NCAA Tournament March Madness

#311 Howard

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Projected seed: 16 (automatic qualifier, play-in game) (automatic qualifier)

Howard's season features a handful of modest high points but is mostly defined by damaging nonconference setbacks and a lack of meaningful road or neutral wins. The program's clearest positives are home and neutral victories over lower-tier opponents such as Alcorn State and Niagara yet those results do little to offset tough defeats on the road at marquee programs like Duke and Missouri and additional nonconference losses at Stetson and Mount St. Mary's. Conference play offers many winnable chances at venues like Morgan State, Coppin State and Delaware State but those games will firm up the win column without adding the kind of quality résumé builders the committee values. Remaining opportunities to pick up a statement victory exist in road tests at Drexel, UNC Wilmington, Northwestern and a home date with Yale but each is a difficult assignment that would need to be seized to change the narrative. With little evidence of success away from home against respected opponents and most of the better wins coming against weak competition, Howard's profile rests on conference outcomes and the conference tournament as the realistic path to altering its standing.

Date Opponent Ranking Outcome
11/3Missouri30L88-67
11/9Grambling292L73-70
11/13Alcorn St330W72-64
11/19@Stetson341L64-60
11/22(N)Niagara338W80-70
11/23@Duke3L93-56
11/29@Mt St Mary's300L79-75
12/9(N)NC A&T32754%
12/13(N)Hampton24037%
12/16@Drexel27632%
12/20@UNC Wilmington976%
12/30@Northwestern532%
1/3@S Carolina St34753%
1/10@MD E Shore34049%
1/12Delaware St36183%
1/17@NC Central35154%
1/24Morgan St36081%
1/26@Coppin St36467%
1/31Norfolk St23146%
2/7S Carolina St34774%
2/9Yale7712%
2/14MD E Shore34070%
2/16@Delaware St36165%
2/21NC Central35175%
2/28@Morgan St36062%
3/2Coppin St36484%
3/5@Norfolk St23126%