W&M News and Notes
- W&M has won eight of the 11 games against Elon since the Phoenix joined the CAA in 2014-15 and are 5-2 on the road in the series. Each of the last six contests between the teams has been decided by nine points or fewer, including the Tribe's seven-point win at Elon last season. Saturday is W&M's first trip to Elon's new 5,200-seat Schar Center. The Phoenix topped W&M earlier this season, 76-71, in Williamsburg.
- The Tribe has improved defensively in CAA play. W&M ranks fourth in defensive efficiency (106.7) in league games and has held four opponents to a point or less per possession. In comparison, the Tribe limited two opponents in the non-conference to a point or less per possession. W&M ranks second in 3-point percentage defense (.344), third in effective field goal percentage defense (.503) and fourth in field goal percentage defense (.446) in league games.
- Junior
Nathan Knight was selected as one of the top 10 candidates for the 2019 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award presented by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Feb. 8. Named after Class of 1995 Hall of Famer and three-time NCAA Champion Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the annual honor in its fifth year recognizes the top centers in men's college basketball. A national committee comprising top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 21 candidates in October, which was whittled down to 10. Five finalists will be selected in March with the winner announced on April 12 with the other four members of the Naismith Starting 5.
- Knight has turned in an impressive stat line this season, averaging 20 points, 8.6 rebounds, 3.7 assists and two blocked shots per game. Since 1992, only one player in college basketball has enjoyed a line with at least 20 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots per season and that was former No. 1 pick and NBA MVP Tim Duncan in 1996-97. He has been even better in CAA games, averaging 20.5 points, 9.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. Since 1992, no CAA player has averaged 20 points, nine rebounds and four assists per game in league action.
- On three occasions this season, freshman
Chase Audige was named the CAA Rookie of the Week (Nov. 26, Dec. 31 and Feb. 4). Audige is one of four CAA players to earn the league's top rookie honor on multiple occasions and is one of only five W&M freshmen to win three weekly awards. Fellow freshman
L.J. Owens earned CAA Rookie of the Week honors on Nov. 12. It marked the first time since 2004-05 that multiple Tribe players have earned the weekly award in the same season.
- Knight recorded his seventh double-double in last 10 games and 10th overall with 39 points and 14 rebounds at Hofstra. His 10 double-doubles are the most for a W&M player since Terry Tarpey's 10 in 2015. Knight's 39 points were the fifth most in W&M history and equaled the most ever scored by a Tribe player in a CAA game.
- Audige has come on strong in CAA play, including a career-high 24 points at UNCW on Jan. 24. In league action, he has started all 13 games and leads all rookies in scoring at 12.8 per game. Audige is adding 5.3 rebounds and three assists per game while shooting 41.8 percent from 3-point range in CAA play. His scoring average has increased to 10.5 points per game overall, which is 24th in the league and second among rookies.
- W&M, which has led the CAA five of the last six years, once again tops the league in assists at 17 per game in 2018-19. That number also ranks 14th nationally. The Tribe is 11th in the country according to KenPom.com in assists percentage, recording an assist on 62.4 percent of its field goals.
- Junior
Justin Pierce ranks among the national leaders in both double-doubles and rebounding. He is fifth in the CAA and 69th nationally in double-doubles (7). Pierce ranks 54th nationally at 8.6 rebounds per game and 32nd in defensive rebounding (6.9). He became the 33rd player in W&M history with 500 career rebounds, eclipsing the mark at Northeastern.
- The Tribe dished out 20 or more assists on nine occasions this season, including six in CAA play, and is 6-3 in those contests. Over the last nine seasons, the Green and Gold is 43-5 when dishing out 20 or more assists.
- Knight moved into second on the Tribe's career blocked shots list. His 153 career blocks trails only David Cully's (1993-96) total of 248. Knight's career total ranks 28th among active NCAA DI players. He leads the CAA at 2.0 blocks per game this season, which is also 39th nationally. Knight is up to 2.6 blocks per game in CAA play.
- As a team, W&M leads the CAA in blocked shots at 4.6 per game, which also ranks 42nd nationally. In CAA play, the Tribe is blocking 5.2 shots per game. W&M owns the top two single-game blocked shot totals this season in the CAA with 14 against William Peace and 10 on Jan. 31 against Drexel.
- Knight ranks among the national leaders in a number of statistical categories. He is 20th in field goals made (184), 25th in total points (499), 27th in total blocks (51), 28th in double-doubles (10), 31st in field goals percentage (.584), 33rd in free throws made (122), 39th in blocked shots per game (2.0), 43rd in total rebounds (215), 45th in scoring (20.0) and 53rd in rebounds per game (8.6).
- After shooting a season-best 58.1 percent at Hofstra on Feb. 9, W&M is hitting at a 47.2-percent clip this season, which ranks 51st nationally. The Tribe is shooting 52.9 percent (90-of-170) in the last three contests. Over the previous six years, W&M is one of two teams nationally, along with Gonzaga, to rank among the top 30 nationally in field goal percentage.
