News and Notes
- For the fourth time in
the last five years, W&M and James Madison will meet in the CAA Tournament.
While the Dukes lead the all-time series at 47-37, including a 69-67 win in
Williamsburg on March 2, the Tribe has won the last two games in the CAA
Tournament, including a 72-68 victory in 2011.
- The Tribe has enjoyed as
much success as any team in the league when competing at the CAA Championship
over the last five seasons. Since 2008, the Tribe owns six wins at the CAA
Tournament, which is the second most to only Mason's seven among the teams in
the 2013 Championship field. W&M and Mason are the only teams to appear in
the CAA Championship Game twice over the last five years.
Scouting James
Madison
James Madison enters the CAA Championship at 17-14 overall
and 11-7 in CAA play. The No. 3 seeded Dukes downed the Tribe in their last
outing, 69-67. W&M led JMU by 16 points at the half, but the Dukes forced
W&M into 13 second-half turnovers and rallied for the two-point win on free
throws from Devon Moore with 19.1 seconds remaining.
The Dukes are among the top defensive teams in the CAA,
ranking third in scoring defense (64.7) and fourth in field goal percentage
defense (43.0). They have been even better in league play, allowing just 60.8
points per game, which leads the CAA, while ranking third in field goal
percentage defense at 41.1. JMU leads the league in turnover margin, forcing
its opponents into 2.6 more turnovers per game, as well as ranking first in
steals per game at 7.9.
A trio of fifth-year seniors lead the Dukes in scoring.
Rayshawn Goins is the top scorer at 12.9 points per game, which ranks 16th in
the CAA. He also leads the team in rebounds at 7.4 per game, which ranks
seventh in the league. Senior Devon Moore averages 11.3 points per game and
leads the CAA at 4.8 assists per game, including 12 in the first win over
W&M on Feb. 6. He is ninth in the league in steals (1.4) and second in
assist-to-turnover ratio. Senior A.J. Davis has been on a tear as of late,
pushing his season average to 11.3 points per game, while shooting 37.3 percent
from 3-point range with two triples per game. He is averaging better than 20
points per game over the last seven contests. He scored a career-high 36 in the
win over W&M in the regular season finale on his way to earning CAA Player
of the Week honors.
The Dukes lead the all-time series with the Tribe at 47-37,
including two wins during the regular season. JMU tallied an 81-71 victory in
Harrisonburg on Feb. 6, before rallying past the Tribe 69-67 in Williamsburg on
March 2.
So We Meet Again
Saturday's quarterfinal between the Tribe and JMU will not
only be the second meeting between the two teams in a week, but also the fourth
time in the last five seasons the teams have squared off in the CAA Tournament.
In total, it will be the 10th all-time meeting in the CAA Tournament between
the Tribe and Dukes with JMU holding a 6-3 advantage. The Tribe, though, has
won the last two meetings with the teams in the CAA Tournament. W&M downed
the Dukes, 72-68, behind
Quinn McDowell's CAA Tournament record 35 points in
2011. The Tribe started its march to the 2010 CAA Championship Game with a
70-65 quarterfinal win over James Madison.
CAA Championship TV
Schedule
All six games of the 2013 CAA Men's Basketball Championship,
presented by Jani-King, will be televised. The three quarterfinals match-ups
Saturday, March 9, will televised on Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic, The
Comcast Network and WCAU in Philadelphia, and other CAA regional television
partners. If the game is out-of-market in your area, it will be available on
CAASports.com free of charge. The semifinals and championship game will be
televised nationally on the NBC Sports Network.
Tribe Tourney Success
Under Shaver
No W&M head coach has enjoyed more success in the
Colonial Athletic Association Tournament than current Tribe headman Tony
Shaver. In the 18 years prior to Shaver's arrival in Williamsburg, the College
totaled just two CAA Tournament wins. Over the last nine under his direction,
the Green and Gold owns seven league tournament wins, including the program's
first two CAA Championship Game appearances in 2008 and 2010.
Winning at the CAA
Tournament
Since 2008, the Tribe is among the elite in the league when
it comes to winning at the CAA Championship. W&M is one of only two schools
in the current field, along with George Mason, to compete in the CAA
Championship Game on two occasions since 2008. Drexel is the only other team in
the tournament to have played for the CAA Championship in the last five years,
advancing to the title game last season. Only Mason's seven wins are more than
the Tribe's six in the CAA Championship over the last five years.
High-Level Offense
Over the last nine games, the Tribe has been on the tear
offensively. During the stretch, W&M is averaging 71.8 points and 15.9
assists per game, while shooting 52.1 percent (224-of-430) from the field, 46.7
percent (86-of-184) from 3-point range and 73.2 percent (112-of-153) from the
free throw line. The Tribe is also averaging 1.16 points per possession over
the nine games, including five contests of at least 1.2 points per possession.
W&M shot better than 50 percent from the floor over the stretch on six
occasions to go along with six games of 70 or more points. The Tribe owns five
games of double-digits 3-pointers made, five games of 80 percent or better from
the free throw line and five games of 18 or more assists over the last nine contests.
