# 2019–20 Howard Bison men's basketball team

The 2019–20 Howard Bison men's basketball team represented Howard University in the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bison, led by first-year head coach Kenny Blakeney, played their home games at Burr Gymnasium in Washington, D.C. as members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). They finished the season 4–29, 1–15 in MEAC play, to finish in last place. They defeated South Carolina State in the first round of the MEAC tournament before losing to North Carolina A&T in the quarterfinals.

## Previous season

The Bison finished the 2018–19 season 17–17, 10–6 in MEAC play, to finish in a tie for third place. In the MEAC tournament, they defeated Bethune–Cookman in the quarterfinals, before falling to Norfolk State in the semifinals. They were invited to the CBI, where they lost in the first round to Coastal Carolina.
On March 27, 2019, it was announced that head coach Kevin Nickelberry had resigned, ending his nine-year tenure with the team. On May 6, it was announced that Columbia assistant Kenny Blakeney would be Howard's next head coach.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| November 1, 2019* 9:00 p.m. | | District of Columbia | W 64–54 | | Burr Gymnasium Washington, D.C. |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 5, 2019* 5:00 p.m. | | Washington Adventist | L 68–71 | 0–1 | Burr Gymnasium (1,435) Washington, D.C. |
| November 9, 2019* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at George Washington | L 62–76 | 0–2 | Charles E. Smith Center (3,677) Washington, D.C. |
| November 12, 2019* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX/ESPN3 | | at Notre Dame Men Against Breast Cancer Invitational | L 50–79 | 0–3 | Edmund P. Joyce Center (6,190) South Bend, IN |
| November 15, 2019* 2:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | vs. Robert Morris Men Against Breast Cancer Invitational | L 65–85 | 0–4 | Savage Arena (75) Toledo, OH |
| November 17, 2019* 2:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Toledo Men Against Breast Cancer Invitational | L 68–112 | 0–5 | Savage Arena (4,220) Toledo, OH |
| November 21, 2019* 8:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Marshall Men Against Breast Cancer Invitational | L 63–91 | 0–6 | Cam Henderson Center (5,343) Huntington, WV |
| November 23, 2019* 3:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Ball State | L 69–100 | 0–7 | Worthen Arena (4,192) Muncie, IN |
| November 26, 2019* 7:00 p.m. | | at American | L 69–86 | 0–8 | Bender Arena (504) Washington, D.C. |
| November 30, 2019* 4:00 p.m. | | Mount St. Mary's | L 56–73 | 0–9 | Burr Gymnasium (875) Washington, D.C. |
| December 5, 2019* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Hampton | W 94–91 $^{OT}$ | 1–9 | Hampton Convocation Center (4,512) Hampton, VA |
| December 14, 2019* 12:00 p.m. | | Appalachian State | L 59–81 | 1–10 | Burr Gymnasium (924) Washington, D.C. |
| December 18, 2019* 7:00 p.m. | | Regent | W 105–47 | 2–10 | Burr Gymnasium (131) Washington, D.C. |
| December 22, 2019* 2:00 p.m. | | Harvard | L 55–60 | 2–11 | Burr Gymnasium (1,092) Washington, D.C. |
| December 30, 2019* 7:00 p.m. | | Penn | L 62–81 | 2–12 | Burr Gymnasium (659) Washington, D.C. |
| MEAC regular season ||||||
| January 4, 2020 4:00 p.m. | | at Maryland Eastern Shore | L 66–78 | 2–13 (0–1) | Hytche Athletic Center (555) Princess Anne, MD |
| January 6, 2020 7:30 p.m. | | Bethune–Cookman | L 73–102 | 2–14 (0–2) | Burr Gymnasium (289) Washington, D.C. |
| January 11, 2020 4:20 p.m., FloHoops | | Norfolk State | L 63–71 | 2–15 (0–3) | Burr Gymnasium (1,107) Washington, D.C. |
| January 13, 2020 7:30 p.m. | | South Carolina State | L 95–101 $^{OT}$ | 2–16 (0–4) | Burr Gymnasium (1,732) Washington, D.C. |
| January 18, 2020 4:00 p.m. | | at Morgan State | L 58–68 | 2–17 (0–5) | Talmadge L. Hill Field House (1,025) Baltimore, MD |
| January 20, 2020* 12:00 p.m. | | Yale | L 75–89 | 2–18 | Burr Gymnasium (2,097) Washington, D.C. |
| January 25, 2020 4:40 p.m. | | Florida A&M | L 83–87 | 2–19 (0–6) | Burr Gymnasium (1,906) Washington, D.C. |
| January 27, 2020 7:30 p.m., FloHoops | | at Coppin State | L 75–82 | 2–20 (0–7) | Physical Education Complex (824) Baltimore, MD |
| February 1, 2020 4:25 p.m., FloHoops | | Morgan State | L 83–89 | 2–21 (0–8) | Burr Gymnasium (1,327) Washington, D.C. |
| February 3, 2020 7:30 p.m. | | Coppin State | L 56–64 | 2–22 (0–9) | Burr Gymnasium (1,121) Washington, D.C. |
| February 8, 2020 4:00 p.m. | | at Florida A&M | L 78–82 $^{OT}$ | 2–23 (0–10) | Teaching Gym (2,917) Tallahassee, FL |
| February 10, 2020 7:30 p.m. | | at Bethune–Cookman | L 68–87 | 2–24 (0–11) | Moore Gymnasium (870) Daytona Beach, FL |
| February 22, 2020 6:00 p.m. | | at North Carolina A&T | L 67–71 | 2–25 (0–12) | Corbett Sports Center (3,780) Greensboro, NC |
| February 24, 2020 7:30 p.m. | | at North Carolina Central | L 65–80 | 2–26 (0–13) | McDougald–McLendon Arena (1,496) Durham, NC |
| February 29, 2020 6:00 p.m. | | at Norfolk State | L 59–89 | 2–27 (0–14) | Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (4,217) Norfolk, VA |
| March 2, 2020 7:30 p.m. | | Maryland Eastern Shore | W 62–60 | 3–27 (1–14) | Burr Gymnasium (1,287) Washington, D.C. |
| March 5, 2020 7:30 p.m. | | Delaware State | L 88–100 | 3–28 (1–15) | Burr Gymnasium (1,121) Washington, D.C. |
| MEAC tournament ||||||
| March 10, 2020 8:00 p.m., FloHoops | (10) | vs. (7) South Carolina State First round | W 70–63 | 4–28 | Norfolk Scope Norfolk, VA |
| March 11, 2020 8:00 p.m., FloHoops | (10) | vs. (2) North Carolina A&T Quarterfinals | L 77–86 | 4–29 | Norfolk Scope Norfolk, VA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||
Sources: