W&M News and Notes
- The Tribe is the No. 2 seed in the 2020 Hercules Tries CAA Championship for the second time in program history. W&M was last the second seed in 1998. The Green and Gold owns 13 CAA Tournament wins since 2008, which ranks second in the league. The Tribe advanced to the CAA Championship game in 2008, 2010, 2014 and 2015, which is tied for the league-best in the last 13 years.
- W&M plays its third CAA Tourney game with Elon in Phoenix's six seasons in the league. The Green and Gold is 2-0 against Elon, including a win in the quarterfinals in 2015.
- Senior
Nathan Knight became just the second player in league history to be named both the CAA Player and Defensive Player of the Year on Friday, joining George Mason's George Evans, who took home both honors in 1999 and 2001. Knight joined Marcus Thornton in 2015, who recently had his number retired on Feb. 15 during the program's Gold Rush, as the only Tribe players to be named CAA Player of the Year. He is also just the second W&M player, along with Terry Tarpey in 2015 and 2016, to be named the CAA Defensive Player of the Year.
- Head coach
Dane Fischer was recognized as the CAA Coach of the Year on Friday. He is the fourth Tribe head coach to receive the honor and becomes of the fifth rookie head coach in CAA history to take home the honor, joining VCU's Anthony Grant in 2007, UNCW's Brad Brownell in 2003, Richmond's Bill Dooley in 1994 and George Mason's Rick Barnes in 1988. W&M was picked seventh in the preseason and finished second. Coupled with Knight's player of the year awards, W&M becomes just the third school – Hofstra in 2019 and George Mason in 1999 – to have three major CAA award winners in the same season.
- On Friday, Knight was named one of five national finalists for the 2020 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award presented by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. It marked the second-straight year the Tribe senior was named among the five finalists. Named after Hall of Famer and three-time NCAA Champion Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the fifth-annual honor recognizes the top centers in men's college basketball. Vernon Carey Jr. (Duke), Filip Petrusev (Gonzaga), Luka Garza (Iowa) and Udoka Azubuike (Kansas) joined Knight as finalists. The winner will be announced on April 12 at The College Basketball Awards presented by Wendy's along with the other four members of the Naismith Starting 5. Knight is one of only three players – along with Marquette's Markus Howard, who is a finalist for the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year and BYU's Yoeli Childs, who is a finalist for the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year – to make the final five for a Naismith Starting 5 award each of the last two years.
- Senior
Andy Van Vliet earned All-CAA Third Team honors in his lone season with the Tribe. It marked the eighth-straight year that W&M had multiple players named All-CAA. Van Vliet ranks third in the CAA in blocked shots (1.3) and defensive rebounds, fourth in rebounding overall (8.6), 13th in scoring (13.3) and 14th in field goal %. He earned CAA Player of the Week honors on Nov. 18.
- Knight garnered a spot on the All-CAA First Team for the second-straight season. He is one of only three players in school history to be named to the first team in two seasons, along with Thornton (2014-15) and Adam Hess (2003-04). Knight is just the fourth W&M player to be named All-CAA on three occasions.
- Junior
Luke Loewe earned CAA All-Defensive Team honors, joining Knight and becoming the first pair of Tribe teams to garner a spot on the team. Loewe has turned in a number of strong defensive efforts against All-CAA First Team members in Northeastern's Jordan Roland, Charleston's Grant Riller and Hofstra's Desure Buie. Loewe held Roland to a season-low seven points in the win at Northeastern on Jan. 4 after holding Buie to 10 points on 3-of-14 shooting and 1-of-7 from 3 in a win at Hofstra on Jan. 2. In both games with Charleston, Riller scored just 10 points with Loewe as the primary defender and combined to go just 6-of-21 (28.6%) from the field.
- Knight, who leads the CAA in blocks at 1.5 per game, was named the CAA All-Defensive Team for the third-straight year. He is the 15th player in CAA history to be selected three times and only the second Tribe player, joining David Culley (1994-96). Knight led the CAA in defensive win shares (1.7) and defensive rating in CAA games (95.0).
- The Tribe recorded its 21st victory to close out the regular season against Elon on Feb. 29. It marked the most regular season victories for W&M since 1950. The 21 wins rank fourth in school history, trailing only the 22 of 2009-10, 23 of 1949-50 and the 24 from 1948-49.
- The Tribe tied the school record with its 10th road win of the season at JMU, equaling the 2009-10 team. The total also ranks seventh nationally, and combined with the women's program, W&M leads the country with 21 road wins. The Tribe became the first program in CAA history to start 3-0 in league play with all three wins on the road.
- W&M tied a school record with 13 CAA wins, equaling the total set by the 1997-98 team. It also tied the school record for conference wins, which was also held by the 1950-51 team (13-6) in the Southern Conference. Senior
Nathan Knight equaled the 2018 senior class as the winningest class in program history with 44 CAA wins.
- The 21 wins for head coach
Dane Fischer and the Tribe are tied for the fourth-most among programs with coaches in their first seasons at the institution, as March 5. Fischer's 21 wins are second most among rookie head coaches.
