The Howard Bison and the Jackson State Tigers meet Saturday in college basketball action from Michelob ULTRA Arena. Howard beat Regent in their latest matchup on Wednesday, which moved the Bison to 4-6 overall. As for Jackson State, they’re 2-7 on the year and fresh off a loss to Houston last weekend. Let’s get into our Howard vs. Jackson State prediction. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.

Howard Bison

The Bison were only able to win three of their first nine games this year, taking out Hampton, Boston University and Mount St. Mary’s. Howard otherwise lost to Georgia Tech, James Madison, Rutgers, Bryant, Cincinnati and Penn in that time. In the 78-68 loss to the Quakers, the Bison were out-rebounded 37-27. 

Howard got a manageable matchup in their latest game versus Regent. The Bison stormed out to a 41-17 halftime lead and finished off with another 47 points from there in an 88-49 win. both Seth Towns and Bryce Harris scored 11 points apiece, combining for eight boards and eight assists. 

Jackson State Tigers 

Over on the Tigers’ side, they went just 2-6 in their first eight games this year. Jackson State posted losses to Memphis, San Diego, Cal Baptist, Loyola Marymount, Tulsa and Georgetown in that stretch. The wins otherwise came versus Missouri and Arkansas State. The Tigers put up a 44-30 rebounding edge in their 75-71 win over the Red Wolves. 

Jackson State got an unenviable matchup in their latest game versus Houston. The Tigers were down 37-29 by halftime and gave up another 52 points from there in an 89-55 blowout loss. The team’s only double-digit scorer was Coltie Young with 13 points and two rebounds. 

ANDREW’S FREE HOWARD VS JACKSON STATE PREDICTION 

I’m going to try Howard here. Granted, there’s not a lot of intrigue involved in this matchup between two struggling teams but it should at least be competitive. Howard played well against an overmatched Regent team in their last outing, shooting 56.7 percent from the field with 47 rebounds. The Bison have scored pretty well in this current 2-2 run with 68 or more points in each game. 

As for Jackson State, they’d been competitive before the Houston blowout with 73 or more points in three straight games. A 70-plus points performance on Saturday will make things interesting but I still think Howard powers out the cover.