WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - Fresh off back-to-back 20-win seasons and a CAA Regular Season Championship, the William & Mary men's basketball team is set to kick off the 2015-16 campaign at N.C. State on Friday, Nov. 13. Tip-off is slated for 8 p.m. from PNC Arena and the game will be broadcast on ESPN3 with Andrew Sanders and Chris Corchiani on the call.

Tribe fans can also catch the action over the Tribe Radio Network with Jay Colley and Charlie Woollum on the call. The Tide 92.3 FM and 107.9 Bach FM are the flagship stations of the Tribe Radio Network and the audio is also available over the Web at TribeAthletics.com.

Catch up with the Tribe through social media. Follow the Tribe on Twitter @TribeAthletics and for in-game updates @TribeGameDay. Check in with the Tribe on Facebook at WMTribeAthletics, and see what happening with the Green and Gold on Instagram @TribeAthletics. Finally, along with the catalog of video content on TribeAtheltics.com, check out the Tribe YouTube page.
 

News and Notes
- W&M kicks off the program's 111th season of men's basketball at N.C. State on Friday night. It marks the 29th all-time meeting between the former Southern Conference counterparts. The meeting is just the third between the programs since 1969 and the first since 2007.
 
- For the ninth time in the last 10 years, W&M opens the season on the road.
 
- W&M is coming off back-to-back 20-win seasons under head coach Tony Shaver. Over the last two seasons, W&M leads the CAA in victories with 40. The Tribe has won 20 or more games in three of its last six seasons under Shaver, the most in the CAA.
 
- The Tribe returns four starters from last season's CAA Regular Season Championship team, its first since 1998. W&M is one of eight CAA teams to return at least four starters.
 
- Senior Terry Tarpey was named a Preseason First Team All-CAA selection in October after being a second-team pick in 2015 as well as the league's defensive player of the year. In August, Bleacher Report ranked Tarpey as the sixth most complete player in Division I.
 
- The Green and Gold is one of three programs in the country to rank among the top 30 nationally in field goal percentage each of the last three years.
 
- W&M has averaged better than 73 points per game each of the last two years. It marks the first time since 1959-60 and 1960-61 the Tribe average 73 or more points per game in back-to-back seasons.
 
Scouting N.C. State
N.C. State opens its fifth season under head coach Mark Gottfried on Friday against the Tribe. The Wolfpack, which was picked eighth in the challenging ACC this season, has advanced to the NCAA Tournament during each of its previous four campaigns under Gottfried with two Sweet 16 appearance, including last season. After finishing 2014-15 at 22-14, the Wolfpack is listed among the also receiving votes category in both the USA Today Coaches Poll and the Associated Press Top 25.
 
N.C. State defeated Cal State Los Angeles, 71-54, in its lone exhibition of the year on Nov. 8. Anthony Barber topped the Wolfpack with 21 points and six assists, while Abdul-Malik Abu added 17 points, nine rebound and four blocked shots. N.C. State had 21 fastbreak points and outrebounding CSLA, 50-38, while shooting 40 percent (24-of-60) from the field, 29.2 percent (7-of-24) from 3-point range and 64 percent (16-of-25) from the free throw line. Defensively, the Wolfpack limited CSLA to 32.3 percent (20-of-62) from the field and 29.4 percent (5-of-17) from 3-point range.
 
Barber is N.C. State's top returning scorer from a season ago at 12.1 points per game to go along with a team-best 130 assists (3.7 apg). Junior Lennard Freeman was the Wolfpack's top rebounder at 5.6 per game in 2014-15. Abu averaged 6.4 points per game and chipped in 4.8 rebounds per contest, which ranked second on the team.
 
As a team, the Wolfpack ranked 22nd in adjusted offensive efficiency  (112.2) and 87th in adjusted defensive efficiency (98.3) according to KenPom.com in 2014-15. In the NCAA rankings, N.C. State was 18th in blocked shots per game (5.1) and 17th in fewest turnovers per game (10.4).
 