- For the seventh-straight season, W&M claimed double-digit CAA victories. The Tribe became the fourth program and only current league member to produce seven-straight seasons of 10 or more CAA wins. VCU holds the record with 11-straight seasons (2002-12) followed by ODU's nine (2004-12) and George Mason's eight (1999-06).
- Offensively, W&M ranks 25th nationally in 2-point field goal % (54.2), 26th in effective field goal % (53.7), 40th in field goal % (46.6) and 67th in free throw % (74.4), as March 5.
- In 21 of its 31 games, the Tribe outrebounded its opponent and W&M is 16-5 in those contests. The Tribe ranks second in the CAA and 57th nationally in rebounding margin (+4.3). W&M leads the CAA in both defensive rebounding % (77.0) and defensive rebounds per game (27.8), which rank 22nd and 39th in the country.
- The Tribe's bench picked up its scoring production in CAA play, outscoring the opposition in 11 of 18 league games. During the conference ledger, W&M averaged 14.8 points per game off the bench. The Tribe is 12-2 this season, including a 9-2 in CAA play, when its bench outscores the opponent.
- Junior
Luke Loewe is one of the most improved players in the country. After shooting 44.4 % from the field last season and just 22.6% from 3 and 34.6% at the free throw line, the junior guard ranks among the CAA and national leaders in 2019-20. He is shooting 54.7% from the floor, which ranks fourth in the CAA, and 44.7% from 3-pointer range, which is second in the CAA and 15th nationally against D1 opponents. According to KenPom.com, Loewe ranks 12th nationally in effective field goal % (65.1) and 13th in true shooting % (66.2). After averaging 3.9 points per game last season, he has more than doubled his production this season at 10.9, which ranks 25th in the league.
- Knight continues to move up the CAA career record book. He currently ranks seventh in CAA history in free throws made (549), ninth in blocked shots (219), 13th in scoring (2,117) and 13th in rebounding (954). Knight is 27 points away from 12th place (UNCW's Brett Blizzard) and 31 shy of 11th (Hofstra's Lauren Stokes). In rebounding, he is 13 away from 12th place (Charleston's Jarrell Brantley). Knight is four blocks away from eighth place on the CAA's career list (Towson's Robert Nwankwo) and 13 free throws short of sixth place (Mason's Kenny Sanders).
- Sophomore
Quinn Blair has been the Tribe's top reserve scorer. He has heated up over the last four games, averaging 9.5 points per game and shooting 72.2% (13-of-18) from the floor, including 4-of-7 from 3-point range. In CAA play, Blair averaged 5.5 points per game, shooting 55.1% from the field. He has topped his career-high in scoring on two occasions in the last four games, including 14 in the win over Elon.
- Knight ranks second in the country in double-doubles with 22. As of March 5, he also tops the country in player efficiency rating (34.7). Knight ranks seventh, among players with a 28% or higher usage, in offensive rating according to KenPom.com (114.2). He is ninth nationally in win shares (6.1).
- Freshman
Miguel Ayesa ranks among the CAA leaders in 3-point shooting, coming in at 15th overall (37.4%) and 13th in CAA play (39.7%). This season, he became just the second player in W&M history, along with Daniel Dixon '17, to have multiple games of four made 3's without a miss. He was a perfect 4-of-4 from 3 in the win at Delaware on Jan. 16 and did it in his career debut at Wofford as well on Nov. 12.
- Knight was named one of 10 national finalists for the Senior CLASS Award, which recognizes excellence in community, classroom, character and competition. He is only the second Tribe player and first since Quinn McDowell '12 to be named a finalist for the prestigious honor. Voting for the award turns through March 23 at SeniorClassAward.com.
- Knight is one of only three men's players nationally averaging 20 points and 10 rebounds per game this season. He would be the first W&M player since Bob Sherwood in 1968 to produce such a season and only the fourth in CAA history and the first since 1989 (Mason's Kenny Sanders). Knight ranks 13th nationally in rebounding (10.5) and 19th in scoring (20.6), one of just two players in the national top 20 for both categories.
- Knight's name has appeared on a number of national player of the year lists in 2019-20. In December, he was one of 46 players named to the watch list for the USBWA Oscar Robertson Trophy. On Feb. 13, Knight was one of 30 selected to the midseason list for the 2020 Citizen Naismith Trophy Men's Player of the Year presented by the Atlanta Tipoff Club. He was named to both the preseason and midseason watch lists for the Luke Olson National Player of the Year and the Lou Henson Mid-Major National Player of the Year presented by CollegeInsider.com.
- Knight and Van Vliet have been double trouble for Tribe opponents. They are one of only two pairs of teammates in the country averaging 13 points and eight rebounds per game. Knight and Van Vliet are also one of only three pairs of teammates in the country with at least 10 double-doubles apiece. Van Vliet is 60th nationally at 10 double-doubles and 76th in rebounding (8.6). They both tallied a double-double in the same game six times.
- For a league-leading and W&M-record four times this season, Knight was named the CAA Player of the Week. He took home the award on Dec. 2, Dec. 9, Jan. 6 and Feb. 17. His seven career honors are also a program record. Van Vliet was named the CAA Player of the Week on Nov. 18.
