Old Dominion

CAA Basketball Preview: 2009-10

CHN — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:55:26 -0500

With four teams legitimately battling for the CAA title, and top-notch players like Charles Jenkins and Chad Tomko on lesser teams, the CAA season should be one to remember.

Conference Rank: 13th

10 year average: 14th

CAA Conference Page

All-CAA Team
Pos.	Player	Team	Yr.

G	Charles Jenkins	Hofstra	Jr
G	Chad Tomko	UNC Wilmington	Sr
G/F	Matt Janning	Northeastern	Sr
F	Gerald Lee	Old Dominion	Sr
F	Larry Sanders	VCU	Jr

Player of the Year - Charles Jenkins Freshman of the Year - Luke Hancock (George Mason)
CHN Award Winners		Leaders
CHN All-Americans Larry Sanders Mid-Major All-Americans Charles Jenkins (2nd Team) Larry Sanders (2nd) Matt Janning Gerald Lee		Best Scorer Charles Jenkins 19.7 Best Rebounder: Larry Sanders Assists: Darius James

CAA Standings
Nat'l	Team	League	Tourney

48	Old Dominion	Colonial	1	NCAA
66	George Mason	Colonial	2	NIT
83	VCU	Colonial	3	NIT
102	Northeastern	Colonial	4	CBI/CIT
125	James Madison	Colonial	5	CBI/CIT
162	Hofstra	Colonial	6
172	Drexel	Colonial	7
229	Georgia State	Colonial	8
244	William & Mary	Colonial	9
251	Towson	Colonial	10
278	Delaware	Colonial	11
292	UNC Wilmington	Colonial	12

*Click on links for full Top 144 team preview

Poll: Who Do You Think Will Win the CAA?

College Basketball Preview - 348 Team Ranking - Alphabetical Ranks/Previews

Poll: Who Will Win the CAA?

Shawn Siegel — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 12:01:12 -0400

Old Dominion Basketball Preview: #48

Joel Welser — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 11:36:36 -0400

Overall Rank: #48

Conference Rank: #1 Colonial Athletic Association

2008-09: 25-10, 12-6

2008-09 postseason: CIT

Coach: Blaine Taylor (161-94 at Old Dominion, 303-159 overall)

Eight players started at least nine games for Old Dominion last year and all of them are back. While somebody like Northeastern, George Mason or VCU will step up and give the Monarchs a challenge for the Colonial Athletic Association crown, ODU is the clear favorite heading into the season.

Key Losses: F Jonathan Adams

Key Newcomers:

This team will not need much help from the newcomers with so much talent returning and it is possible that all three newcomers will find themselves on the bench for most of the season, or possibly be redshirted. Shooting guard Josh Hicks is the most likely player to see some minutes this year as an offensive spark off the bench. Redshirt freshman Nick Wright and Denmark native Anton Larsen will have more trouble finding playing time, but both have potential to make an impact in the future.

Backcourt:

The backcourt duo of Darius James and Marsharee Neely did not score too often, but both are important pieces of the puzzle. James is the only major returning contributor who shot under 40 percent from the floor. But that is not a big deal since he does more important things than shoot. James dished out 4.5 assists per game last year and did a great job keeping the turnovers to a minimum. If James can start hitting his outside shot a little more consistently, he will turn into a star. Marsharee Neely will be by his side. Neely is a more consistent long range shooter and should return to his starting role at the two guard spot. With Kent Bazemore available off the bench, the ODU backcourt is gaining experience and should be more productive than they were last season.

Frontcourt:

But the frontcourt might take away a lot of that production since Keyon Carter, Frank Hassell and Gerald Lee are all back. It is Lee who has turned into the star of the team after averaging an impressive 15.5 points and 5.7 rebounds last year. He is even one of the best free-throw shooters on the team and the 6-10 senior will get fouled a lot. Carter started 13 games last year and will probably be relegated to the bench in favor of Hassell again this season. Both are good scorers, but Carter can stretch out the defense with his outside shooting, while Hassell is tougher on the glass.

Who to Watch:

The frontcourt players are all good rebounders, but wing Ben Finney is the best of them all, leading the team with 6.0 per contest during the 2008-2009 campaign. Finney does more than rebound though. He pretty much does everything. He can hit the outside shot, use his 6-5 frame to attack the basket and even pass the ball quite effectively. It is Finney who holds this team together and does what needs to be done during any particular game.

Final Projection:

If Coach Blaine Taylor can avoid injuries and pretty much play with an eight man rotation all season long, this is more than just the team to beat in CAA. This could be a team that will make some noise in March or at least give somebody a big time scare. If Old Dominion plays as well as they did at times last year, they might not even need to win the conference tournament to get to the big dance, but they better win some big games in the non-conference portion of their schedule if they want to keep any at-large hopes alive.

