Kansas basketball is set to face off against the No. 16-seeded Howard Bison in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Although they are not playing in the region they would have hoped to, the show must go on. Howard (22-12, 11-3) narrowly took down Norfolk State in the MEAC championship game to punch their ticket to March Madness. They overcame a five-point deficit with less than 14 seconds remaining to stun the Spartans.
This was the second-highest win total for Howard since they became a Division I school. They have put together one of their best teams of all time in 2022-23.
These teams have only met twice in their respective program’s history. It is the first time Howard will be partaking in the Big Dance since the 1991-92 season. They were also a sixteen seed that same year, eventually losing 100-67 to Kansas in the first round. The two schools have identical seedings and face off again in the Round of 64 thirty years later.
Last year, his third at Howard, Kenny Blakeney led the Bison to their first winning record since 2001-02.
— Ben Stevens (@BenScottStevens) March 11, 2023
This year, Blakeney leads Howard to its first NCAA Tournament berth in 30 years.
Overcome by emotion, Blakeney just repeats:
“Oh my god.”
The beauty of March. pic.twitter.com/p62xofsPRP
Nothing about this Howard team screams “upset.” They lost by 46 points to Yale and were blown out by other schools like James Madison and Belmont. But what should we look out for when they go toe to toe with one of the greatest blue-blood programs in NCAA history?
If there is one thing the Bison are outstanding at, it is shooting the three. Elijah Hawkins, their leading scorer and an All-MEAC 1st Team member, drains 1.7 threes per game at a 47.3% clip. Let’s take a look at their team stats from beyond the arc:
8.0 threes made per game (105th in the country)
21.2 threes attempted per game (194th in the country)
37.7% three-point percentage (25th in the country)
From the looks of these statistics, Howard does not shoot it from deep very often. However, when they do, it is at one of the most efficient rates in all of college basketball.
Bison head coach Kenneth Blakeney will have to throw everything he has at the Jayhawks. The best chance for Howard to stick around in this contest is to chuck an absurd amount of threes and pray that some fall.
Aside from an unexceptional offense, Howard has very few attributes that should worry Kansas fans. They turn the ball over 16.3 times a game, the third-worst turnover average in the nation. When facing some of the country’s best defenders, such as Kevin McCullar and Dajuan Harris, that number could reach the twenties if they are not careful with the ball.
The aforementioned Elijah Hawkins poses the biggest threat to the Jayhawks’ defense. The 5′ 11″ sophomore packs a big punch despite his small size, averaging 13.0 points, 5.9 assists, and 1.7 steals on the year.
Steve Settle and Shy Odom are other names to watch against this Howard team. Settle is a long-point forward with a lot of offensive versatility, and Odom is also a forward who is a strong finisher at the basket. A former teammate of LeBron James’ son at Sierra Canyon, Odom took home this season’s MEAC Rookie of the Year.
They have a terrific story and made it to the tourney in improbable fashion. Howard might start the game off with a few quick threes, but do not expect them to make this a close game down the stretch. Kansas is superior to them in every aspect of basketball, and with Bill Self expected to be back at the helm, things could turn ugly quickly for the Bison.