All-Access at the CAA Tournament: HoopsHD interviews Northeastern dancer Lexie Vasciannie

Posted on March 9, 2020 by Jon Teitel

Conference tournaments are about basketball but also so much more: the fans, bands, cheerleaders, etc. The CAA Tournament is taking place in Washington, DC this weekend and we could not be more excited to be there in person! HoopsHD will be covering all of the angles so you can look forward to a cascade of coverage in the days ahead. Jon Teitel continues our series with Northeastern dancer Lexie Vasciannie as she talked about being a high school valedictorian and going to Salt Lake City for last year’s NCAA tourney.

You were valedictorian of your high school class: how do you balance your work in the classroom with all of your other activities? I try to schedule everything in advance and have a plan/calendar for when everything is. I enjoy dancing but am also in a sorority and a pre-dental club so I try to maintain all of my commitments.

You grew up in New York: what made you choose Northeastern? I grew up near Buffalo in a small city so I wanted to be in a bigger city. Boston feels like home: not too big and not too small.  My brother went here so that made it an easier decision.

You are a biology major: what do you want to do after graduation? I also have a business/psychology minor and am in the process of applying to dental schools. I worked in a pediatric dental office as well as at Tufts Dental School.

What was the atmosphere like on campus last week now that your team is ready to defend its tourney title from last year? Everyone was really excited to see us begin our journey again. Senior Night was really special and we want to continue that momentum.

What has been your favorite moment so far this season: beating Harvard, Senior Night, other? Senior Night: it is always nice to see my friends at their final game and watch all of their families come out to support them.

How did you 1st get into dancing, and what is the best part of being on the dance team? I 1st started dancing when I was 2 years old. I looked into different dance team websites, tried out, and was so excited to make the team. We do a lot of things together at practices/games as well as outside sports and really support each other.

Will we see your group doing anything extra-special for the CAA Tournament this week? Yes: we prepared a special routine that incorporates our cheer team/mascot, which is an important thing for us to do.

What do you think the role of a college dance team is today? I think the role is to cheer on the team on but we also maintain the energy during timeouts/halftime while keeping the crowd entertained.

How does your school decide who gets to go to DC, and what does it mean to you to see your group doing their thing in front of a national TV audience? The same 6 girls are going to the men’s and women’s tourneys this year. The coach chose us based on several factors including leadership/performance/availability. We want to put on our best performance and put our best foot forward in representing our school.

What are your memories of your team’s postseason run last March (you had an 8-PT win over Hofstra in the CAA tourney title game, then flew to Salt Lake City for the NCAA tourney before losing to Kansas)? I watched the Hofstra game from home and was very excited when they won. I did get to go to Salt Lake City and it was an amazing opportunity. Everyone at the game as well as those of us back home were excited.

Any predictions for tonight’s game vs. Elon, and if your team makes it to the title game tomorrow then do you think a lot of fans might come down from Boston to check it out in person? I hope we bring the same energy tonight that we did last night. If they make it to the title game I think more fans might come down like they did in Charleston last March.

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All-Access at the CAA Tournament: HoopsHD interviews James Madison cheerleader Lauren Kammerman

Posted on March 9, 2020 by Jon Teitel

Conference tournaments are about basketball but also so much more: the fans, bands, cheerleaders, etc. The CAA Tournament is taking place in Washington, DC this weekend and we could not be more excited to be there in person! HoopsHD will be covering all of the angles so you can look forward to a cascade of coverage in the days ahead. Jon Teitel continues our series with James Madison cheerleader Lauren Kammerman as she talked about choosing JMU and how she got into cheerleading.

You grew up in Virginia: what made you choose JMU? I originally had not even considered coming to JMU, but my mom suggested that we visit and take a tour. My tour was absolutely amazing: more specifically I noticed the beautiful campus, the friendly people, and the school spirit that is so unique to JMU. I was blown away at the fact that I could feel so at home and so included on a campus full of people I had never met. Right after my tour, I knew that JMU was the place for me. My love for my school has grown every day since I stepped foot on our campus: I would not want to be anywhere else.