Projected Post-season Tournament: NCAA

Projected Starting Five:

Darius James, Junior, Guard, 6.9 points per game

Marsharee Neely, Senior, Guard, 7.1 points per game

Ben Finney, Junior, Guard, 9.9 points per game

Keyon Carter, Junior, Forward, 7.9 points per game

Gerald Lee, Senior, Forward, 15.5 points per game

Next Top 144 Teams
49		50		51		52

College Basketball Preview - 144 Teams in 144 Days - Alphabetical Ranks/Previews

CAA Championship: Preview & Prediction

Evan Dorey — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 12:10:25 -0500

This is one in a series of conference tournament previews, in which I run down all the teams involved, give a brief statistical review and present the log5 projections, using in-conference offensive and defensive efficiency. The basic log5 methodology comes from Bill James, and this is an area Ken Pomeroy has looked at in the past as well. I claim nothing new in the application, but obviously with slightly different methodologies, these numbers may differ from others you find. I don’t claim to be an expert on any particular conference, and I’m sure there are some mis-characterizations on some players I’ve seen sparingly at best, so please add your thoughts in the comments. Anyway, with no further ado, the preview follows below:

Colonial Athletic

The CAA Tournament gives semifinal byes to the top 4 teams, and all games are hosted in Richmond; not in VCU’s home arena, but only a few minutes away. For that reason, I’ve decided to treat the games as semi-home games, giving a partial bonus to VCU’s chances.

#	Team	QF	SF	F	W
1	Virginia Commonwealth	100.00%	94.56%	83.70%	58.63%
2	George Mason	100.00%	83.28%	52.85%	22.67%
3	Northeastern	100.00%	70.20%	33.03%	11.76%
4	Old Dominion	100.00%	65.32%	10.70%	2.94%
5	Hofstra	89.78%	34.02%	3.86%	0.74%
6	Drexel	86.17%	28.77%	9.19%	2.16%
7	James Madison	76.07%	15.00%	4.62%	0.85%
8	Georgia St.	46.20%	2.32%	0.69%	0.08%
9	Delaware	53.80%	3.12%	1.03%	0.14%
10	William & Mary	23.93%	1.72%	0.22%	0.02%
11	Towson	13.83%	1.03%	0.08%	0.00%
12	NC Wilmington	10.22%	0.66%	0.01%	0.00%

VCU is indeed the favorite, as we’d expect from the hosts and champions, but I was rather surprised just how good its odds are. Both GMU and Northeastern will provide tough potential challenges, while ODU are primed for an early defeat, and Drexel could be a bit of a Cinderella.

#1 – Virginia Commonwealth Rams (21-9, 14-4) ; Efficiency Margin: +0.165

Last NCAA Tournament bid: 2008 (2^nd Round)

With the tournament being hosted in Richmond, VCU will be heavily favored to back up its regular season crown with a CAA tournament title. The Rams are the conference’s best defenders, holding opponents to just 38% shooting, and leading the league in forcing turnovers. They also don’t commit many turnovers themselves, and are very good three point shooters, but their rebounding leaves something to be desired.

Players to watch:

6-2 SR Eric Maynor, 22.4 PPG, 3.6 RPG,6.2 APG, 1.8 SPG, 52.3 eFG% - There aren’t many conferences in the country where the player of the year is quite this clear-cut, but I don’t think anyone could make a reasonable argument that there’s been any CAA player better than Maynor. He leads the conference in scoring and in assists, and manages to shoot an excellent percentage despite taking almost a third of his team’s shots. His assist total is pretty good, but his rate is even better, one of the very best in the nation, and he manages to distribute the ball while rarely turning it over. When he was the ‘Dagger’ against Duke, he was a good player, but now he’s stepped up to be one of the very best scorers in the country.

6-9 SO Larry Sanders, 11.2 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 2.6 BPG, 51.5 eFG% - There’s not a lot of space to be a great player with Maynor on your team, but Sanders has managed to do it, one of the conference’s best rebounders and shot-blockers. He’s a pretty solid offensive contributor; a good inside foil for Maynor, but he often struggles with foul trouble, and without him the Rams are a lot more vulnerable inside.

#2 – George Mason Patriots (20-9, 13-5) ; Efficiency Margin: +0.143

Last NCAA Tournament bid: 2008 (1^st Round)

The Patriots played fairly poorly on the road all season, and a couple of bad losses left them short of the conference title. They actually won every game they played on their home floor, but a 2-4 stretch in the middle of the conference season was a killer to their chances. George Mason has had the CAA’s best offense, shooting over 52% from inside the arc and avoiding turnovers, and its defense has also been solid: the Patriots cause opponents a lot of problems on long-range shots.

