CAA News & Notes 2/21
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A look around the league, with notes on Thursday's opponent, Hofstra.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Mike Morsell • Towson
Jr., G, 6-5, 215 - Fort Washington, Md./St. John’s College HS
Morsell averaged 25.5 points and 4.0 rebounds as Towson increased its winning streak to six with victories over Elon (85-66) and James Madison (75-65) last week. The junior eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for his career against the Phoenix.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK:
Ryan Daly • Delaware
Fr., G, 6-4, 185 - Ardmore, Pa./Archbishop Carroll
Daly averaged 22.0 points and 9.5 rebounds as Delaware went 1-1 last week. The freshman guard broke the UD freshman records for points and rebounds in a season last week.
CONFERENCE NOTES:
CAA STANDINGS: Heading into the final week of regular-season play, the top three teams in the League standings remain separated by two games after all three went 2-0 last week. UNCW (13-3) kept a one-game edge over College of Charleston (12-4) as the Seahawks and Cougars both recorded road victories at Hofstra and Northeastern. Towson (11-5) stayed close behind after beating Elon and James Madison to extend its winning streak to six. UNCW and Towson meet on Thursday night at Trask Coliseum, while Charleston entertains Delaware.
CLOSE GAMES CONTINUE: Four of the five CAA games last Thursday were decided by four points or less, including a pair of one-point decisions and an overtime contest. Ten of the 30 CAA games (30%) played over the past three weeks have been decided by two points or less.
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCES: It was a week of outstanding offensive performances around the conference. Along with the efforts turned in by Player of the Week Mike Morsell (25.5 ppg) and Rookie of the Week Ryan Daly (22.0 ppg), seven other players averaged at least 20.0 ppg in the two games. Reaching the mark were Charleston’s Joe Chealey (23.5 ppg), Hofstra’s Justin Wright-Foreman (26.0 ppg), UNCW’s Chris Flemmings (24.0 ppg) and C.J. Bryce (20.5 ppg), Northeastern’s T.J. Williams (25.5 ppg) as well as W&M’s Daniel Dixon (27.0 ppg) and Omar Prewitt (20.0 ppg).
LATEST RPI REPORT: Three CAA teams are ranked in the top 92 in the latest RPI rankings released by Collegiate Basketball News (rpiratings.com). UNCW (24-5), which has won 21 of its last 25 games, leads the way at #40. College of Charleston (21-8), which has captured 18 of its last 23 contests, is ranked #65. Towson (19-10), which has won 11 of its last 12 games, is ranked #92. W&M fell to #108. The CAA is still ranked #11 among the nation’s 32 Division I leagues.
STREAKING: Towson’s six-game winning streak is tied for the 17th-longest in the nation, while William & Mary’s 12-game home court winning streak is tied for 14th in Division I.
HOME SWEET HOME: Home teams have won 65.0% (52-28) of their games in CAA play this season, reversing a trend from the past two years. The Tribe is 7-0 at home, while Elon, UNCW and Towson have just one home setback. All 10 teams have won at least three conference games at home. Only UNCW and CofC have winning records (7-2) on the road in league action. Home teams were 45-45 in CAA play last season and 47-43 in 2014-15.
Tribe DISA & DATA
• Daniel Dixon scored a game-high 29 points at JMU and a team-best 25 points and 8 rebounds at UD. He’s reached double figures in 20 straight games, has 12 20+-point efforts and is averaging 21.7 ppg in CAA play.
• Omar Prewitt had 23 points, 7 boards and 6 assists at UD and posted his 3rd double-double (17 pts/11 reb) at JMU. He’s averaging 21.7 ppg and 8.0 rpg over his last 4 games.
• Nathan Knight is averaging 11.0 ppg in the past 6 games and tops the CAA with 1.4 bpg.
• Jack Whitman, who contributed 18 points and 9 rebounds at JMU, is shooting 70.7% in CAA play.
• Connor Burchfield hit 4-of-6 treys and scored 17 points at JMU. He’s shooting 48.8% from 3-point range for the year.
• W&M shot 51.9% from the floor at UD, which is the 14th time overall and 10th in the past 15 games it has topped 50%. The Tribe also has 13 games with 10+ treys.
Hofstra Notes:
• The Pride suffered close losses to CofC (76-72) and UNCW (83-76) last week. 13 of HU’s 16 CAA games have been decided by 8 pts. or less.
• 6'0" Soph. Guard Justin Wright-Foreman scored a team-high 26 points against CofC and UNCW. He’s reached double figures in 19 straight games and has tallied 20+ points in his last 9 contests. He’s averaging a league-high 22.7 ppg in CAA play.
• 6'9" Jr. Center Rokas Gustys posted double-doubles vs. CofC (16 pts/12 reb) and UNCW (14 pts/12 reb). He has 17 games with 10+ boards and has recorded 10 double-doubles. He is averaging 9.0/12.0 on the season.
• 6'2" Sr. Guard Brian Bernardi hit 7-of-12 threes and scored 21 points vs. CofC. The seven treys were one shy of his own school record. He’s had double figures in 9 of his past 12 contests. He averages 12.4 per game.
• 6'0" Sr. Guard Deron Powers (Williamsburg) dished out a season-high 11 assists vs. CofC and scored 15 vs. UNCW. He averages 12.7 points and 5.3 assists per game.
• 6'4" Fr. Guard Eli Pemberton added 17 points vs. UNCW, which was his 18th game in double figures. He averages 12.8 per game.
• HU made a season-high 25 FT’s vs. UNCW, with Wright-Foreman going 15-for-15.
FINALLY: Back in the friendly confines of The Kap, the Tribe needs to make sure there is no let up. The offense still needs to flow with the extra pass and cut down on the number of breakdowns that bring poor shots. They also need to do as good a job on Gustys as they did up on Long Island. Big week for the Good Guys. Play some Defense.
Go Tribe!
(This post was last modified: 02-20-2017 08:45 PM by billymac.)
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