W&M and N.C. State were both members of the Southern Conference from 1936-53, before the Wolfpack left for the ACC. Friday will be just the third meeting between the programs since 1969. N.C. State, which leads the all-time series 23-5, won the last meeting, 66-47, in 2007. The Wolfpack leads the series in Raleigh as well at 15-2. The Tribe will look for its first win in the series since a 70-61 triumph in Williamsburg in 1952. The last W&M victory in Raleigh was a 54-50 upset of the then-No. 8 Wolfpack in 1950.
 
Success vs. the Power Five
Under head coach Tony Shaver, W&M has enjoyed success against Power Five opponents, including a trio of wins. Here is a look at some of the Tribe's success against the Power Five since the 2009-10 season:
 
- In 2014, W&M rallied from a 12-point first-half deficit to pick up a 72-62 win at current Big Ten team Rutgers. Marcus Thornton led all scorers with 28 points for W&M, while Terry Tarpey and Omar Prewitt chipped in 11 and nine points, respectively.
 
- During the 2012-13 season, the Tribe suffered a pair of narrow losses against two Power Five opponents, despite halftime leads. The Green and Gold fell at ACC foe Wake Forest, 63-57, but led 30-23 at the half. Later in the season, W&M led Purdue of the Big Ten, 40-39, at the half, but could not hold on before falling to the Boilermakers, 73-66.
 
- In 2010-11, W&M nearly upset No. 10-ranked Syracuse in the Carrier Dome. The Tribe led by four points with five minutes to go, but the Orange rallied by scoring the game's final seven points to pull out a 63-60 win. Syracuse finished the year ranked No. 12 nationally after going 27-8 and advancing to the NCAA Tournament.
 
- The Tribe upset a pair of ACC foes who went on to the NCAA Tournament in 2009-10. W&M became the first team to win at Joel Coliseum in November, knocking off Wake Forest, 78-68. Later in the season, the Tribe posted an 83-77 win at Maryland. The Terps went on to earn a share of the ACC regular season title. It marked the first time in the history of the CAA that a team won the road at two ACC opponents in the same season.
 
Tribe Success Under Tony Shaver
W&M has enjoyed a significant amount of success under head coach Tony Shaver, including the program's first CAA Regular Season Championship since 1998. In three of the last six seasons, the Green and Gold produced 20-win seasons, the most in the CAA. By contrast, W&M produced only two seasons with 20 or more wins in the 50 years prior to Shaver's arrival in Williamsburg. Shaver owns three of the Tribe's eight all-time 20-win seasons. The Tribe's back-to-back 20-win seasons in 2013-14 and 2014-15 were a first for the Green and Gold in 64 years. The Tribe has also advanced to the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) on two occasions in the last six seasons, including 2015. W&M had just one NIT appearance (in 1982-83) prior to the Tribe's recent string of success. W&M also owns four CAA Championship game appearances in the last eight years and 10 CAA Tournament wins since 2008. Prior to Shaver's arrival, W&M had never advanced to the CAA Championship Game and only won two CAA Tournament games. The Green and Gold's four title game appearances and total league tournament wins are the most in the CAA since 2008. 
 
Returning Four Starters
W&M returns four starters from last season's CAA Regular Season Championship team, including two seniors (Terry Tarpey and Sean Sheldon) and two juniors (Omar Prewitt and Daniel Dixon). The Tribe is one of eight teams in the CAA with at least four starters returning this season. It marks the second time in the last three years that W&M returns four starters. The Green and Gold returned four in 2013-14 (three seniors and a junior) on the way to finishing the year at 20-12 and advancing to the CAA Championship Game. Under Shaver, the Tribe also returned four starters in 2007-08 and advanced to the CAA title game for the first time in school history. The Tribe finished 2008 at 17-16, its first winning season in a decade.
 