Players to watch:

6-7 SR Darryl Monroe, 10.7 PPG, 8.3 RPG,1.2 SPG, 57.9 eFG% - Monroe may be a senior, but he’s a Ju-Co transfer who arrived the year after the run to the Final Four. After redshirting last season, he’s looking for his first NCAA appearance, and has been a big player for the Patriots, leading the team in rebounding while shooting a stellar 58% from the field.

6-4 SO Cameron Long, 11.8 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 3.2 APG, 54.0 eFG% - Long is the team’s leading scorer, and one of the few Patriots who is a serious three-point threat. He’s also a solid inside shooter who can chip in with some assists, and while he often doesn’t score a whole lot, he can easily break out for 15-20 points.

#3 – Northeastern Huskies (18-11, 12-6) ; Efficiency Margin: +0.112

Last NCAA Tournament bid: 1991 (1^st Round)

Northeastern looked like it would have the inside track for a conference title when it sat at 10-1, with just one game left against the other top contenders. The Husky offense came unravelled down the stretch, though, and a few bad losses dropped it to third. They are the only team that looks like challenging the top two, but may not have the form to get to the final. It’s tempting to say that Northeastern has an excellent defensive team, but that’s mostly due to its slow pace; the Huskies have been better on the offensive end, decent shooters who earn a lot of points at the free throw line. They do force a lot of turnovers, but aren’t great rebounders and allow opponents to shoot 34% from behind the arc.

Players to watch:

6-4 JR Matt Janning, 14.3 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 47.4 eFG% - Janning leads the Huskies in scoring, but hasn’t been a particularly effective player, just barely making a third of his threes and well south of 50% on his two-pointers. He doesn’t contribute too much in other areas of the box-score, and in the last few games has seen his scoring fall off.

6-4 Chaisson Allen, 9.8 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 3.0 APG, 1.7 SPG, 44.9 eFG% - Allen is a pretty weak shooter, and doesn’t score much, but leads the Huskies in rebounds, assists and steals, though a lot of this has more to do with how much he plays, as his rates in those areas are fairly pedestrian.

#4 – Old Dominion Monarchs (20-9, 12-6) ; Efficiency Margin: +0.032

Last NCAA Tournament bid: 2007 (1^st Round)

From sitting at 5-5 with a month to go in the season, the Monarchs put together as good a run as any team in the conference, losing just once the rest of the way. Old Dominion takes the ball inside a lot, and while it doesn’t make a huge percentage of shots, it does crash the offensive glass really well. Its free throw shooting may be a liability down the stretch, among the worst in the league. While the Monarchs are good at attacking inside, their defense isn’t nearly as good on the interior, though it does defend the outside well; forcing a lot of turnovers and rarely fouling.

Players to watch:

6-10 JR Gerald Lee, 15.7 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 57.0 eFG% - It’s rare to find a 6-10 player at this level who isn’t a great rebounder, but that’s exactly what Lee has been. The Finnish national’s strength is in his offensive game, as he’s a 57% shooter who sees a lot of the ball.

6-5 SO Ben Finney, 10.8 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 1.6 SPG, 53.6 eFG% - Finney may be five inches shorter than Lee, but he has out-rebounded him on the season, and has easily been the team’s best player on the offensive glass. He’s also a pretty efficient scorer, having a decent three-point touch to go with good scoring ability inside. His 58% free throw shooting is a big problem, though.

#5 – Hofstra Pride (20-10, 11-7) ; Efficiency Margin: -0.010

Last NCAA Tournament bid: 2001 (1^st Round)

Hofstra has the honor of being Ken Pomeroy’s luckiest team in the entire country, as it’s been outscored by an average of two points in conference play, and yet finished fifth in the standings. The Pride lucked out with a weak draw, but don’t look likely to challenge the better teams. They have one of the conference’s weakest offenses, as they are both terrible shooters (including 43% from two) and turn the ball over a lot. The one bright spot is rebounding, but when you miss as often as the Pride do, it’s not that much of a benefit. Hofstra has some serious defensive problems as well, committing a lot of fouls and allowing opponents to score pretty easily from behind the arc.

Players to watch:

6-3 SO Charles Jenkins, 19.2 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 4.2 APG, 1.5 SPG, 42.9 eFG% - Jenkins is second in the CAA in scoring, though this is more about the sophomore’s role in the offense than his ability to shoot. His percentages are decent but not great, though an 81% showing at the stripe sure helps. Still, he’s an excellent distributor of the ball who can potentially go off for a big number, and has twice put up more than 30 in the month of February.