How did you 1st get into cheerleading, and what is the best part? I started in gymnastics when I was about 3 years old and continued it until I was about 12. I had never heard of competitive cheerleading until a friend of mine introduced me to it. After sitting in on a few practices, I quit gymnastics and took up competitive or “all-star” cheerleading. I competed in all-star cheerleading for the next 6 years. During that time, I was also part of my high school’s varsity cheer team for four years during high school. I think the best part is being able to represent my school, as well as being able to get up close and personal with the “action”, whether that be on the field or on the court. It is such a unique experience to have a front-row seat to every football and basketball game!

You are majoring in Communication/Media Studies: what do you want to do after graduation? As of right now I would love to work in the public relations field. Ideally, I would love to work in business advertising. Fortunately, I still have two more years at this amazing university to figure out exactly what I want to do, as well as gain experience that will help me get to where I want to go.

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Conference Tourney Previews (Part 2 of 2)

Posted on March 9, 2020 by Jon Teitel

HoopsHD continues the greatest month of the year with Part 2 of its preview of every single conference tourney in the nation. See below for Jon Teitel’s predictions for the 18 conference tourneys getting underway this week, and if you want to check his picks for the 14 other conference tourneys that started last week you can find them at: https://hoopshd.com/2020/03/02/conference-tourney-previews-part-1-of-2-5

AAC tourney predicted champ: Houston (#2 seed)
Dates: March 12-15
Location: Fort Worth, TX
2019 tourney champ: Cincinnati (#2 seed)
Fun fact: 4 different champs in 6 years that tourney has existed
Seeding: 5 of past 6 champs were top-2 seed
Tulsa deserves a lot of credit, including its 2-PT win over Houston on January 11th, but after getting destroyed by 33 PTS in the rematch on the road on February 19th I am not yet a believer. The bad news for the Cougars is that they lost 5 games in conference play, but the good news is that all 5 were on the road and the only 1 in the state of Texas was by a single PT in OT at SMU. Coach Kelvin Sampson led his team to the Sweet 16 last year and is just as balanced this year with an offensive and defensive efficiency that are each top-25 in the nation. They only start 1 senior but have 1 of the best 6th men in the country in FR SG Caleb Mills. If their fans are willing to drive 4 hours north to Fort Worth and Dejon Jarreau stops biting opponents they should be okay.

A-10 tourney predicted champ: Dayton (#1 seed)
Dates: March 11-15
Location: Brooklyn, NY
2019 tourney champ: St. Louis (#6 seed)
Fun fact: 8 different champs in past 10 years
Seeding: each of past 6 champs were #3-6 seed
This tourney has not been kind to #1 seeds but in this instance Dayton is so far above the rest of the pack that it should be able to rewrite history. The Flyers got a good taste for the postseason with 5 of their 1st 11 games at neutral sites, then have not taken their foot off the pedal ever since then by winning 20 in a row to finish the regular season. Coach Anthony Grant’s squad did not even win a single conference tourney game last March but thanks to SO PF Obi Toppin playing like an All-American they are unstoppable in the paint (62.3 2P% is #1 in the nation). Their only 2 losses were in OT by a combined 8 PTS at neutral sites before Christmas against a pair of NCAA tourney teams in Kansas/Colorado so this team barely even remembers what it feels like to lose a game.

ACC tourney predicted champ: Virginia (#2 seed)
Dates: March 10-14
Location: Greensboro, NC
2019 tourney champ: Duke (#3 seed)
Fun fact: 6 different champs in past 8 years (after only Duke/North Carolina for previous 7 years)
Seeding: 14 of past 15 champs were top-3 seed
Ancient history says that a top-3 seed will win this tourney, and recent history shows that Florida State/Louisville are each stumbling toward the finish line. Duke might get some home cooking in Greensboro but the defending tourney champ showed their home-court heroism by losing 3 straight road games in February. In contrast, the Cavaliers started 9-1, then struggled in the middle of the season before winning 11 of their final 12. Hiring Coach Tony Bennett in 2009 was probably the best thing that ever happened to this program, but the historic upset at the hands of UMBC 2 Marches ago might be a close 2nd, as the team rebounded to win 32 of its 40 games vs. ACC opponents since then thanks to the #1 defensive efficiency in the nation.

