The college basketball offseason is here, and we decided to have some fun over the next few months, ranking ALL 364 teams in D1. Number 277 is Howard basketball.
Before you say we’re crazy – or that all of this is up for debate, let’s go over the very intricate process of how we came to this conclusion. We took a very statistical approach – with the help of Chat GPT – taking into consideration everything from March Madness wins and finishes, to AP Poll appearances, to conference players of the year. And then, a good friend of ours, Scott Blanchard, took our approach to the MAX.
Click here to visit the FIRST article, which explains how the formula works!
Here’s the breakdown of Howard basketball!
NCAA Tournament Success
- Championships: 0
- Finals appearances: 0
- Final Fours: 0
- Elite Eights: 0
- Sweet 16s: 0
- NCAA wins: 1
- Bids: 5
Consistency Over Time
- Wins per season: 11.9
- Bids per season: 0.09
- AP Polls: 0
Player Quality & Talent
- All-Americans: 0
- NBA players drafted & played: 1
- Conference Players of the Year: 8
Conference & Other Success
- Conference regular season titles: 6
- Conference tournament titles: 6
- NIT titles: 0
- Other tournament titles: 0
Overall scoop on Howard basketball
From Grambling to Howard – two straight HBCU programs for you! The Bison have arguably been the best HBCU over the last five seasons, going to the NCAA Tournament in 2023, 2024, and 2026. Head coach Kenneth Blakeney took over a program that had been solid under Kevin Nickelberry, and after a couple of terrible seasons, has turned Howard into a MEAC team to reckon with!
The Bison really aren’t a stranger to winning a lot. In the 1970s and 80s, AB Williamson had a 231-171 record with the program, going to the NCAA Tournament once and winning three conference regular season titles in 15 years.
But since Williamson and up until Blakeney, most coaches had done poorly or couldn’t get to that next level. Right now, it’s not the case, as Blakeney has them at the cream of the crop among HBCUs.
Eight Bison have also won the MEAC Player of the Year at the DI level:
- Gerald Glover (1978)
- James Ratiff (1980)
- Larry Spriggs (1981)
- Ron Williamson (2003)
- James Daniel III (2016)
- RJ Cole (2019)
- Blake Harper (2025)
- Bryce Harris (2026)
Of course, Cole went on to play at UConn, and Spriggs enjoyed a brief NBA career that lasted over 150 games.
While Howard may not have a Willis Reed like Grambling does to brag about, they just beat them out thanks to a bit more success within the college game itself. And with Blakeney, they’ll just keep rising!