6-10 SO Greg Washington, 5.5 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 2.3 BPG, 49.6 eFG% - Washington doesn’t score much, but he doesn’t need to, as the core of his game is rebounding, where he leads the team despite often playing less than 20 minutes, and shot-blocking, where he puts up one of the best rates in the country. Watch out for the Dragons in two years, when both Jenkins and Washington are seniors.

#6 – Drexel Dragons (15-13, 10-8) ; Efficiency Margin: +0.050

Last NCAA Tournament bid: 1996 (2^nd Round)

If you want to pick a team outside the top 4 that could cause a surprise, Drexel might be worth a shot, though a 2-5 finish to the conference season doesn’t give much hope to its chances. The Dragons managed to break the .500 mark despite being one of the country’s worst shooting teams. There are two reasons: they are good offensive rebounders, and their opponents have been just about as bad making shots as the Dragons have. It’s very rare to see a team lead the conference in two-point defense and finish last in two-point offense, but somehow Drexel manages it.

Players to watch:

5-10 SO Jamie Harris, 8.0 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 48.0 eFG% - Harris is Drexel’s most efficient player, and when you consider that he turns the ball over a fair amount and shoots just 41% from two-point range, this is something that should really concern the Dragons. He’s the team’s only three-point shooter who hits more than a third of attempts, but his role in the offense is too small to really help the team.

6-3 SR Scott Rodgers, 13.7 PPG,5.1 RPG, 3.1 APG, 39.0 eFG% - Rodgers is a little better than his pathetic eFG% would suggest, leading the team in assists and putting up a pretty good percentage at the free throw line, but he still wastes a lot of possessions on missed shots.

#7 – James Madison Dukes (18-13, 9-9) ; Efficiency Margin: +0.022

Last NCAA Tournament bid: 1994 (1^st Round)

James Madison is a deserved .500 team, finishing pretty close to even in EM over the course of the conference schedule. It’s a pretty good shooting team that turns the ball over a lot, and it also manages to hold opponents to a conference-best 28% from behind the arc. The Dukes’ problem has been defending the inside, as their inability to stop shots or get a lot of rebounds has held them back.

Players to watch:

6-3 JR Pierre Curtis, 8.5 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 2.8 APG, 52.9 eFG% - Curtis doesn’t tend to take a lot of shots, but has a good percentage on the ones he does take, and manages to get to the free throw line a lot, where he’s an 81% shooter.

6-6 SR Juwann James, 15.8 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 59.7 eFG% - James missed much of the month of November, but on his return he brought an excellent dimension to the Dukes’ offense, shooting nearly 60% from the field and doing a great job on the offensive glass. He’s averaged 20 points in the month of February, and is the team’s best offensive threat.

#8 – Georgia St. Panthers (11-19, 8-10) ; Efficiency Margin: -0.058

Last NCAA Tournament bid: 2001 (2^nd Round)

Now that we’ve reached the #8 seed, the teams begin to head south, with all sporting fairly large negative efficiency margins. All the teams previously discussed had defended at at least a point-per-possession or better, with Georgia St. being the first to fall short of that standard. The Panthers are a decent shooting team from the field, but have hit under 60% from the free throw line, and have been poor offensive rebounders. Defensively, opponents take a lot of long distance shots against Georgia St., which probably works out for the best, given how weak its interior play has been.

Players to watch:

6-1 SR Joe Dukes, 12.3 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 4.4 APG, 1.8 SPG, 47.3 eFG% - Dukes leads the team in points, assists and steals, but his shooting has been somewhat spotty, and his role has gradually shrunk over the course of the season.

6-0 JR Trae Goldston, 11.0 PPG, 1.5 RPG, 50.9 eFG% - Goldston’s overall numbers have been pretty solid, but he’s tended to be very inconsistent, with periods where he’s a big scorer sandwiched between stretches where his shot hasn’t been going. If he’s on, he can put up 15-20 on any team in the tournament, but that’s a pretty big if.

#9 – Delaware Blue Hens (13-18, 6-12) ; Efficiency Margin: -0.046

Last NCAA Tournament bid: 1999 (1^st Round)

Delaware may sit towards the bottom of the conference standings, but it certainly has the potential to cause some upsets, as it is the only team outside the top four to have beaten both George Mason and VCU this season. The Blue Hens put up a lot of threes (something we’ll see often towards the bottom of the conference), and make them at a pretty good clip, but have little interior presence, especially in terms of rebounding. They tend to give opponents a big possession advantage, through the dangerous combination of not grabbing misses and forcing few turnovers.

