece in turning the program into an MEAC dynasty. College Basketball will miss the senior.
Elusive Win
The last time Howard made the NCAA Tournament, they were placed in Dayton as a 16 seed but lost and did not advance. Harris was a guard on that team, and Coach Blakeney was the coach. They have both learned a lot and now know what it will take to win that game and advance to the bracketed portion of the event.
The win would do wonders for the school; it would help with recruiting, knowing that their recruits can go to a school that has won an NCAA Tournament game. Most importantly, as I mentioned earlier, it will ensure that their seniors, who have given everything to this program, have a win in the biggest event in college basketball. It shows them it was all worth it to come back and see this through. Â
The First Four matters, and the teams care about the win. The win counts as an NCAA Tournament win and provides a piece of revenue, win shares for the conference, and for Howard as a whole. They do not play in games.
Stay Hot! Â
The Bison have done a lot of winning over the last two months. The 23 wins before the tournament are the most in program history, the 11 conference wins are tied for the most ever, and the Bison are looking for much more in this already historic season.
Heading into the NCAA Tournament, Howard has won 8 in a row and has blasted teams on their way to the MEAC title. Howard has won games by an average of 25 points during this winning streak and is playing with a ton of confidence. It doesn’t hurt to have the player of the year and another guard who is also averaging 17 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists, Cedric Taylor. Howard has a lot of talent for a low-major, and if they just play their game, they should have zero trouble getting their first win.
The HBCUs don’t always get a ton of respect, and it all stems from them having to take a lot of buy games to have money to operate. Those leagues always have good basketball and talent, and hopefully start getting a little more respect.