Big 12 tourney predicted champ: Kansas (#1 seed)
Dates: March 11-14
Location: Kansas City, MO
2019 tourney champ: Iowa State (#5 seed)
Fun fact: only 5 champs ever are Iowa State/Kansas/Missouri/Oklahoma/Oklahoma State
Seeding: 20 of 23 all-time champs were top-3 seed
Baylor appeared ready to finally win this tournament when they were 24-1 in mid-February but backed into March by losing 3 of their final 5. I assumed that Kansas would receive some bad karma after their ugly fight with Kansas State on January 21st but the Jayhawks won each of their final 13 to assume their usual place atop the Big 12 standings. This tourney remains in Kansas City for the 11th straight March, which gives Coach Bill Self’s team a semi-home-court advantage just 45 miles east of the Phog. As long as Udoka Azubuike is healthy and does not have to take any clutch-time FTs (he is shooting 44.1 FT%), Kansas should be able to avenge their title game loss to Iowa State last March and become the #1 overall seed for the NCAA tourney.

Big East tourney predicted champ: Providence (#4 seed)
Dates: March 11-14
Location: New York, NY
2019 tourney champ: Villanova (#1 seed)
Fun fact: Villanova has been in title game each of past 5 years (4 wins and 2-PT loss to Seton Hall)
Seeding: 8 of past 10 champs were not #1 seed
Villanova coach Jay Wright has won 14 of his past 15 games in this tourney so it is probably unwise to pick against him. However, after watching the Wildcats defeat an injury-depleted Georgetown team by a single point last Saturday in person I must admit that a little doubt has crept in. In contrast, a Providence team that lost to my Quakers AT HOME in November has turned its entire season around by winning each of its final 6 games including vs. Seton Hall at home and on the road at Villanova. Coach Ed Cooley only has 1 freshman in his rotation so expect his experienced crew to keep frying everyone at MSG.

Big Sky tourney predicted champ: Eastern Washington (#1 seed)
Dates: March 9-14
Location: Boise, ID
2019 tourney champ: Montana (#1 seed)
Fun fact: Montana has been in title game 8 times in past 10 years (5 wins and 3 losses by combined 12 PTS)
Seeding: 8 of past 9 champs were #1 seed
Montana has owned this tourney for the past decade, but since they got swept by Northern Colorado and since Northern Colorado got swept by Eastern Washington I think the Eagles will finally soar. It also helps that #1 seeds usually win this tourney.  Coach Shantay Legans has to be feeling confident after winning 14 of his final 16 games. 6’8” Aussie import Mason Peatling is shooting 64.7 FG% and is #2 on the team in APG so even if you guard him down under he can still pass the ball out back.

Big 10 tourney predicted champ: Michigan State (#2 seed)
Dates: March 11-15
Location: Indianapolis, IN
2019 tourney champ: Michigan State (#1 seed)
Fun fact: Michigan State has been in title game 5 times in past 8 years (4 wins and an OT loss)
Seeding: 5 of past 7 champs were not #1 seed
Welcome back to the Tom Izzo Invitational, as the Spartans have won this tourney 4 times in the past 8 years. Michigan State had a rough start to February by losing 4 of 5 (including 2 at home) but got back on track with 5 straight wins to finish the regular season. Cassius Winston is the best SR PG in the country, and now that FR SG Rocket Watts is averaging 17 PPG in his last 3 games he can take a little pressure of his backcourt mate. Wisconsin would also be a smart pick due to their 8-game winning streak but the fact that they lost each of their 4 games before that streak looks like a big red flag.