Players to watch:

6-6 SR Marc Egerson, 15.5 PPG, 10.4 RPG, 1.4 SPG, 48.5 eFG% - The conferences’ leading rebounder, Egerson is the only man in the CAA to average a double-double, but doesn’t do it in the way you might expect, as he’s an excellent defensive rebounder who gets a lot of offense from behind the arc.

5-10 JR Brian Johnson, 10.2 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 5.0 APG, 53.6 eFG% - Johnson has been a very solid guard for the Hens, especially down the stretch, averaging nearly 15 points in his last eight games. He’s a 40% three point shooter who gets a lot of assists, while controlling turnovers fairly effectively.

#10 – William & Mary Tribe (10-19, 5-13) ; Efficiency Margin: -0.075

Last NCAA Tournament bid: None

The Tribe enter the tournament on what is for them a roll, having crawled their way back to respectability after a 1-10 start. Frankly, you wouldn’t expect very much out of a team that takes most of its shots from behind the arc, but shoots just 31% from there. They’ve been an OK defensive team, but have allowed opponents to shoot pretty well from long-distance. The change in William & Mary’s recent positive stretch has been putting together better shooting with control of turnovers; they’d occasionally done each thing for the first part of the season, but getting them to happen in the same game was uncommon until the last month or so.

Players to watch:

6-3 JR David Schneider, 14.4 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 2.8 APG, 1.3 SPG, 44.7 eFG% - Schnieder is an ugly shooter, just 35% overall and 30% from behind the arc, but he puts up a good assist rate while committing few turnovers (just 43 all season), which ends up making him a pretty efficient player despite his problems.

6-5 FR Quinn McDowell, 9.5 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 57.8 eFG% - McDowell doesn’t play a huge role in the offense as a freshman, but when he does takes shots, he usually hits them, putting up the highest three-point shooting numbers on the team and hitting 57% of his shots inside.

#11 – Towson Tigers (10-21, 5-13) ; Efficiency Margin: -0.107

Last NCAA Tournament bid: 1991 (1^st Round)

Towson has had a difficult season, and are deserved 11^th place finishers after having a lot of trouble of the defensive end. Teams have been able to exploit the Tigers inside , shooting 52%, and they don’t do anything else well enough to make up for those troubles. Their offense has been respectable, not making a lot of shots, but getting a lot of chances by limiting turnovers and picking up a good number of rebounds.

Players to watch:

6-8 SR Junior Hairston, 12.9 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 1.9 BPG, 47.1 eFG% - If Hairston took less three-pointers, he’d be one of the conference’s better players overall, but with his 30% shooting serving as an anchor to his efficiency, he’ll have to settle for excellent rebounding and block rates. He also holds onto the ball pretty well, and his shooting is the only serious weakness in his statistical profile.

6-7 JR Jarrel Smith, 11.1 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 46.4 eFG% - Smith doesn’t have any particular area in which he’s that strong, but he’s a decent shooter who doesn’t make a lot of mistakes, which is a relative rarity on this team.

#12 – NC Wilmington Seahawks (7-24, 3-15) ; Efficiency Margin: -0.075

Last NCAA Tournament bid: 2006 (1^st Round)

The Seahawks have easily been the worst team in the league, ranked at the bottom of the conference on both ends of the floor, and their win over VCU stands out as their only half-decent result. They allow opponents to shoot a absurd 58% from two-point range, and aren’t much better outside the arc. A lot of this can be linked to their pace of play, the conference’s fastest. This creates a lot of turnovers, but NC Wilmington pays for it by getting badly outrebounded, and is unable to create for itself the same high percentage chances it gives up.

Players to watch:

5-11 SO Chad Tomko, 15.8 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 4.5 APG, 2.2 SPG, 46.6 eFG% - Tomko takes a lot of shots when he’s on the floor, and while he doesn’t shoot a great percentage, he makes up for it with excellent assist and steal rates.

6-3 JR Johnny Wolf, 13.7 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 50.6 eFG% - Wolf takes most of his shots from behind the arc, and is one of the rare Seahawks that manages to hit more than a third of these attempts. The most interesting thing about Wolf may be how infrequently he fouls; since fouling out twice in the first three games, he has committed just 21 in the next 27 games.

