Colonial Athletic Conference Takes Bracket-Buster Hit
Brad Diamond Sports
George Mason
As we predicted the College of Charleston (Bobby Cremins) would sneak into Virginia and pull the outright upset against defensive(??) minded George Mason on Saturday. No doubt that really hurt the Patriots program, but adding insult to injury, William & Mary earlier in the week upset George Mason on the same floor. So, after winning 18 straight home games, the Patriots are quizzing with a tough road game at Delaware this Wednesday and a home date with Northeastern Saturday afternoon. Overall, the Patriots are 1-5 SU last six times out. The schedule gets more challenging with the CAA tournament starting March 5th in Richmond.
Old Dominion
The 71-62 win by Northern Iowa over ODU was magnificent when consider a major player of the 7 ' 0” variety was still on suspension. NIU broke a school record with 24 wins on the season. The Monarchs, who we supported in this office, looked in awe of the guard play of the Panthers. Important was lack of bench strength (again) with only Darius James chipping in with 9 points (3-8, 3-Balling). Only six players scored for ODU, while NIU had 9 of the 10 participants scoring. No question, the Panthers depth staggered this CAA unit. EMOTIONAL LETDOWN?? The Monarchs are on the road, while booked as a heavy favorite of thin Georgia State. It will be worth noting the performance that comes out of this pissed off CAA edition who just might have blown any at-large berth in the Big Dance. NIT??
William & Mary
One of our key web selections this past Friday was Iona over William & Mary in the Bracket-Busters card. The game was played up on the Island and the Gaels, with outstanding guard play, controlled the tempo throughout winning 71-62. Those who follow our MAAC selections weekly, take note of how Coach Willard ' s (Iona) club finishes this campaign. Back to Billy and Mary, who showed great fortitude going into Fairfax last Tuesday and upsetting, the aforementioned Patriots. However, the loss to the Gaels insures the kids from Williamsburg will need a CAA tournament sweep to go dancing. The Tribe has Towson on Wednesday at home (senior night) and then a roadie with UNC-Wilmington to complete the regular season. Despite the subtraction to Iona (it was after the GM upset), I really think the dark horse to win the Colonial Athletic Tournament is William & Mary. They are a streaky team from the shooting standpoint, so a major up-tick on the scoreboard could put this club in the Big Dance. Don ' t Laugh!
Northeastern
The 70-67 loss to traveling Louisiana Tech was destructive on two levels for the CAA Huskies (18-10). First off, the visitor scored the last 7 points of the game to steal one from a proud program and a sometimes abrasive head coach Billy Coen. As an assistant under Boston College mentor Al Skinner, Coen was noted more for his recruiting. Well, in just three short years he has put NE program on the map again, but the recent losses to Louisiana Tech and William & Mary (both close games) might provide some insight to the tournament results. If the Huskies can ' t win the close games, no bells from the Big Dance will be calling. Yes, Northeastern is another club that was hurt in the Bracket-Busters format, eliminating any chance of at-large berth. HC Coen will need to drive his club to the CAA Tournament Title or wait for a lesser spot in another venue. Put this in your notebooks, the Huskies have lost 6 games this season by 5 points or less.
Virginia Commonwealth
I saved the best for last. The Rams made some noise for the Colonial easily defeating Akron (MAC) 70-53 which illustrated the like-kind weakness in the MAC, 3-Ball shooting. On Saturday, the Zips were 3-20 from deep and simply could not keep up with the more athletic Rams, who were led by AA candidate Larry Saunders ' 15 points (four others scored in double figures). The Rams have more depth than most CAA clubs, so winning the conference tournament would be no surprise. VCU has two huge games remaining before the CAA tourney, home Wednesday against James Madison in a revenge situation, then Saturday road date with ODU. No doubt, the Bracket-Busters win over Akron helped the cause, but key wins are needed in back-to-back fashion this week for national respect.