News and Notes
- Hofstra leads the all-time series with W&M at 18-12, but the Tribe won the earlier meeting this season, 95-93, in overtime on a
Daniel Dixon buzzer-beating three-pointer. The Tribe has won four of the last five against the Pride in Williamsburg.
- Thursday's match-up pits two of the most efficient offenses in the country and teams that use the three-point shot to their advantage. W&M is second in the CAA and 44th nationally in offensive efficiency (113.4), while Hofstra is third in the league and 58th in the country (111.9). Both teams hit more than nine three-pointers per game and rank among the top 50 nationally in triples made.
- The Green and Gold is riding a 12-game home court winning streak, which is the fifth longest in W&M history and the 14th best active streak in the country. The Tribe, which averages 92.3 points per game at home is one of 16 teams in the county with undefeated records at home in 2016-17.
- The Tribe has scored 80 or more points in eight of its last nine games and 15 contests overall in 2016-17. W&M is on pace to set a school record for scoring average at 81.6 per game, which ranks 26th nationally. The Tribe is averaging 87.4 per contest over the last eight.
- W&M dished out 20 or more assists for the sixth time in the last nine games and 10th overall this season in the win at Delaware. The Tribe ranks sixth nationally at 17.7 assists per game. W&M is only 21 assists away from 500 for the second year in a row and only 29 shy from the school record.
Scouting Hofstra
- Hofstra enters Thursday's game at 13-16 overall and 5-11 in CAA play. After winning two straight at home over Delaware and Drexel to start February, the Pride has lost three of their last four games, including setbacks to the top two teams in the CAA, Charleston and UNCW, at home last weekend. Hofstra dropped a 76-72 contest to CofC, before falling to UNCW, 83-76, on Saturday.
- The Pride possesses one of the top offenses in the CAA. They rank third in the league at 76.9 points per game and are 58th nationally, according to KenPom.com, in offensive efficiency. Hofstra is 47th in the country at nine made 3-pointers per game, which is also fourth n the CAA. HU pulls down 11.9 offensive rebounds per game, which is fourth in the CAA and 80th nationally.
- Defensively, Hofstra ranks near the bottom of the league, allowing 76.7 points per game. Opponents shoot 46 percent from the field and 36.9 percent from 3-point range.
- Sophomore Justin Wright-Foreman, who scored 30 points in the first meeting with W&M, has become one of the top scoring guards in the CAA. He ranks third overall in scoring at 17.3 points per game, but in CAA play, leads the league at 22.7 per contest. He is seventh in the league, shooting 50 percent from the field and hits two three-pointers per game.
- Freshman Eli Pemberton and seniors Deron Powers and Brian Bernardi each average around 13 points per game. Pemberton, who is second in the CAA at 41.7 percent from three-point range, scores 12.8 per contest followed by Power at 12.7 and Bernardi at 12.4. Powers is second in the CAA at 5.3 assists per game, while Bernardi leads the league in free throw percentage and hits 2.5 triples per game. Junior Rokas Gustys, who has 10 double-doubles on the year, leads the CAA and ranks fourth nationally at 12 rebounds per game.
- Hofstra leads the all-time series with the Tribe at 18-12, but W&M won the earlier meeting this season, 95-93, in overtime on a
Daniel Dixon buzzer-beating three-pointer. The Tribe has won 10 of the last 19 meetings between the programs dating back to 2008. After W&M won four straight in the series, including a three-game season sweep in 2015, the Pride won all three meetings last season. The Tribe holds a 7-6 advantage in the series in Williamsburg, including four of the last five.
Home Sweet Home
- The Tribe is currently 12-0 on the year at home in Kaplan Arena following its 89-79 win over Charleston on Feb. 11.
- W&M is one of 16 teams nationally that is currently undefeated at home in 2016-17. The 12-game home winning streak is the 15th longest active streak in the country, as Feb. 20.
- The Green and Gold's 12-game home court winning streak is the fifth longest in program history. It is the second best for the Tribe inside Kaplan Arena and the third-best single-season streak. W&M's school-record home court winning steak is 24 games from Feb. 21, 1948 through Jan. 7, 1950.
- The Tribe's current 12-game home win streak is the second longest under head coach
Tony Shaver. The Tribe won 14 consecutive home games between Feb. 17, 2014 and Feb. 11, 2015.
- With two remaining regular season home games, the Tribe is trying to go undefeated at home for the first time since 1950-51. In fact, W&M has gone unbeaten at home on six occasions in 1950-51 (13-0), 1948-49 (18-0), 1930-31 (7-0), 1921-22 (8-0), 1920-21 (3-0) and 1912-13 (6-0).
- Over the last three years, the Tribe is 36-5 (.878) inside Kaplan Arena. W&M was 12-2 in 2014-15 and 12-3 last season.
- This season, the Tribe averages 93.2 points per game inside Kaplan Arena, while shooting 55.5 percent from the field and 44.8 percent from 3-point range.
Head of the Class
- Seniors
Omar Prewitt and
Daniel Dixon are the winningest classes in W&M history. The duo owns 75 career wins, the most for a W&M senior class since freshmen became eligible in 1972.