Big West tourney predicted champ: UC-Irvine (#1 seed)
Dates: March 12-14
Location: Anaheim, CA
2019 tourney champ: UC-Irvine (#1 seed)
Fun fact: 8 different champs in past 9 years
Seeding: 5 of past 7 champs were not #1 seed

You cannot just pick #1 seeds across the board, but when the regular season champ finishes 3 games clear of everyone else in the league then do not fix what is not broken. The Anteaters were actually much better last year while going 31-6 yet again have 1 of the best interior defenses in the nation (40.8 2P% allowed is #2 in D-1). Coach Russell Turner should have plenty of fans in attendance if they join him for the easy 15-mile drive north to the tourney in Anaheim, but if not then his team will still feel confident away from home due to their experience with a starting 5 that features 4 seniors/1 junior. If they need toughness then they can turn to FR G Jeron Artest, whose father Ron (aka Metta World Peace) remains 1 of the toughest players in the history of the sport.

C-USA tourney predicted champ: Western Kentucky (#2 seed)
Dates: March 11-14
Location: Frisco, TX
2019 tourney champ: Old Dominion (#1 seed)
Fun fact: 6 different champs in past 7 years
Seeding: 6 of past 8 champs were top-2 seed
The bad news for WKU coach Rick Stansbury is that his best player (Charles Bassey) has not played in 3 months due to a season-ending injury. The good news is that not only was his team able to go 13-5 in conference play, but they swept Louisiana Tech and were an OT road loss away from also sweeping North Texas. High seeds do very well in this tourney, and if the Hilltoppers go down to the wire then they will probably come out on top because their 78.7 FT% is #7 in the country. I am a little nervous for any team with a FR PG (Jordan Rawls) but he has a bunch of junior/senior starters around him who will lead by example.

Ivy tourney predicted champ: Harvard (#2 seed)
Dates: March 14-15
Location: Cambridge, MA
2019 tourney champ: Yale (#2 seed)
Fun fact: 3 different champs in past 3 years
Seeding: each of 3 all-time champs were top-2 seed
I would like Penn’s chances better if they were still playing this tourney in the Palestra, but now that it rotates through 8 different cities I think Harvard will use its home-court advantage, well, to its advantage. Even though the Quakers SHOULD have swept Yale last month before an all-time choke job on February 28th, Yale is good enough as the defending champ to make it back to the title game. The Harvard-Princeton 2 vs. 3 game could be the best of the entire tourney, as each team had a 1-PT home win vs. the other team last month. Harvard lost 3 of 4 starting in late-January but bounced back to win 7 of their final 8. They also swept Yale this year and should see their home fans storming their home court next Sunday. If 2018 Ivy POY Seth Towns had not missed the past TWO years due to a knee injury (and then entered the transfer portal in January), this team would have a legitimate shot of winning not just the Ivy tourney but also an NCAA tourney game.

MAAC tourney predicted champ: Siena (#1 seed)
Dates: March 10-14
Location: Atlantic City, NJ
2019 tourney champ: Iona (#1 seed)
Fun fact: Iona has been in title game each of past 7 years (5 wins and 2 losses to Manhattan by combined 13 PTS)
Seeding: 8 of past 9 champs were 2-4 seed
For the 1st time in a while you should NOT go ahead and advance Iona to the title game, especially after finishing with their worst record since former coach Jeff Ruland went 2-28 in 2007. This tourney has not been kind to #1 seeds but since stumbling out of the conference blocks with a 3-4 record they have righted the ship by winning 12 of their last 13. I usually do not like 1st year coaches but Carm Maciariello has got the job done with a bunch of interchangeable pieces in a starting lineup where everyone stands 6’4”-6’8”. Unless Chad puts the jinx on them in Atlantic City, I would gamble that there is a good chance that the Saints will go marching in…to the NCAA tourney.

