Howard University scored a huge March Madness victory over UMBC in their First Four matchup, surviving a potential game-tying heave from DJ Armstrong Jr. to win 86-83. Now, they set their eyes on the top seed in the Midwest region: Michigan. The Wolverines have everything to pull off a run to the Final Four and have had a phenomenal season. They finished the regular season campaign with a 31-3 record and a 19-1 record in conference. They were also 6-2 in neutral-site games this season.
Coming into the matchup, Michigan will be well-rested, while the Bison will have just played a tight game to start the tournament. But, Howard University star Bryce Harper isn't worried about the war of attrition.
“Our bodies are kind of conditioned to kind of, you know, get after it day after games… we have the our callus built for times like this in the season… if there's any fatigue, we can mentally and physically push through it because we do that type of stuff in practice all the time,” he said during press availability.
Howard University head coach Kenny Blakeney echoed the sentiments, saying, “For us, we're kind of used to playing every other day, so our rhythm is pretty consistent with how we do things… in the MEAC, we play Saturday and Monday.”
Meanwhile, Cedric Taylor III saw a broader accomplishment in Howard's first victory in the March Madness tournament.
“It made me realize like during this tournament run… we're fighting for the alumni that's watching all over the country… we got a lot of people on our backs right now and we're just trying to do everything we can to make them proud.”
On the task of facing Michigan, Blakeney gave a vivid and hilarious scouting report.
“I saw they were big as hell… I was really impressed how fast they were in transition… seeing 6'9″, 6'10” guys sprint to the three-point line and knocking down threes… that was as high-level a game as I've seen in person.”