Difficult Schedule
The Tribe's 2015-16 schedule is loaded from top to bottom with more than half of its 29 games coming against teams that played in the postseason a season ago. W&M will have 10 games against programs that won 20 or more games in 2014-15. Along with the four CAA teams that played in the post season last year, the Tribe's 11-game non-conference schedule contains seven contests against teams that played in the post season, including four NCAA Tournament teams. The Tribe's home non-conference slate boasted four postseason teams, including three 20-win teams. The Green and Gold's non-conference ledger features games with NCAA Sweet 16 participant N.C. State (Nov. 13) and two other NCAA Tournament teams in Dayton (Nov. 21) and Virginia (Dec. 5). The Tribe's home schedule includes tilts with NIT participants Old Dominion (Dec. 1) and Central Michigan (Dec. 29).
 
Challenging Non-Conference Slate
While the Tribe was picked fourth in the preseason CAA poll, six of the Tribe's 11 non-conference games will be against teams picked first or second in their respective preseason conference polls. Dayton (Atlantic 10), High Point (Big South) and Central Michigan (Mid-American) were selected as the preseason favorite in their leagues, while Hampton (Mid-Eastern Athletic), Old Dominion (Conference USA) and Virginia (Atlantic Coast) were pick second.
 
Elite Shooting
Over the last three seasons, W&M is one of three teams nationally to rank among the top 30 in field goal percentage, shooting 47.6 percent over the stretch. The Green and Gold finished 14th in the country at 48.3 percent in 2015, 25th at 47.6 percent in 2014 and 30th at 46.7 percent in 2013. Along with the Tribe, both Belmont and Gonzaga have ranked among the top 30 nationally each of the last three years. In total, only nine teams (including Utah, Northern Colorado, Colgate, SMU, Murray State and Iowa) have ranked among the top 30 nationally in the last two seasons. It marks the first time in 23 years that W&M shot 45 percent or better from the field in three straight seasons. W&M last accomplished the feat during the 1989-90 through the 1991-92 seasons. The Tribe's back-to-back seasons of better than 47 percent shooting in 2013-14 and 2014-15 mark the first time that has occurred since the 1983-84 and 1984-85 campaigns.
 
CAA Preseason Rankings and Awards
Returning four starters from the program's first CAA regular season championship team since 1998, the Tribe was picked fourth in the preseason league standing and placed a pair of players on the preseason All-CAA teams for the third straight season. The Tribe was picked fourth by vote of the league coaches, SIDs and media behind preseason favorite Hofstra, James Madison and 2015 CAA Tournament Champion Northeastern. After the Tribe, Delaware was fifth followed by UNCW, Towson, Drexel, Charleston and Elon. Over the last two seasons, W&M owns more wins than any other CAA program, posting back-to-back 20-win campaigns. Senior Terry Tarpey, the reigning CAA Defensive Player of the Year, was among five players selected to the All-CAA first team, while junior Omar Prewitt garnered second-team accolades for the second-straight season.
 
High Percentage 3
The Tribe has been one of the top 3-point shooting teams in the country over the last two years. In fact, W&M has not only led the CAA in 3-point percentage each of the last two years, but is one of only six teams in the country to rank among the top 15 nationally. Along with the Tribe, the five schools to rank in the top 15 each of the last two seasons in 3-point percentage are Gonzaga, Utah State, Lafayette, Drake and Iona. After shooting 39.9 percent from long range and ranking sixth nationally in 2014, the Tribe ranked 12th in 2015, connecting on 39.8 percent in 2015. Since the 2010 season, the Tribe is shooting 36.7 percent (1560-of-4246) as a team from long range, hitting 260 3-pointers per season.
 
Receiving Votes
In the first CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 of the 2015-16 season, the Tribe was among the others receiving votes category, coming in with seven votes. W&M was one of five CAA teams highlighted in the Mid-Major top 25, including No. 22 Hofstra. James Madison (31), Northeastern (31) and UNCW (9) joined the Tribe in the also receiving votes category. Along with the conference foes, W&M will play two other teams in the rankings, including No. 10 Central Michigan and High Point, who is also receiving votes.