MAC tourney predicted champ: Akron (#1 seed)
Dates: March 9-14
Location: Campus sites and Cleveland, OH
2019 tourney champ: Buffalo (#1 seed)
Fun fact: Buffalo has won tourney in 4 of past 5 years
Seeding: 7 of past 8 champs were top-3 seed
For the 1st time in a while you should NOT go ahead and pick Buffalo to win it all, as another 27+ win season is not in the cards now that Nate Oats is not on their sideline. As impressive as Bowling Green’s 18-PT victory over Akron was on February 25th, their unimpressive 3-game losing streak to end the season simply cannot be avoided. Coach John Groce toughened up his team in non-conference play with losses at West Virginia and Louisville by 10 PTS or less, and they are zipping right along having won 8 of their last 9. 5’8” JR PG Loren Cristian Jackson had a poor 9-PT/2-9 FG effort in a 1-PT home win over Eastern Michigan to start February, then had an offensive explosion by scoring 28+ PTS in 4 of his next 6 games. This team is hungry to win, which is to be expected when your 2nd-best player is named Tyler CHEESE!

MEAC tourney predicted champ: NC Central (#1 seed)
Dates: March 10-14
Location: Norfolk, VA
2019 tourney champ: NC Central (#3 seed)
Fun fact: only 2 champs in past 6 years are Hampton/NC Central
Seeding: 6 of past 9 champs were not #1 seed
The Eagles are the only team in the past 6 years who have won this tourney and are still in this conference (Hampton left in 2018) so they make the most sense. Coach LeVelle Moton has only had 1 losing season during his 9 years in the MEAC so if there is anyone who knows how to beat other teams in this tourney it is him. The Eagles were terrible in non-conference play with only 1 win vs. a D-1 team (a 9-PT home win over a USC Upstate team that went on to lose 20 games), but turned things around in conference play by winning 10 of their final 11. They are bottom-20 in the nation in FT shooting at 64.4% but as long as they can avoid a close game they should emerge victorious. If not then they will have the entire offseason to wonder what could have been had Randy Miller not been sidelined since early-December.

Pac-12 predicted champ: Oregon (#1 seed)
Dates: March 11-14
Location: Las Vegas, NV
2019 tourney champ: Oregon (#6 seed)
Fun fact: only 2 champs in past 5 years are Arizona/Oregon
Seeding: 5 of past 6 champs were top-2 seed
If you think I am picking Arizona you are crazy, which means Oregon is the pick. The Ducks lost 3 of 5 to start February but then won 4 in a row to clinch the #1 seed. SR PG Payton Pritchard is playing like an All-American: I watched him score 38 PTS in 45 minutes in an OT win in Tucson on February 22nd and he was simply unstoppable. Oregon has lived and died by the 3 this year, but it has mostly been living because their 39.6 3P% is #2 in the nation. Coach Dana Altman won this tourney last year as the #6 seed so just imagine what he will do now that he has the best team in the conference!

SEC predicted champ: Kentucky (#1 seed)
Dates: March 11-15
Location: Nashville, TN
2019 tourney champ: Auburn (#5 seed)
Fun fact: Kentucky has been in 8 of past 10 title games (6 wins and 2 losses by combined 8 PTS)
Seeding: 6 of past 9 champs were not #1 seed
Kentucky hopes to avoid Tennessee because the Vols just upset them in Lexington last Tuesday and could feel very confident if there is a rematch in Nashville this week. I am so used to seeing a bunch of young Kentucky 1-and-done players who cannot make FTs that it is incomprehensible that their 79.7 FT% is #2 in the country. The X-factor is obviously PG Ashton Hagans, who missed the season finale at Florida due to personal reasons, but since the Wildcats won that game on the road without him I guess it is not as much of a dagger as some thought. If you do not think that Big Blue Nation will win it all then at least put them in the title game because they are there WAY more often than not.

Southland predicted champ: Stephen F. Austin (#1 seed)
Dates: March 11-15
Location: Katy, TX
2019 tourney champ: Abilene Christian (#2 seed)
Fun fact: Stephen F. Austin has won tourney in 4 of past 6 years
Seeding: each of past 8 champs were top-3 seed
When the Lumberjacks had a 2-PT OT win at Cameron Indoor Stadium on November 26th it seemed like 1 of the biggest upsets in college basketball history. Since that game Duke has gone 19-5…and SFA has gone 23-2! Coach Kyle Keller’s team is top-25 in the nation with 37.4 3P% and have won 21 of 22 with the only loss coming by a single PT to Texas A&M Corpus-Christi (which is the REAL upset of the season!). SR F Kevon Harris has been a great veteran leader but if he duplicates his 8-PT/2-9 FG performance vs. Sam Houston State last Saturday then this team could be vulnerable.

