WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The Colonial Athletic Association leader meets the hottest team in the league on Saturday afternoon at Kaplan Arena. William & Mary holds down sole possession of first place in the CAA standings at 7-1 and hosts Towson, which enters the contest on a league-best five-game win streak. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on FloHoops.
It is Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers Week which is a nationwide event, basketball coaches across the country unite for a common cause – saving lives from cancer. Head coach
Dane Fischer and his staff, along with the Towson's staff, will wear sneakers with their suits during the game to raise awareness and help save lives from cancer by raising funds and encouraging people to educate themselves about cancer prevention, screening, and early detection. Fischer and his wife, Chelsea, will also donate $5 for each Tribe student in attendance on Saturday to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in honor of Chelsea's mother, who passed away from cancer when she was 16. Fans can join in by giving to
the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society or can donate to the
American Cancer Society via Coaches vs. Cancer.
The Tribe's remaining 10 CAA games will be streamed on FloHoops. A
FloHoops subscription is $12.50 per month or $95.88 per year ($7.99 per month) and provides access to 130 CAA men's basketball games, as well as special features.
Tribe fans can catch the men's basketball action over the William & Mary Sports Network with Jay Colley and Charlie Woollum on the call. The Tide 92.3 FM is the flagship stations of the William & Mary Sports Network and the audio is also available over the Web via the Tune-In app.
It's never to early to make plans for March,
find out the latest on the Tribe's headquarters, tickets and more for the CAA Championship, March 7-10, in Washington, D.C. 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), and
Instagram (WMTribeMBB).
W&M News and Notes
- The Tribe won its 15th game on Thursday night, marking the 29th time in school history that W&M reach the total. Jan. 23 is the second earliest date that W&M has reach 15th wins in a season, trailing only the 1948 team which reached the mark on Jan. 17.
- W&M sits atop the CAA standings at 7-1. The Tribe opened CAA play with six-straight wins for just the second time in school history. The Tribe completed the 1982-83 season at 9-0 in the ECAC South, which was the precursor to the CAA. It marks just the fourth time in W&M history that the Tribe has started league play at 6-0 or better and just the second time in the last 87 years. W&M was one of nine teams nationally to start conference play at 6-0 or better, including Dayton, Baylor, Seton Hall, Winthrop, San Diego State, Murray State, Austin Peay, LSU and Gonzaga.
- The 15 wins for head coach
Dane Fischer and the Tribe are tied with two others for the most among programs with coaches in their first seasons, along with Mark Pope (BYU) and Eric Henderson (South Dakota State). Jeff Goodman of Stadium had Fischer seventh on his power rankings for national coach of the year in early January. NCAA.com writer Mike Lopresti ranked Fischer No. 8 on the list of first-year head coaches, and ESPN's Jeff Borzello listed him among three coaches in his Mid-Major surprises as part of his first-year coaching scorecard.
- In Thursday night's wins over JMU, the Tribe had a couple of record-book worthy performances. Senior
Andy Van Vliet became just the third player to block eight shots in a game at W&M, a total that ranks fourth in program history. As a team, the Tribe rejected a season-high 12 shots, which is the eighth-best total in W&M lore. The Green and Gold now leads the CAA in blocked shots at 3.9 per contest. Sophomore
Thornton Scott dished out a career-high 11 assists, which was the sixth-most in Tribe history.
- Senior
Nathan Knight add to his list of accolades on Jan. 17 being named one of 30 national candidates for the Senior CLASS Award, which recognizes excellence in community, classroom, character and competition. He was named to the mid-season watch lists for CollegeInsider.com's Lute Olsen National Player of the Year and Lou Henson Mid-Major Player of the Year awards on Jan. 7. He was also selected to the Oscar Robertson Trophy Watch List by the USBWA on Dec. 6. For the second-straight year, Knight was one of 20 players named to the preseason watch list for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year award after being one of five finalists in 2019.
