Checking in on… the CAA
Posted by jstevrtc on January 18th, 2010
Ryan Restivo of the MAAC-based SienaSaintsBlog is the RTC correspondent for the Colonial Athletic Association. SienaSaintsBlog now features exclusive video!
Standings (as of 1/17):
- William & Mary (14-3, 6-1)
- Old Dominion (14-5, 6-1)
- George Mason (11-7, 6-1)
- Northeastern (11-7, 6-1)
- VCU (12-4, 4-3)
- Drexel (9-10, 4-3)
- Hofstra (9-10, 2-5)
- James Madison (8-9, 2-5)
- Georgia State (8-11 2-5)
- UNC Wilmington (6-11, 2-5)
- Delaware (5-13, 1-6)
- Towson (4-12, 1-6)
Important Games This Week:
Wed 1/20
William & Mary @ VCU
VCU is coming on strong in conference so far, winning three straight by double digits, and should challenge the Tribe. For William & Mary this will be a trial by fire to see if they are deserving of being one of the top four in the CAA.
Sat 1/23
VCU @ Northeastern
There will be TV for Comcast viewers and a few others, so do not miss this afternoon matchup. There’s a chance Northeastern will be going for an 11-game win streak to tie their 1987 record.
Old Dominion @ William & Mary
A tough week ends at home where the Tribe get the Monarchs in a huge matchup. Entering the week, the Tribe rank 9th in offensive efficiency, the Monarchs rank 10th in defensive efficiency.
Team Reviews:
William & Mary (6-1)
Quinn McDowell’s 19 points led the Tribe, among five in double figures, in an 85-78 win over James Madison on Thursday. The Tribe started to dominate in the first half, leading by as many as 16 until letting the Dukes back into the game late. David Schneider scored 17 for the Tribe. Saturday the Tribe went on a 12-1 run late in the second half to recapture the lead from Hofstra in a 73-66 win. Schneider and McDowell both had 22 points and 6 rebounds in the win as the Tribe shot 51.1% from the floor. The Tribe shoot 46.7% of their field goal attempts from three point range, good for fifth in the nation.
Old Dominion (6-1)
Junior Frank Hassell notched a career-high 15 rebounds as the Monarchs recorded an easy road win at UNC Wilmington by 18 Wednesday night. Senior Gerald Lee led the way with a team-high 16 points. On Saturday, junior Ben Finney scored a season-high 19 points as the Monarchs led by as much as 28 in a 71-48 win over Drexel. Lee scored 15 points and pulled down eight rebounds as the Monarchs out rebounded the Dragons by ten. Eleven of the Monarchs’ 14 wins have been by double-digits this season.
George Mason (6-1)
George Mason was able to overcome a deficit as large as six and got two clutch free throws from Ryan Pearson with 10 seconds left to give them the lead for good in a 52-49 win over Georgia State Wednesday. The Patriots went on a 10-4 run in three minutes to tie the game with 4:11 to go and held Georgia State to only one field goal in the final 4:11. Cam Long and Andre Cornelius tied for a team-high 14 points each. George Mason recorded a big road win on Saturday, an 11-point win at James Madison. Long tied a career high in points with 24 and Cornelius delivered 19 for the Patriots who shot their best field goal percentage on the road this year (52.8%).
Northeastern (6-1)
Nkem Ojougboh scored only four of his 15 points in the second half, but two of those were on a left elbow jumper with 1:01 left to give the Huskies a 59-55 win over Delaware Wednesday night. Matt Janning (15 points) added two clutch free throws late for the win. The Huskies went 0-10 from three-point range, the second time this season the Huskies did not score any three-point field goals. The Huskies have also had two games this season in which they’ve hit ten threes, as well. On Saturday, the Huskies took care of business going on a 15-4 second half run to seal a 79-56 win over UNC Wilmington. The Huskies took a lead as large as 35 led by Chaisson Allen’s team-high 14 points in 23 minutes of play. Northeastern has won nine straight games for the first time since 1987.
VCU (4-3)
After sitting due to a suspension Larry Sanders scored 22 of his career-high 31 points in the second half in an 81-68 road win over Hofstra on Tuesday night. The Rams came out on fire Saturday, shooting 69% in the first half and were able to shut down the Panthers in a 82-69 road win. The Rams, normally a halfcourt man-to-man team, went into a zone with 12 minutes to go in the first half. This helped them to go on a 15-4 run to establish a double-digit lead. Joey Rodriguez said the zone helped, “They were running their offense and getting the ball inside, and those big guys were scoring. Coach just said to go zone, and it was really effective. It was a really good coaching decision.” Rodriguez led the Rams with 21 points and Wake Forest transfer Jamie Skeen had a season-high 16 points. Sanders, playing with a right foot injury sustained in the first half, scored eight points and pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds.
