Jeff Borzello and I made a whirlwind trip around Tier 2 in Tuesday's podcast and we both indicated a preference for the Colonial Athletic Association. It's not a just a conference, it's an association. The next day in the Sporting News, Mike DeCourcy also mentioned the CAA as the tournament he was most looking forward to. Richmond will be the place to be this weekend as the conference with seven teams with winning records has teams face off in a single elimination tournament. It's going to be fantastic.
Friday, March 5
G1 - #8 Towson vs. #9 UNC Wilmington - Noon
G2 - #5 VCU vs. #12 Delaware - 2:30 p.m.
G3 - #7 Hofstra vs. #10 Georgia State - 6 p.m.
G4 - #6 Drexel vs. #11 James Madison - 8:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 6
G5 - #1 Old Dominion vs. Towson/UNCW winner - Noon
G6 - #4 George Mason vs. VCU/Delaware winner - 2:30 p.m.
G7 - #2 Northeastern vs. Hofstra/Georgia State winner - 6 p.m.
G8 - #3 William and Mary vs. Drexel/JMU winner - 8:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 7
G9 - Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6 - 3 p.m.
G10 - Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 8 - 5:30 p.m.
Monday, March 8
CAA Championship Game - 7 p.m.
Sleeper - Hofstra Pride
It is hard to write about the Pride without mentioning Charles Jenkins, their do-it-all guard. I am going to write more about Jenkins in a moment (he certainly deserves his own paragraph). The Pride are the sleeper because they have won six in a row and nine of their last ten. They beat their first round opponent Georgia State convincingly in the season finale and won at Northeastern in the penultimate game of the season. Beyond Jenkins, they have guard Chaz Williams who sets up the offense with 4.2 assists, freshman forward Halil Kanacevic, who provides 8.6 points and 7.6 rebounds; and defensive enforcer Greg Washington, who blocks 2.8 shots. Some may point to VCU having the home court advantage, but Hofstra is the hottest.
Bust - George Mason Patriots
This may seem like sacrilege to anoint the Patriots as this year's bust in the Colonial tournament, since every team since 2006 wants to be this year's George Mason. While the Patriots did finish with the third best record in conference, they played their best basketball in January. In February, they won just two of eight games. Granted, four of their losses were by four or fewer points, but their two wins were by a combined seven points, including an overtime win vs. VCU. While winning or losing close games may be a product of luck more than anything else, if a team strings enough losses in a row, it is probably a lack of skill rather than luck. Leading scorer Cam Long had five games of five or fewer points and Ryan Pearson was constantly in foul trouble. Add to the personnel problems, that their likely first round opponent, VCU, will have a home crowd and I don't see the Patriots lasting a long time in the tournament.
Players to watch
Charles Jenkins, G, Hofstra Pride
If you played fantasy college hoops this year and had the Colonial as part of your league, you know all about Jenkins. Perhaps I don't need to write more about him, but the word needs to be spread about the 6-foot-3 junior. He averaged a scintillating 20.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.8 steals and was surely the MVP of many fantasy leagues. He finished on an upswing as well with six straight 20-point games, including four of at least 29 points. If the Pride can win two games, he will garner more attention in his third year for the Pride.
Larry Sanders, F/C, VCU Rams
With Eric Maynor plying his trade in the NBA, Sanders was given more offensive responsibility for the Rams and he took advantage. The 6-foot-11 defensive menace showed he had some offensive chops as well by providing 14.8 points on 54.9% shooting from the field. Sanders had a career-high 31 points in a Jan. 5 win at Hofstra in which he hit 11 of 13 shots. He still blocked shots as well with 2.5 swats. Sanders did tail off in his final three games and was in foul trouble throughout the final stanza of the season. He was suspended for the first meeting against Delaware, so the Blue Hens might see a dangerous Sanders in their first encounter.
Matt Janning, G/F, Northeastern Huskies
Some pundits picked the multi-talented Husky swingman as the preseason conference Player of the Year. While the 6-foot-4 Janning was not as statistically impressive as Jenkins, he played well in his senior year. Janning averaged 15.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 3.1 assists and helped Northeastern to the second best record in conference. Janning finished the season well with six games of 17 or more points in the last nine games of the season. A four-year starter, Janning has seen all that the Colonial can offer and won't be surprised by anything. I won't be surprised if he takes home the tournament MVP award.
David Schneider, G, William & Mary Tribe
Just as I like big guys who can pass, I like guards who can rebound. The 6-foot-3 Tribesman can crash the boards and provided six rebounds per game, which was second on the team behind forward Marcus Kitts (at 6.5). The senior also provided a sweet one-two scoring punch with swingman Quinn McDowell. The two players combined for 30.3 points. Schneider finished the season with four straight 15-point games and hit 13 three-pointers in his last three games. If Drexel beats James Madison, the Dragons can look forward to playing Schneider who averaged 16 points and 8.5 rebounds against them.
Denzel Bowles, F, James Madison Dukes
It's unlikely that the Dukes will beat Drexel (the Dragons swept the season series), but it may be that one game of production from Bowles will be enough. The Texas A&M transfer lit up the Colonial, often in a losing effort. The Dukes only won four conference games, but Bowles consistently put up enormous fantasy numbers. He finished the season with averages of 20.9 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks. He did not play particularly well against Drexel with 32 points and 10 rebounds in two games, but I would be remiss from a fantasy standpoint if I didn't mention him.