- Dixon and Prewitt also became the winningest CAA class in school history with the win over Charleston on Feb. 11. They surpassed the previous mark held by the 2016 class of
Terry Tarpey and
Sean Sheldon. Dixon and Prewitt are the winningest active class in the CAA in terms of league victories with 42.
- Overall, Dixon and Prewitt's 75 career wins rank third all-time in program history, individually. Only Ed McMillian and Bob Benjamin won more games with the Tribe, tallying 80 from 1948-51. Prior to 1972, freshmen were granted eligibility following World War II and during the Korean War. Only nine players in W&M history played four seasons prior to freshmen being granted eligibility in 1972.
- The 42 CAA wins are the second for a Tribe class in W&M's conference history. Only McMillian and Benjamin, who won 43 games in the Southern Conference between 1948-51, have more conference wins in their four seasons.
Prewitt Can Do It
- Senior
Omar Prewitt is one of the best multidimensional players in the country. Prewitt is one of only two Division I players nationally with career totals of 1500 points, 600 rebounds, 300 assists and 100 steals. Prewitt has 1,770 points, 612 rebounds, 306 assists and 116 steals over his four-year career. Only South Carolina's Sindarius Thornwell (1745, 626, 366, 183) can lay claim to those career milestones.
- Recently, Prewitt has been at his best. Over his last seven games, he is averaging 21.1 points, seven rebounds and 3.9 assists per game during the stretch. During that stretch, he turned in performances of 28 points against UNCW on Jan. 28 and a season-high 30 points vs. Charleston on Feb. 11. Prewitt dished out a career-high eight assists on Jan. 26 vs. Delaware.
- Prewitt is currently the only player in the CAA to rank among the top 15 in the league in points, rebounds and assists per game. He is eighth in the league at 15.7 points per game and in assists (3.2), while coming in 11th in rebounding (6.1).
- The ability to fill the stat sheet is nothing new to Prewitt, who ranks among the Tribe's career leaders in a number of categories. He is sixth in W&M history at 1,770 career points, which is the top active number in the CAA and 20th nationally among current Division I players. He is sixth on the Tribe's career list and 42 away from the top five. Prewitt also ranks 11th in W&M annals in blocked shots (73), 12th in assists (306), 15th in steals (116) and 16th in rebounding (612).
- Prewitt became only the second player in W&M history, along with John Lowenhaupt (1975-78), to tally 1,500 points, 600 rebounds and 300 assists over his career.
In the National Rankings
The Tribe ranks among the top 100 nationally in a number of statistical categories. Here is a look at where W&M ranks nationally (as of Feb. 21):
Assists Per Game - 6th (17.7)
Field Goal Percentage - 14th (49.0)
Assist-to-Turnover Ratio - 16th (1.41)
Scoring - 26th (81.6)
Blocked Shots Per Game - 30th (5.0)
Defensive Rebounds Per Game - 31st (27.6)
Three-Pointers Made Per Game - 35th (9.3)
Three-Point Percentage - 35th (38.8)
Fewest Fouls Per Game - 93rd (17.9)
Scoring Margin - 95th (5.1)
Elite Shooting
- The Tribe has shot over 50 percent from the field in 10 of its last 15 games overall. During the team's four-game win streak from Jan. 26 through Feb. 2, W&M shot 60.2 percent (142-of-236) from the field. Over the last 15 games, W&M has shot 51.4 percent (450-of-876) from the field.
- W&M has 14 games of 50 percent or better shooting in 2016-17 and is 13-1 in those contests. Under head coach
Tony Shaver, the Tribe is 93-12 (.886) when shooting 50 percent or better from the field, including an impressive 48-4 (.923) mark over the last four seasons.
- The Tribe has ranked among the national leaders in shooting in recent seasons. According to advanced statistical website KenPom.com, the Green and Gold has ranked among the nation's elite in effective field goal percentage and two-point percentage over the last seven seasons. W&M has also ranked among the country's top shooting teams in traditional field goal percentage in the last five years.
- This season, W&M currently ranks 14th (49 percent). The Tribe ranked among the top 30 nationally each of the previous four seasons. The Green and Gold ranked as high as No. 14 in 2014-15 (48.3), while coming in 21st in 2015-16 (48), 25th in 2013-14 (47.6) and 30th in 2012-13 (46.7).
- The Green and Gold is one of only three teams nationally, along with Gonzaga and Belmont, to rank among the top 30 nationally each of the last five years.
- W&M ranked among the top 25 nationally in effective field goal percentage each of the last four seasons. In 2016-17, the Tribe ranks 15th at 56.1 percent. The Green and Gold ranked sixth in the category in both 2013-14 (55.9) and 2014-15 (56.3) along with coming in at No. 19 (55.9) last season. Effective field goal percentage is the same as regular field goal percentage, but gives teams more credit for made 3-point field goals.
- The Tribe ranked among the national leaders in two-point field goal percentage in six of the last seven campaigns. The Green and Gold is currently 15th nationally at 55.1 percent. Each of the previous three campaigns, W&M was among the top 25 nationally, coming in 12th in 2016 (54.7) and eighth in 2015 (54.8).