SWAC predicted champ: Southern (#2 seed)
Dates: March 10-14
Location: Campus sites and Birmingham, AL
2019 tourney champ: Prairie View (#1 seed)
Fun fact: only 3 champs in past 7 years are Prairie View/Southern/Texas Southern
Seeding: 5 of past 8 champs were #1 seed
This is why you wait until the end of the season to make your pick: Prairie View was sitting at 14-2 in conference play just a few days ago before a pair of 9-PT road losses put quite a damper on their expectations. On the other hand, you might have given up on Southern after they started the season 3-13 but after winning 13 of their final 15 they have all the momentum in the world (including an OT win over the Panthers in the regular season finale last Saturday). Coach Sean Woods lost 25 games last year but thanks to a veteran starting 5 of 3 juniors/2 seniors it looks like they learned a lot from last year’s mistakes.

WAC predicted champ: New Mexico State (#1 seed)
Dates: March 11-14
Location: Las Vegas, NV
2019 tourney champ: New Mexico State (#1 seed)
Fun fact: New Mexico State has been in 11 of past 13 title games (9 wins and 2 losses by combined 8 PTS)
Seeding: each of past 6 champs were top-2 seed
You should spend your time/energy focusing on the difficult conference tourney picks: this is not 1 of them. New Mexico State gets to the title game almost every single year and then wins it a majority of the time: look it up. In his 3 years as head coach in Las Cruces, Coach Chris Jans has won 83 of his 100 games including a ridiculous 49 of 52 vs. conference foes. He had 8 different players start at least 12 games this year so even if 1-2 of his guys has an off-night he still has plenty of other experienced players to rely upon.

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Bracketology 2020: March Madness Predictions (Version 10.1)

Posted on March 9, 2020 by Jon Teitel

Welcome to the greatest month of the year! We are only 6 days away from Selection Sunday as we continue to make our NCAA tourney predictions. Last March HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel correctly picked 67 of the 68 teams that made the tourney, 63 of which were within 1 spot of their actual seed, including 45 right on the money. He will spend the upcoming days predicting which 68 teams will hear their names called on March 15th. See below for his list of who would make the cut if they picked the field today and if you agree or disagree then feel free to tweet us. To see how we stack up with other websites (ranked 7th out of 133 entries over the past 5 years), check out: www.bracketmatrix.com

SEED: TEAM (CONFERENCE)
1: Kansas (Big 12)
1: Baylor (Big 12)
1: Gonzaga (WCC)
1: Dayton (A-10)

2: San Diego State (MWC)
2: Florida State (ACC)
2: Villanova (Big East)
2: Creighton (Big East)

3: Duke (ACC)
3: Seton Hall (Big East)
3: Michigan State (Big 10)
3: Maryland (Big 10)

4: Kentucky (SEC)
4: Louisville (ACC)
4: Oregon (Pac-12)
4: Ohio State (Big 10)

5: Wisconsin (Big 10)
5: Butler (Big East)
5: BYU (WCC)
5: Auburn (SEC)

6: Penn State (Big 10)
6: Iowa (Big 10)
6: Michigan (Big 10)
6: West Virginia (Big 12)

7: Colorado (Pac-12)
7: Virginia (ACC)
7: Illinois (Big 10)
7: Arizona (Pac-12)

8: Houston (AAC)
8: LSU (SEC)
8: St. Mary’s (WCC)
8: Marquette (Big East)

9: Providence (Big East)
9: Florida (SEC)
9: USC (Pac-12)
9: Rutgers (Big 10)