My statistical all-Colonial team:

Virginia Commonwealth SR G Eric Maynor, 22.4 PPG, 3.6 RPG,6.2 APG, 1.8 SPG, 52.3 eFG%

Delaware SR G Marc Egerson, 15.5 PPG, 10.4 RPG, 1.4 SPG, 48.5 eFG%

Hofstra SO G Charles Jenkins, 19.2 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 4.2 APG, 1.5 SPG, 42.9 eFG%

George Mason SR F Darryl Monroe, 10.7 PPG, 8.3 RPG,1.2 SPG, 57.9 eFG%

Old Dominion JR F Gerald Lee, 15.7 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 57.0 eFG%

2009 CAA Tournament: Schedule/Seedings Announced

Press Release — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 13:20:25 -0500

The pairings are set for the 2009 CAA Men's Basketball Championship, which will be held March 6-9 at the Richmond Coliseum in Richmond, Va.

First-round tournament action tips off on Friday, March 6 as #8 Georgia State (11-19, 8-10 in CAA) meets #9 Delaware (13-18, 6-12 in CAA) at Noon, followed by #5 Hofstra (20-10, 11-7 in CAA) against #12 UNC Wilmington (7-24, 3-15 in CAA) at 2:30 p.m. In the night session, #7 James Madison (18-13, 9-9 in CAA) takes on #10 William and Mary (10-19, 5-13 in CAA) at 6 p.m., followed by #6 Drexel (15-13, 10-8 in CAA) versus #11 Towson (10-21, 5-13 in CAA) at 8:30 p.m.

In the quarterfinals on Saturday, March 7, #1 VCU (21-9, 14-4 in CAA) faces the Georgia State/Delaware winner at Noon, followed by #4 Old Dominion (20-9, 12-6 in CAA) against the Hofstra/UNCW winner at 2:30 p.m. In the night session, #2 George Mason (20-9, 13-5 in CAA) meets the JMU/William & Mary winner at 6 p.m., followed by #3 Northeastern (18-11, 12-6 in CAA) against the Drexel/Towson winner at 8:30 p.m.

The semifinal contests will take place at 3 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 8 and the CAA men's basketball championship game is set for 7 p.m. on Monday, March 9.

Tickets are $21 per session and $70 for a tournament book that includes all 11 games. Tickets are available at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling 1-800-745-3000.

High-Major Player of the Week: Kenny Hasbrouck

Joey Whelan — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 17:13:11 -0500

Kenny Hasbrouck – Siena

2 Game Averages: 27 points, 3 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.5 steals, 58.8% FG, 46.2% 3P FG

The Saints continue to roll through the MAAC pushing their conference record to 12-0, 3 ½ games ahead of second place Niagara. Senior guard Kenny Hasbrouck was responsible for pacing his team to their two most recent wins, netting a total of 54 points in victories over Canisius and St. Peter’s. The Maryland native was extremely efficient with the basketball only committing three turnovers while shooting well above his season averages from the floor and beyond the arc. The 33 points he totaled in the St. Peter’s win on Monday was a season high for Hasbrouck.

Finalists

Jamar Briscoe – North Carolina Central

2 Game Averages: 28 points, 1.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2.5 steals, 52.6% FG, 56.3% 3P FG

It has been a rough stretch for the Eagles, losers of five straight, but newcomer Jamar Briscoe has been a bright spot for the program. The undersized freshman put on an impressive scoring display this week, torching Savannah State and North Carolina State for 28 points each. Briscoe was lights out from the floor, hitting 20 of 38 field goal attempts, including going 9 of 16 from three.

Jimmer Fredette – BYU

2 Game Averages: 24 points, 2 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.5 steals, 73.9% FG, 72.7% 3P FG

There is no questioning that Lee Cummard is the leader of the Cougars and arguably one of the best shooters out west. This week however, teammate Jimmer Fredette was just a little bit better. The sophomore guard literally could not miss, hitting nearly three-quarters of his shot attempts from the field and from beyond the arc. Most importantly, Fredette helped pull BYU out of a slight skid that saw them lose three out of four games.

Gerald Lee – Old Dominion

2 Game Averages: 21 points, 6 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1 block, 53.6% FG

The Monarchs talented big man helped them pick up a pair of crucial wins in the CAA this past week, including an upset of George Mason. The wins kept ODU in the upper half of what is yet again proving to be a competitive conference race. The junior was a near perfect 9 of 11 from the field for 23 points in the win over Mason and followed that up with a dominating 19-point, 11-rebound showing in a much easier win over Towson last night.

Last Week's Winner: Jamal Barney - Loyola (MD)

CAA Basketball Preview: 08-09

Shawn Siegel — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 10:31:23 -0500

Conference Rank: 12th

10 year average: 14th

CAA Conference Page

All-CAA Team
Pos.	Player	Team	Yr.