- In CAA play, the Tribe has held five of its eight opponents to less than 70 points. Defensively, the Tribe ranks second in league action effective field goal % (47.7), 2-point % (45.3) and field goal % (41.1), while coming in fourth in scoring defense (68.0). This season, the Tribe is 10-0 when holding teams to less than 70 points and 10-0 when teams fail to shoot 40% from the field.
- Offensively in CAA games, the Tribe leads the league in offensive efficiency (112.1), field goal % (49.0) 2-point % (56.2), effective field goal % (56.1) and assists (14.6), while ranks second in scoring (74.5) and third in both 3-point % (37.3) and free throw % (79.5). Overall, W&M ranks 11th nationally in effective field goal % (55.1), 28th in field goal % (47.4), 45th in 3-point % (36.6) and 65th in free throw % (74.3).
- Freshman
Miguel Ayesa was a perfect 4-of-4 from 3 in the win at Delaware on Jan. 16. It tied a school record, which Ayesa equaled earlier this season at Wofford. He is one of only two players in W&M history, along with Daniel Dixon '17, to have multiple games of four made 3's without a miss. He ranks eight in the CAA play at 44% (11-of-25) from 3.
- Knight, who was listed among the top 25 players in the country by ESPN.com recently, owns double-doubles in six of his last seven games and leads the country with 16 on the year. He is one of two players nationally averaging 20 points and 10 rebounds per game. Knight is 15th in the country in rebounding (10.6) and 20th in scoring (20.6). He ranks third, among players with a 28% or higher usage rate, in offensive rating according to KenPom.com (117.5).
- Knight and
Andy Van Vliet have been double trouble for Tribe opponents. They are the only teammates in the country averaging 14 points and nine rebounds per game. They are only the fifth teammates to do so since 1992-93. Knight and Van Vliet are also the only pair of teammates in the country with at least eight double-doubles apiece. Van Vliet is 26th at eight double-doubles. They have both tallied a double-double in the same game six times.
- Junior
Luke Loewe is enjoying a breakout season. He leads the CAA in 3-point % (48.3) and ranks fourth in field goal % (56.6). According to KenPom.com, he is fifth nationally in 3-point % in DI games (50.9), eight in effective field goal % (67.7) and 15th in true shooting % (68.1). Loewe has nearly tripled his scoring average from last season to 11.4.
- After missing nine games due to injury, sophomore
Thornton Scott returned with the start of CAA play. He is averaging 7.4 points and 5.3 assists per game in 25.5 minutes since returning. In league games, Scott leads the CAA in assists and ranks second in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.4). W&M is 11-1 this season with Scott in the lineup.
- Loewe has been impressive defensively to start CAA play. As the primary defender, he held three of the CAA's top-four scoring guards – Grant Riller (21.9), Northeastern's Jordan Roland (21.6) and Hofstra's Desure Buie (19.1) – to just 9-of-40 shooting (22.5%) and an average of nine points per game.
- W&M leads the country with eight road wins. The Tribe became the first program in CAA history to start 3-0 with all three wins on the road. It marked the sixth time in program history that Green and Gold picked up eight road wins, which ranks second in W&M history. The Tribe tied a school record with three-straight road wins to open the year.
- Knight is one of just two current D1 players with 1,900 career points and 800 career rebounds. This season, the 6-10 center moved into the program's top 10 in both scoring (4th at 1910 points) and rebounding (5th at 849). He is one of only two players in program history, along with Jeff Cohen (1958-61), to rank among the top 10 in both categories. He ranks 12th among active D1 players in scoring, eighth in rebounding and sixth in blocked shots.
- Knight was named the CAA Player of the Week a league-high third time on Jan. 6. He averaged 21 points and 9.7 rebounds per game during the three CAA road wins. Knight, who previously earned honors on Dec. 2 and Dec. 9, tied the program record of six career honors previously held by former All-American Marcus Thornton '15.
