# 2017–18 Howard Bison men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Howard Bison men's basketball team represented Howard University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bison, led by eighth-year head coach Kevin Nickelberry, played their home games at Burr Gymnasium in Washington, D.C. as members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. They finished the season 10–23, 7–9 in MEAC play to finish in a three-way tie for seventh place. As the No. 8 seed in the MEAC tournament, they lost in the first round to Florida A&M.

## Previous season

The Bison finished the 2016–17 season 10–24, 5–11 in MEAC play to finish in a tie for 11th place. They defeated Coppin State and Morgan State in the MEAC tournament before losing in the semifinals to Norfolk State.

## Preseason

The Bison were picked to finish in eighth place in a preseason poll of league coaches. Senior G/F Charles Williams was named to the preseason All-MEAC first team.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 10, 2017* 7:30 pm | | at George Washington | L 75–84 | 0–1 | Charles E. Smith Center (3,831) Washington, D.C. |
| Nov 12, 2017* 8:00 pm, BTN | | at Indiana Hoosier Tip-Off Classic | L 77–86 | 0–2 | Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (17,222) Bloomington, IN |
| Nov 14, 2017* 9:00 pm, RTNW | | at No. 17 Gonzaga | L 69–106 | 0–3 | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA |
| Nov 18, 2017* 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Eastern Michigan Indiana Tip—Off Classic | L 66–76 | 0–4 | Convocation Center (819) Ypsilanti, MI |
| Nov 20, 2017* 8:00 pm | | at Arkansas State Indiana Tip—Off Classic | L 78–92 | 0–5 | ASU Convocation Center (2,478) Jonesboro, AR |
| Nov 22, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at South Florida Indiana Tip—Off Classic | L 52–75 | 0–6 | USF Sun Dome (2,080) Tampa, FL |
| Nov 27, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Liberty | L 55–75 | 0–7 | Vines Center (2,169) Lynchburg, VA |
| Nov 30, 2017* 7:00 pm | | Central Penn | W 81–64 | 1–7 | Burr Gymnasium (400) Washington, D.C. |
| Dec 4, 2017* 7:00 pm | | Penn | L 68–81 | 1–8 | Burr Gymnasium (425) Washington, D.C. |
| Dec 7, 2017* 8:45 pm, FS1 | | at Georgetown | L 67–81 | 1–9 | Capital One Arena (4,543) Washington, D.C. |
| Dec 9, 2017* 4:00 pm, NBCSP/NBCSW | | at American | L 63–74 | 1–10 | Bender Arena (2,213) Washington, D.C. |
| Dec 14, 2017* 6:00 pm | | Washington Adventist | W 76–65 | 2–10 | Burr Gymnasium (375) Washington, D.C. |
| Dec 18, 2017* 8:00 pm | | at Jacksonville State | L 60–62 | 2–11 | Pete Mathews Coliseum (1,008) Jacksonville, FL |
| Dec 21, 2017* 9:00 pm, 6,013 | | at UTEP Sun Bowl Invitational semifinal | L 56–69 | 2–12 | Don Haskins Center (6,013) El Paso, TX |
| Dec 22, 2017* 7:00 pm | | vs. UNC Wilmington Sun Bowl Invitational 3rd place game | W 80–75 | 3–12 | Don Haskins Center (8,021) El Paso, TX |
| Dec 29, 2017* 1:00 am, Spectrum Sports | | at Hawaii | L 59–84 | 3–13 | Stan Sheriff Center (5,296) Honolulu, HI |
| MEAC regular season ||||||
| Jan 3, 2018 8:00 pm | | at Florida A&M | L 76–84 | 3–14 (0–1) | Lawson Center (1,492) Tallahassee, FL |
| Jan 6, 2018 4:00 pm | | Bethune–Cookman | L 87–92 $^{OT}$ | 3–15 (0–2) | Burr Gymnasium (478) Washington, D.C. |
| Jan 8, 2018 7:30 pm | | Hampton Battle of the Real HU Postponed to Feb 8 due to winter storm | | | Burr Gymnasium Washington, D.C. |
| Jan 13, 2018 4:00 pm | | at South Carolina State | L 88–91 $^{OT}$ | 3–16 (0–3) | SHM Memorial Center Orangeburg, SC |
| Jan 15, 2018 8:00 pm | | at Savannah State | L 90–91 | 3–17 (0–4) | Tiger Arena (2,033) Savannah, GA |
| Jan 20, 2018 4:00 pm | | North Carolina Central | W 84–78 $^{OT}$ | 4-17 (1–4) | Burr Gymnasium (852) Washington, D.C. |
| Jan 22, 2018 7:30 pm | | North Carolina A&T | W 90–88 $^{OT}$ | 5–17 (2–4) | Burr Gymnasium (1,378) Washington, D.C. |
| Jan 27, 2018 4:00 pm | | at Maryland Eastern Shore | W 85–75 | 6–17 (3–4) | Hytche Athletic Center (1,622) Princess Anne, MD |
| Feb 3, 2018 4:00 pm | | Florida A&M | W 83–80 $^{OT}$ | 7–17 (4–4) | Burr Gymnasium (2,152) Washington, D.C. |
| Feb 5, 2018 5:30 pm | | at Morgan State | L 61–97 | 7–18 (4–5) | Talmadge L. Hill Field House (3,156) Baltimore, MD |
| Feb 8, 2018 7:30 pm | | Hampton Battle of the Real HU | L 81–95 | 7–19 (4–6) | Burr Gymnasium (2,500) Washington, D.C. |
| Feb 12, 2018 7:30 pm | | Maryland Eastern Shore | W 84–56 | 8–19 (5–6) | Burr Gymnasium (1,536) Washington, D.C. |
| Feb 17, 2018 4:00 pm | | at North Carolina A&T | L 69–83 | 8–20 (5–7) | Corbett Sports Center (3,526) Greensboro, NC |
| Feb 19, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | at North Carolina Central | L 66–83 | 8–21 (5–8) | McDougald–McLendon Gymnasium (1,622) Durham, NC |
| Feb 24, 2018 4:00 pm | | Delaware State | W 93–74 | 9–21 (6–8) | Burr Gymnasium Washington, D.C. |
| Feb 26, 2018 7:30 pm, ESPNU | | Norfolk State | L 74–79 | 9–22 (6–9) | Burr Gymnasium (2,035) Washington, D.C. |
| Mar 1, 2018 7:30 pm | | at Coppin State | W 78–71 | 10–22 (7–9) | Physical Education Complex (1,011) Baltimore, MD |
| MEAC tournament ||||||
| Mar 6, 2018 4:00 pm | (8) | vs. (9) Florida A&M First round | L 78–88 | 10–23 | Norfolk Scope Norfolk, VA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||
Source

## Awards and honors

| Name | Award | Date |
| RJ Cole | MEAC Rookie of the Week | November 14, 2017 |
| RJ Cole | MEAC Rookie of the Week | December 5, 2017 |
| RJ Cole | MEAC Rookie of the Week | December 12, 2017 |
| Zion Cousins | MEAC Defensive Player of the Week | December 5, 2017 |
| Charles Williams | MEAC Player of the Week | December 5, 2017 |
| Charles Williams | MEAC Rookie of the Week | December 12, 2017 (honorable mention) |