G	Eric Maynor	VCU	Sr
G	Charles Jenkins	Hofstra	So
G	Abdulai Jalloh	James Madison	Sr
G/F	Matt Janning	Northeastern	Jr
F	Gerald Lee	Old Dominion	Jr
CHN Award Winners		Returning Leaders
High-Major All-Americans Matt Janning Charles Jenkins Eric Maynor* * High-Major POY		Points: Eric Maynor 17.8 Rebounds: Junior Hairston (Tow) 8.9 Assists: Eric Maynor 5.4

CAA Standings
Nat'l	Team	League	Tourney

48	VCU	Colonial	1	NCAA
69	Northeastern	Colonial	2	NIT
83	Old Dominion	Colonial	3	NIT
102	George Mason**	Colonial	4
148	Georgia State	Colonial	5
159	Hofstra	Colonial	6
177	Delaware	Colonial	7
193	UNC Wilmington	Colonial	8
218	William & Mary	Colonial	9
245	Drexel	Colonial	10
267	James Madison	Colonial	11
289	Towson	Colonial	12

*Click on links for full Top 144 team preview

** returning conference champion

Poll: Who Do You Think Will Win the CAA?

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Top Six Non-BCS Players: Maynor

State of 08: Virginia

Rise & Fall: CAA

Daily Conference Poll: Who Will Win the CAA?

Shawn Siegel — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 12:13:29 -0400

State of '08: Virginia

Shawn Siegel — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 18:11:10 -0400

Duke or Carolina? BC or UMASS? Gonzaga or Washington.. or Washington State? What is the best program in each state? While there's not much competition in Hawaii.. there are great debates to be had in loaded regions like California, North Carolina, and Texas. The State of '08 is a ranking of every program in every state.. based mostly on recent success (the last five years) mixed in with subjective factors such as conference prestige, historical success, and overall program direction.

For more info, check out the State of '08 introduction.

VIRGINIA

VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH - VCU is in the middle of a great run that started in 2002. Besides making the 2004 & 2007 tourneys, the Rams also made the NIT in 2005 & 2008. More impressively, 6 of the last 7 teams have finished in the RPI Top 90 as the program has had a lot of success in non-conference play.

GEORGE MASON - Everyone remembers GMU's shocking 2006 Final Four run, but that was not an isolated case of success under Jim Larranaga. In the last decade, the Patriots have made 4 NCAA Tournaments, 2 NITs, and finished at or above .500 in CAA play every season

VIRGINIA - In the last 10 years Virginia has made 2 NCAA Tournaments (winning just 1 game) and a bunch of NITs, but haven't really had a breakout season (at least by BCS standards). Similarly, they've never really been very bad.. expect for now. Last year's team finished below the RPI Top 100 (127th) for the 1st time since the 90's, and this year's team will most likely not even crack the Top 150 or so.

OLD DOMINION - Except for a bad spell in the early part of the 2000s, ODU has been consistently solid over the last 20 years. The '05 & '07 teams made the Big Dance, while the '04 & '06 squads finished in the RPI Top 100. After some slippage last year, ODU is once again considered one of the league favorites (behind VCU).

VIRGINIA TECH - The Hokies have come a long way under Seth Greenberg, making the move to the ACC and making the Big Dance in 2007 (their first in a dozen years). The last 2 teams were also the first in that long gap to finish in the RPI Top 100 or to finish above .500 in conference play. This year's team should once again be competitive in league play.

6. RICHMOND - Richmond has some good history, but the last four years have been rather blah. 2007 was the program's worst year in a decade, and this year's team might have to settle once again for the CBI at best.

7. HAMPTON - The Pirates have been the MEAC's best team over the last decade. In 2001, 2002, and 2006, they won the league tournament and made other close runs in 2003 & 2005 (& were good once again last year before being shocked by Coppin in the league quarters). No surprise that most experts project them to win the league once again in 2009.

8. LIBERTY - Beginning in 2003, Liberty has been consistently solid in the Big South, never finishing below .500. In 2004, they reached the NCAA Tournament after blowing through the conference tournament.

9. WILLIAM & MARY - The Tribe are still looking for that elusive first NCAA trip, but have been making strides the last few seasons. Last year's team made a surprising CAA title game run, after finishing over .500 in league play for the first time in over a decade. They've also dominated the recent series against JMU.

10. JAMES MADISON - A once decent program, JMU has endured a brutal slump that began around '01 or '02. Last year's team won 10 games for the first time since 2003, and also set a high in that period with a whopping 5 wins in the CAA. New coach Matt Brady was hired in the off-season to turn things around.

11. RADFORD - Outside of a mediocre 2006 campaign, the last handful of seasons have been very uneventful for Radford fans. 5 out of 6 seasons seasons below .500 in Big South play, and a pair of consecutive 300+ RPI seasons won't cut it.

