WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The William & Mary men's basketball team opens a three-game homestand with the sixth-annual Shoeless Showdown on Thursday night against in-state rival James Madison. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m., from Kaplan Arena. The teams meet for the second time in 10 days after the Tribe downed the Dukes, 84-76, in Harrisonburg on Jan. 2.
As part of the sixth-annual Shoeless Showdown, fans donating a new pair of shoes (children or adult) receive a free ticket to the JMU contest along with two tickets to the Tribe's home game against either Towson (Jan. 13) or Northeastern (Jan. 18), a coupon for a free Chick-fil-A sandwich and a $10 voucher toward a new C&F checking account. Donations are also accepted at any C&F Bank in the Williamsburg area. Shoes will be donated to the Children's Hospital of the King's Daughter (CHKD). Click
HERE to check out the promotions for upcoming Tribe men's basketball games.
The game will be broadcast online at Tribe Athletics TV via Stretch Internet. Tribe fans can catch the men's basketball 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. Fans can keep up with W&M men's basketball by following the program on social media as well. Be sure to check out the Tribe on
Twitter (@WMTribeMBB),
Facebook (WMTribeMBB),
Instagram (WMTribeMBB) and Snapchat (TribeMensHoops).
W&M News and Notes
- While James Madison leads the all-time series at 50-45, the Tribe is 22-13 vs. the Dukes under head coach
Tony Shaver. The Green and Gold has won eight of the last 10 meetings between the teams, including the last four in Williamsburg.
- W&M is off to an 11-4 start to the year. It marks just the 10th time, and third under head coach
Tony Shaver, that W&M started a season 11-4 or better. W&M has improved to 12-4 or better in six of those campaigns.
- The Tribe's 4-0 league start equals its best in CAA play. The 1997-98 team also started CAA action at 4-0 on the way to garnering a share of the regular season title. It is only the eighth time in program history that W&M has started a conference season at 4-0 or better.
- W&M has won 19 of its last 20 games inside Kaplan Arena, including a perfect 6-0 mark in 2017-18. Over the last four seasons, the Tribe is 43-7 (.860) at home.
- Following its three road wins last week, the Green and Gold leads the CAA and ranks sixth nationally with five road wins. W&M has three road wins in CAA play, while the rest of the league has four combined.
- The Tribe is the best shooting team in the country, ranking among the top five at all three levels. W&M leads the country in 3-point (46.2) percentage, while ranking second in free throw shooting (80.4) and in third in field goal percentage (52.1). W&M is the only team in the country to rank among the top 20 in all three shooting categories.
- W&M has improved defensively since the start of CAA play. According to KenPom.com, the Tribe ranks second in the CAA in defensive efficiency and has held its last three foes to a point or less per possession. In the last three games, W&M's defensive efficiency is 0.95 points per possession. In CAA play, the Tribe leads the league in 3-point percentage defense (27.1), ranks second in field goal percentage defense (43.1) and third in scoring defense (72.8).
- The Tribe is averaging 87.1 points per game, which leads the CAA and ranks 12th nationally. The scoring average would be the highest in the CAA since 1996 (Mason at 90.6). W&M owns a school-record four 100-point games in 2017-18, including a school-record 126 vs. Milligan. The Tribe scored the most points on the road in program history with 108 at Savannah State.
- Sophomore
Nathan Knight garnered his second CAA Player of the Week honor on Monday after averaging 20 points and 12 rebounds per game in three Tribe road wins last week. He is one of only two CAA players to garner multiple player of the week honors this season. Coupled with seniors
Connor Burchfield (Dec. 4) and
David Cohn (Nov. 27) earning the honor, W&M leads the CAA with four player of the week awards in 2017-18.
- Knight owns a streak of four-straight double-doubles and is averaging 22.8 points and 11.8 rebounds per game in CAA play. He has seven double-doubles on the season, which ranks 29th nationally, and three of the 30-point, 10-rebound variety.
- Senior
Connor Burchfield and sophomore
Matt Milon are two of the top 3-point shooters in the country. Burchfield ranks second nationally at 54.5 percent from long range, while Milon is fourth at 52.7 percent. Both players are averaging 3.2 3-pointers per game, which is tied for the CAA lead and ranks 26th nationally. Milon is the active career leader among all NCAA divisions at 51.2 percent followed closely by Burchfield at 51.1 percent.
- According to KenPom.com, the Tribe ranks 35th nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency at 113.5, which leads the CAA. The Green and Gold has ranked in the top 60 each of the previous four seasons, including a high of No. 31 in 2015 (113.9). W&M led the CAA in five of the last six campaigns, including 2017-18.
- Senior
David Cohn, who equaled his career-high with 26 points at Drexel, recorded his 400th career assist at James Madison on Jan. 2 and ranks 24th among active Division I players with 413. His 385 assists at W&M are second in program history, and he is 25 assists shy of the school record. Cohn leads the CAA and ranks 12th nationally at 6.8 assists per game.