10: Oklahoma (Big 12)
10: Indiana (Big 10)
10: Texas Tech (Big 12)
10: Arizona State (Pac-12)

11: Utah State (MWC): AUTO-BID
11: Xavier (Big East)
11: Wichita State (AAC)
11: Stanford (Pac-12)
11: Texas (Big 12)
11: Richmond (A-10)

12: East Tennessee State (SoCon)
12: Yale (Ivy)
12: Liberty (Atlantic Sun): AUTO-BID
12: Stephen F. Austin (Southland)

13: Vermont (America East)
13: Akron (MAC)
13: North Texas (C-USA)
13: New Mexico State (WAC)

14: Belmont (OVC): AUTO-BID
14: Bradley (MVC): AUTO-BID
14: Hofstra (CAA)
14: Colgate (Patriot)

15: Wright State (Horizon)
15: UC Irvine (Big West)
15: North Dakota State (Summit)
15: Eastern Washington (Big Sky)

16: Little Rock (Sun Belt)
16: Winthrop (Big South): AUTO-BID
16: St. Francis PA (NEC)
16: Siena (MAAC)
16: Prairie View (SWAC)
16: North Carolina Central (MEAC)

Posted in Bracketology | Comments Off on Bracketology 2020: March Madness Predictions (Version 10.1)

Championship Week Video Notebook: Day 6

Posted on March 8, 2020 by David Griggs

Welcome Selection Committee Members!!  The regular season is over, there is a lot of information to consider, and we are here to tell you how to consider it!!

CLICK HERE for Jon Teitel’s latest Bracket Projections

CLICK HERE for the Hoops HD SURVIVAL BOARD

CLICK HERE for all the Conference Tournament Info

We had three conference championship games today as Bradley won the Missouri Valley, Winthrop got it done in the Big South, and Liberty won decisively in the Atlantic Sun.  It was also a big quarterfinal day in the Colonial and we had semifinal action in the SoCon and Patriot League.  We discuss all that, as well as all of the other conference tournament action and the last day of regular season action.

And for all you radio lovers, below is an audio only version of the show…

Below is today’s conference tourney action…

SOCON CHAMPIONSHIP

WEST COAST SEMIFINALS

COLONIAL SEMIFINALS

HORIZON LEAGUE SEMIFINALS

SUMMIT LEAGUE SEMIFINALS

SUN BELT 2ND ROUND

MAC OPENING ROUND

Posted in Bracketology, Championship Week Video Notebook, Hoops HD Report, Podcasts, Videocasts | Comments Off on Championship Week Video Notebook: Day 6

All-Access at the CAA Tournament: HoopsHD survives a quadruple-header

Posted on March 8, 2020 by Jon Teitel

Conference tournaments are about basketball but also so much more: the fans, bands, cheerleaders, etc. The CAA Tournament is taking place in Washington, DC this weekend and we could not be more excited to be there in person! HoopsHD will be covering all of the angles so you can look forward to a cascade of coverage in the days ahead. Jon Teitel continues our series with Sunday’s quarterfinal quadrupler:

The pregame “meal” was a box lunch with a cold sandwich/chips/cookie: better than nothing…I guess. If you are looking for some below-average basketball, 2 of the biggest factors are playing the earliest game of the day and doing so after setting your clock ahead 1 hour for daylight savings. Let’s tip off a LONG day of basketball with Game #1 (Drexel-Hofstra), which as I could have predicted in advance gave us a mediocre halftime score of 25-22 with the Pride in the lead:

Hampton, VA native Jalen Ray made his triumphant return to the DC/MD/VA area with several layups and a 3 in the opening stanza for Hofstra, while Drexel’s James Butler was well on his way to a double-double with a couple of jump shots and a REB/putback. Dragon SR Zach Walton also had a double-double and showed off his entire repertoire in the 2nd half with a corner 3, a tip-in, a finger roll, and a lovely reverse layup. Hofstra did not get a single bench point but was still able to pull away thanks to SR Eli Pemberton: he had a personal 7-0 run coming out of the break to extend his team’s lead to 32-22 and cause Drexel coach Zach Spiker to call a timeout:

Pemberton continued making layup after layup the rest of the afternoon to finish with a game-high 19 PTS, a career-high-tying 12 REB, and not a single turnover as his team cruised to a 61-43 win. Not pictured: a guy in the Hofstra band who plays the cowbell: if you got the fever, he has the cure!