Drexel (4-3)
The Dragons did not make a field goal in the final 7:20 but made 4-6 free throws in the final seven minutes to seal a 52-49 win over Towson. The Dragons went 0-10 from three point range, the second time this year they’ve had a three-less game. On Saturday Head Coach Brusier Flint said of his team, “We didn’t play with any toughness” in a 71-48 loss at Old Dominion. The Dragons had as many turnovers as field goals made (19) and had only one double digit scorer. Chris Fouch led the Dragons with 11 points on 4-15 shooting. This week the Dragons, who are 10th in the CAA in three point field goal percentage, shot 2 for 27 (7.4%) from three point range.
James Madison (2-5)
Denzel Bowles posted his fifth straight double-double, with 26 points and 13 rebounds, as the Dukes went on a 19-3 run to close the lead to four with under 30 seconds to go. James Madison, however, could not take advantage of their chances late and fell at William & Mary, 85-78, on Thursday night. The Dukes’ home fans drew a technical foul which helped George Mason pull away in an 11-point home loss to the Patriots on Saturday night. Bowles was held somewhat in check with 15 points. Julius Wells delivered a team-high 21 points, playing all but 36 seconds of the game.
Hofstra (2-5)
Without Chaz Williams and David Imes due to injuries, VCU shut down Rookie of the Week Halil Kanacevic to 1-6 shooting in a 13-point home loss Tuesday. Junior Charles Jenkins had a team-high 23 points on 7-18 shooting. Williams is out with a bad ankle and his timetable is unknown. Williams returned from an injury on Saturday, but Hofstra could not hold a late surge from the Tribe in a 73-66 loss at William & Mary. The Pride, despite outrebounding the Tribe by eight and holding opponents to a 38.6% field goal percentage this season, gave up a season high 51.1% which includes 60% from inside the arc. The Pride have lost five of their last six games.
Georgia State (2-5)
On Wendesday night, the Panthers saw a lead of six evaporate in the final seven minutes, making just three field goals in that time period in a 52-49 loss to George Mason. Joe Dukes had team-highs with 14 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Trae Goldston came off the bench for the first time this year and led the Panthers with 19 points on 6-12 shooting. However, the Rams were able to disrupt the Panthers with a zone shot 60% from the field in a 82-69 home loss Saturday. The Panthers have lost five straight games.
UNC Wilmington (2-5)
The Seahawks struggled again Wednesday; held just under seven minutes without a field goal early, they were outrebounded by ten and made just 33% of their shots in an 18-point home loss to Old Dominion. The Seahawks had more turnovers (17) than field goals made (16) in the game. UNCW has had more turnovers than field goals made in each of their last three games. On Saturday, the Seahawks got down early and could not recover in a 23-point loss to Northeastern. Shooting once again doomed the Seahawks, as they shot only 30.4% in the first half and went into halftime trailing 41-21. Chad Tomko scored a team-high 17 points on 5-10 shooting and John Fields posted a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Delaware (1-6)
On Wednesday night at Northeastern, Jawan Carter, who had a team-high 19 points for the Blue Hens, sank a three pointer with 1:17 to go tie the game at 55. Carter took the ball on the last possession but his pass to Adam Pegg was stolen by NE’s Matt Janning to seal a tough 59-55 loss. Delaware dropped a winnable game on Saturday at home to Towson, falling 71-68. The Blue Hens were held without a field goal in the final 4:16, scoring just one point in that time, which allowed the Tigers to come back. The Blue Hens have lost five straight games.
Towson (1-6)
Calvin Lee got a rebound off a missed free throw and, with little time, heaved a three quarter court shot that hit only the backboard to insure the Tigers a 52-49 loss at the hands of Drexel on Wednesday night. Despite holding the Dragons without a field goal over the last 7:20, the Tigers only went 4-13 from the field and could not close the deficit. Lee and Jarrel Smith both scored 11 points. On Saturday the Tigers got their first win in the CAA, led by Lee’s first career double-double, a three point road win over the Delaware Blue Hens. Josh Brinkley scored a career high 17 points on 8-9 shooting. The win snapped a seven game losing streak and a ten game losing streak in road games.
When not covering the CAA for Rush The Court, Ryan writes about Fantasy Baseball on Rotosavants.com and writes on his own website: RyanRestivo.com. Ryan is busy being immersed in baseball draft prep and has a very cool Fantasy Baseball project for drafts. You can contact him here.