On Feb. 13, W&M scored a season-high 92 points, marking the most points for
a Tribe team in a regulation game against a Division I opponent since it scored
93 points in a win over Campbell on Nov. 26, 2005. The Green and Gold also
turned out a season-high 1.33 points per possession against the Seahawks.
Britt Closing in on
1,000
Junior guard
Brandon Britt is closing in on the 1,000-point
mark for his career. He has 991 points over his three seasons and is only nine
points shy of becoming the 34th player in W&M history with 1,000 career
points. The Chesapeake, Va., native will be the eighth player under head coach
Tony Shaver to accomplish the feat, joining Adam Hess, Corey Cofield, Laimis
Kisielius, Nathan Mann, David Schneider, Danny Sumner and
Quinn McDowell. The
seven 1,000-point scorers are the most by any Tribe head coach in school
history.
Success from 3
With its 11 3-pointers at George Mason on Feb. 23, the Tribe
surpassed 200 made triples for the seventh straight season. Over the last seven
seasons, the College made 200 or more from long range, averaging 234 3-pointers
per season. Since 2006-07, W&M leads the CAA in 3-pointers made per game at
7.48 (1638/219 games). This season, the Tribe leads the CAA in 3-pointers made
per game (7.4) and ranks second in 3-point field goal percentage (37.4). The
37.4 percent shooting from 3-point range is the best since 1988, the second
season of the 3-point line in college basketball, when the Tribe shot 39.6
percent. The Green and Gold ranks 43rd nationally in 3-point percentage and
57th in 3-pointers per game, as March 3. W&M set CAA records for 3-pointers
made in 2008 (257) and then again in 2010 with 295, which are the top two marks
in Tribe history. W&M canned 250 3-pointers in 2011, which ranks third in
program annals, followed by 218 in 2012, 216 in 2013, 202 in 2009 and 200 in
2007.
Rum to Set School
Record
In the Tribe's regular season game against James Madison,
senior
Matt Rum tied the W&M program record for games played with his 126th
appearance. After equaling the record held by former Tribe standout Quinn
McDowell, the current Tribe captain will eclipse the mark in the Tribe's CAA
Quarterfinal against James Madison and become the program's all-time leader. He
also ranks 16th on the program's career minutes played list at 2,783.
Thornton Shooting the
3
Sophomore guard
Marcus Thornton is shooting the ball
exceptionally well from 3-point range and in the process, leads the CAA at 3.1
3-pointers per game and 43.3 percent from 3-point range. He also ranks among
the national top 20 in both categories, coming in 10th in 3-pointers made and
20th in 3-point percentage, as of March 3. Thornton has been even better
recently, shooting 50.5 percent (49-of-97) from long range over the last 13
contests to go with 3.8 3-pointers per game. His overall 3.1 threes per game
currently ranks better than the W&M single-season mark of three 3-pointers
per game from David Schneider in 2010, while his 3-point percentage would be
the fifth best in program annals. Thornton has been even better in CAA
contests, hitting 3.7 3-pointers per game. On eight occasions this season, he
has knocked down five or more 3-pointers in a game, including a career-high
seven at Old Dominion. Thornton is already moving his way up the W&M career
lists ranking third in 3-pointers per game (2.08), fourth in 3-point percentage
(39.9) and 12th in total threes made (127).
Thornton Scores 500
Points, Closing in on Sophomore Record
With his 22-point performance at George Mason on Feb. 23,
sophomore guard
Marcus Thornton became the 18th player in W&M history to
score 500 points in a season. He closed out the regular season with 540 points
which ranks 11th on the Tribe single-season scoring list. In fact, it is just
six points shy of breaking the Tribe sophomore record of 545 points held by Bob
Sherwood in 1968. Thornton is averaging 18.6 points per game, which ranks
second in the CAA and 33rd nationally, as of March 3. His scoring average is
the 17th-best single-season mark in W&M history and the best since Adam
Hess averaged 20.3 points per game in 2004.
Resurgent Rum
After struggling out of the gate in 2012-13, senior guard
Matt Rum has closed the season strong. Over the Tribe's opening nine games in
2012, the Baltimore, Md., native struggled shooting the ball, hitting on just
19.5 percent from the field and 17.2 percent from 3-point range on the way to
averaging only four points per game. As
the Tribe heated up over the close of the regular season, so has Rum. Over the
final six games of the regular season, he averaged 7.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and
three assists per game, while shooting 60 percent (15-of-25) from the field, 50
percent (9-of-18) from 3-point range and 100 percent (6-of-6) from the free
throw line. The ultimate glue guy, who does a little bit of everything for the
Tribe, Rum shot better than 50 percent from the field in five of last six games
and connected at a 50 percent or better clip from 3-point range in four of
those contests. He pulled down seven or more rebounds in four of the last six
games, including leading the team with eight in the last two tilts at UNCW and
vs. James Madison. Over the last 14 games, Rum is shooting 40.8 percent
(20-of-49) from 3-point range and hitting 1.5 triples per contest.