12. VMI - VMI is known for high-scoring offenses, but unfortunately they're not known for wins. From 2004-2006, this was one of the country's worst teams. Although the last two years have been better (thanks in part to Reggie Williams), there's been little to write home about outside of a decent run in the 07 conference tourney.

13. NORFOLK STATE - The Spartans have been very consistent over the last decade, hovering around 10 or wins in the MEAC. In that time they never finished below .500 in conference play, but also haven't really come close to making the Big Dance. Last year's win over Richmond was probably their best non-conference win since 2002 (when they beat ODU on the road).

14. LONGWOOD - The Lancers are still trying to find their groove in D1. They've never finished above 300th in the RPI or won more than 8 D1 games. At least they knocked off in-state rivals Liberty & Norfolk State last year.

Last: Utah - Next: Washington

State of '08: The Introduction (& State list/links)

2008 BracketBusters Participants (Home/Away)

Press Release — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 11:13:42 -0400

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Bristol, CT -- The seventh annual ESPNU BracketBusters event, a two-day men’s college basketball extravaganza pitting potential NCAA Tournament hopefuls against each other on February 20-21, will feature 13 nationally televised games – on either ESPN2, ESPNU or ESPN360.com -- selected from a pool of 102 teams.

For the fourth straight year, ESPNU, the 24-hour college sports network, will televise five BracketBusters games while ESPN360.com, ESPN’s customized broadband service, will offer two. ESPN2 will televise six contests. ESPN360.com will also simulcast ESPN2’s six telecasts. The 13 BracketBusters matchups will be announced February 2, while game time and network assignments will be announced February 9.

The 102-team field is highlighted by the return of last season’s BracketBusters participant Davidson, who made it to the Elite Eight in last year’s NCAA Tournament and will feature 12 teams from the Mid-American and Colonial Athletic; 10 from the Ohio Valley, Missouri Valley, Horizon League and Metro Atlantic Athletic; nine from the Western Athletic and Big West; four from the America East and Southern; three from the Big South; two from the Big Sky, Summit League and West Coast; and one from the Mid-Eastern Athletic, Northeast and Patriot.

As part of the agreement, all 13 of the BracketBusters home teams, as well as the remaining 38 home squads, will play a “return” game at the home facility of their opponent in November or December of the following season.

This year’s BracketBusters pool features teams with 77 appearances in the last five NCAA Tournaments, including a team in the Final Four - George Mason (2006); one in the Elite Eight – Davidson (2008); and six Sweet Sixteen squads – Butler (2007), Southern Illinois (2007), Bradley (2006), Wichita State (2006), UW-Milwaukee (2005) and Nevada (2004).

2009 BracketBusters Participation Pool Conference # teams Home teams Road teams America East 4 (2-2) Vermont UMBC Boston University U of Hartford Big Sky 2 (1-1) Portland State Montana State Big South 3 (1-2) Winthrop Liberty Gardner-Webb Big West 9 (4-5) Cal Poly CS-Fullerton Long Beach State CS-Northridge UC-Davis UC-Irvine UC-Santa Barbara UC-Riverside Pacific Colonial 12 (6-6) Drexel Delaware James Madison George Mason UNC-Wilmington Georgia State Old Dominion Hofstra Towson Northeastern William & Mary VCU Horizon 10 (6-4) Loyola Butler UIC Cleveland State Valparaiso Detroit Wright State Green Bay Youngstown State Milwaukee Metro Atlantic 10 (5-5) Fairfield Canisius Marist Iona Niagara Loyola Rider Manhattan Siena Saint Peter’s Mid-American 12 (6-6) Ball State Akron Central Michigan Buffalo Eastern Michigan Ohio Western Michigan Miami (OH) Bowling Green Northern Illinois Kent State Toledo MEAC 1 (0-1) Morgan State Missouri Valley 10 (5-5) Creighton Bradley Drake Illinois State Evansville Missouri State Indiana State Northern Iowa Wichita State Southern Illinois Northeast 1 (0-1) Fairleigh Dickinson OVC 10 (5-5) Murray State Morehead State Eastern Kentucky Tennessee Tech Southeast Missouri Austin Peay Tennessee State Eastern Illinois UT-Martin Jacksonville State Patriot 1 (1-0) Bucknell Southern 4 (2-2) Davidson Appalachian State Georgia Southern Elon Summit League 2 (0-2) North Dakota State South Dakota State West Coast 2 (2-0) San Diego St. Mary’s WAC 9 (5-4) Hawaii Boise State Idaho Fresno Nevada LA Tech New Mexico State Utah State San Jose State 51 teams 51 teams