By Matthew Braine
Hardtazz1@aol.com
December 31st, 2005
CAA: More
Than A Mid-Major
In an age where a Bucknell can knock off Kansas or a
Vermont can eliminate a powerhouse like Syracuse, mid-major conferences
are becoming a bigger threat every year. Selection Sunday always has a
slew of mid-major's on the bubble and West Coast Conference's Gonzaga has
been a perennial championship contender for the last few years. With 22
official mid-major conferences around the country creating upsets every
year, perhaps no other conference is more underrated than the Colonial
Athletic Association.
An official mid-major poll at
http://www.collegeinsider.com/ has five CAA teams (Hofstra, Old
Dominion, Virginia Commonwealth, UNC Wilmington, Drexel) in the top 25.
That's tied with Missouri Valley Conference for the most in the poll.
This year, CAA teams have notched quality wins over top major conference
opponents. Some noteworthy victories include Virginia Commonwealth's win
over Houston, who defeated ranked opponents LSU and Arizona. Old Dominion
also put a 44 point (87-43) beating on DePaul who defeated #18 Wake Forest
earlier this season. Drexel, although ultimately losing in the waning
minutes, gave Duke, the number one team in the nation a run for their
money in the NIT Season Tip-Off semifinal
Local rivals between mid-major and major teams have
become more competitive over the last few years. For instance Indiana
State was able to shock #16 Indiana this year and Northern Iowa defeated
Iowa as well. Some CAA teams such as Hofstra have been able to turn some
of these once lopsided rivalries into even match-ups. Local Big East
opponent St.John's has been a staple on the Hofstra schedule for over 15
years with the Red Storm dominating thoroughly. However, over the last
six years Hofstra has taken four of the contests including the last three
in a row. Perhaps no victory represented a changing of the guard more
thoroughly than this years meeting. With the Pride down at the half, they
outscored the Red Storm 37-11 in the second half en route to a 64-51 win
Another presence that the CAA has made is in the
post-season. Last year's NCAA tournament saw Michigan State in the final
four, but what some may forget is that the Old Dominion Monarchs gave the
Spartans a scare in the first round. In fact, it took a Shannon Brown
spinning lay-up three point play to steal the momentum from the nagging
Monarchs in the closing minutes of an 89-81 victory. In other post-season
play, the Hofstra Pride played a seesaw game against eventual NIT champion
St. Joe's last year before falling in the final moments.
As far as talent goes, the CAA has some of the top
talent in the nation. Hofstra guard Loren Stokes was ranked one of the
top 12 point guards in the nation this preseason at
http://www.cbs.sportsline.com/. Northeastern guard Jose Juan Barea is
the number nine scorer in the nation (22.8 ppg) and Delaware forward
Harding Nana is the number two rebounder in the nation at 12.3 rpg.
Underrated may be an understatement for this
outstanding conference. Unfortunately, for most of the CAA teams, their
bubbles will burst come tournament time. Very rarely do mid-major's get
the at large bid that they deserve. However, with mid-major's as a whole
making a charge at greatness and the CAA in particular roughing up
unsuspecting opponents, the scenery of the college basketball landscape
could be ripe for a change. Without a doubt, the CAA will be one of the
conferences leading the way.