In the postgame press conference I asked Pemberton whether tonight’s great effort coming on the heels of his career-high 35-PT Senior Night effort the previous weekend was evidence that he is playing the best basketball of his life. He agreed that he is playing the best that he ever has, and credits it to just listening to his coaches. This is his last go-around and he is going to give 110% because his brothers are fighting hard for him:

Game #2 (Delaware-Charleston) promised to be the best offensive battle of the day featuring 2 of the best scorers in the conference. Cougars’ SR Grant Riller watched his team get off to an 8-0 start and made a 3 and a pair of jumpers in the 1st half. However, Blue Hens’ JR Nate Darling made a trio of his own trifectas en route to a 15-PT 1st half that finished with his team up 32-27. The 2 stars kept it going all day long both inside and outside, with Riller winning the individual scoring battle 26-25. However, Delaware F Justyn Mutts did a little of everything (12 PTS/11 REB/5 AST/3 STL/2 BLK) to help his team hold on for a 78-67 win.

After noticing that the Blue Hens had 3 players/1 assistant coach who attended DeMatha Catholic High School in Maryland, I asked Coach Martin Ingelsby about the importance of the connection between the 2 schools. He told a story about being a grad assistant at Wagner when his current assistant coach Corey McCrae was a freshman player there. He told Corey that if he ever became a head coach then he wanted him to be 1 of his assistants. The reason he keeps the pipeline alive is that it is important to get guys from a winning culture along the I-95 corridor:

Dinner was a huge improvement over lunch: brisket/chicken/mac & cheese/corn/cornbread! The attendance improved as well for Game #3 (Elon-William & Mary) as all the members of the tribe came together to form a sea of green and gold in the arena:

Before each game the CAA presented its all-conference awards to the players about to take the court. In the case of W&M SR PF Nathan Knight, it took about 30 seconds to announce all of his awards (including offensive/defensive POY!):

Not pictured: the female W&M cheerleaders getting together to lift their male counterparts into the air! Elon’s Saturday night hero (SR Marcus Sheffield) picked up right where his game-winner left off with a pair of early 3s and a jump shot to give his team a 13-2 lead as the arena got noticeably quieter. Knight is the big man who gets the headlines but it was 6’8” Italian Stallion Federico Poser who came off the bench for the Phoenix and made a jump hook, a REB/putback, and a pair of jumpers to help his team maintain a 6-PT lead entering halftime. The only thing closer than the score was when the mascots got in each other’s grills:

William & Mary finally realized that it should get the ball to Knight as often as possible in the 2nd half, and he made a ton of dunks/layups and 10-11 FTs for a 24-PT/10-REB evening before fouling out in the final minutes. Sheffield kept getting into the lane and making floaters once he got there but it was his teammate Hunter Woods who stole the show: 20 PTS/5-7 3PM/a career-high 15 REB and only 1 TO while playing all 40 minutes. An impressive stat line for anyone, but when you consider that Woods is a 6’6’ FR and the Tribe’s frontline includes a 6’10” PF and a 7’ C it is simply incredible, and that kind of effort is how you pull off a 68-63 upset with your season on the line and become the 1st #7 seed to reach the CAA semifinals since 2004.

I literally could not comprehend how Woods was able to do that so I requested an explanation. He said that his scoring was a result of his teammates finding him in open spots, and his rebounding was due to the combination of his mindset/high motor that allowed him to get extra possessions for his team:

I am sure that Game #4 (Northeastern-Towson) was fantastic but I have to be at work in the morning so I stuck around for tip-off to make sure it counted and then headed home: you can just read about it yourself in the morning. That’s all for now, but feel free to check back tomorrow for some semifinal action!

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