Howard Tops Delaware State, Wins MEAC Back-To-Back Years
The Bison of Howard University are heading back to the NCAA tournament after completing their title defense by beating the Delaware State Hornets 70-67. Howard went under .500 on the regular season, finishing just 15-16 and heading into conference tournament play as the fourth seed. The Bison made easy work of Morgan State in the quarterfinals, followed by a massive upset over top-seeded Norfolk State, who entered the tournament on a fifteen-game winning streak. This was Delaware State’s first MEAC championship appearance since 2015. It ultimately set up a championship game that featured the four-seeded Bison and the sixth-seeded Hornets, and it was a nail-biter until the final buzzer.
Howard guard Jordan Hairston led the team with 18 points on an efficient seven-shot attempts and was named Most Outstanding Player of the Tournament for his efforts. Bison forward Seth Towns, who is currently in his eighth season of college basketball due to an eligibility exception, contributed 16 points and eight rebounds to finally reach his first NCAA tournament appearance. Howard went with a tight rotation for this game, predominantly playing just six players (the seventh player recorded two minutes). Delaware State was paced by guard Jevin Muniz who dropped 24 points and went 4-8 from the three-point line. Only one other Hornet reached double-digit scoring in guard Martaz Robinson who chipped in 16 points and eight rebounds as well. Muniz took exactly a third of the team’s overall shot attempts (21/63).
The Bison will now be dancing for the second straight season and seek their first-ever NCAA tournament victory. Howard is currently 0-3 all-time in tournament games, with their most recent loss coming last year against the number one-seeded Kansas Jayhawks. They will more likely than not be a First Four team, meaning they will have to face off against another 16 seed in order to have the opportunity to play a top seed in the first round. While the Bison are undoubtedly facing an uphill climb to make some noise in the tournament field, their experience and size could be a great deal to handle for a top-ranked team.
