WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – For the third-straight game, William & Mary men's basketball will take on Drexel on Saturday, Jan. 23, afternoon. After both teams had their weekend games postponed due to COVID-19 issues in other CAA programs, the league added a game between the Tribe and Dragons after the teams split a pair in Philadelphia last weekend. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m. in the rubber match at Kaplan Arena.
The third game between the Tribe and Dragons will be broadcast on FloHoops. A
FloHoops subscription is $12.50 per month or $95.88 per year ($7.99 per month). Tribe fans can catch the men's basketball action over the Tribe Sports Network with Jay Colley and
Bobby Dwyer on the call. Locally in Williamsburg, fans can listen in on The Tide 92.3 FM and the audio is also
available over the Web via the Tune-In app.
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
- Drexel leads the all-time series at 25-19, but W&M has won 17 of the last 29 meetings dating back to the 2007 season. The Tribe holds an 11-10 advantage against the Dragons in Williamsburg, including wins in three of the last four contests.
- W&M head coach
Dane Fischer (2002) and Drexel head coach Zach Spiker (2000) know each other from their days at Ithaca College. Fischer credits Spiker as being instrumental in helping him get into coaching.
- The Tribe used the free throw line to its advantage in the win at Drexel, scoring its final 19 points as part of a 19-3 run to close the game. In total, W&M connected on a season-high 24 made free throws in the win. On the year, the Green and Gold ranks 92nd nationally at 72.8% from the charity stripe and have improved to 75.5% in CAA play, which is fourth in the league. Three players rank among the CAA leaders including
Quinn Blair (sixth at 80%),
Luke Loewe (10th at 78.9%) and
Connor Kochera (13th at 76.9%).
- W&M is one of the top teams in the country at limiting its opponent from 3-point range. The Tribe ranks 22nd nationally as its foes score just 23.1.% of their points from long distance against the Green and Gold. W&M also limits foes to just 28.9% from 3-point range, which ranks 34th nationally in 3-point % defense. The Tribe has been even better in CAA play, holding league opponents to just 25% from 3-point range.
- W&M has attacked the offensive glass this season. The Tribe is averaging 10.6 offensive rebounds and posting a 29.4 offensive rebounding %. Both those numbers rank third in the CAA. The Tribe pulled down a season-high 16 offensive rebounds in the win over Delaware on Jan. 9. In CAA play, the Tribe is averaging 37 total rebounds per game, which ranks second in the league.
- Freshman
Connor Kochera scored a career-high 26 points in the Tribe's win at Drexel. It marked the most points for a W&M rookie since Marcus Thornton had 28 vs. VCU in 2012. Kochera connected was 14-of-16 from the free throw line, including 10-of-12 during the Tribe's clinching 14-0 run. Prior to the game in Philadelphia, Kochera was just 6-of-10 from the free throw line on the year. He upped his season scoring average of 11.3, which leads CAA fresh-man and ranks 20th overall in the league.
- As the Tribe's lone scholarship senior,
Luke Loewe has stepped into a starring role this season. Overall, he ranks fifth in the CAA at 16.9 points per game. He leads the CAA and ranks 35th nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.9). Loewe is also third in the league in minutes (36.1), fifth in steals (1.6) and assists (4.0), 10th in free throw % (78.9) and 12th in 3-pointers made (1.7). He scored a career-high 27 in the CAA opener at Hofstra.
- Junior
Quinn Blair has enjoyed a strong start to CAA play, averaging 13 points and has scored in double figures in four of the five games. He scored a career-high 17 points on Jan. 3 at Hofstra. Blair leads the Tribe and ranks eighth in the CAA in rebounding at 6.3 per game. He is also 23rd in the league in scoring at 11.1 points per game.
- Freshman
Yuri Covington became the second Tribe player to be named CAA Rookie of the Week this season on Dec. 21. Following a 16-day lay-off, Covington helped the Tribe to a 2-1 week, averaging 12.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He had a career-high 16 points at George Washington, including 14 in the second half and OT. He joined
Connor Kochera in earning CAA Rookie of the Week honors this season Kochera earned the honor on Nov. 30 after leading the team with 19 points in the opener at Old Dominion.
- Covington and Kochera statistically rank among the top freshmen in the CAA. Kochera is the league's top rookie scorer in the league and 20th overall in scoring (11.3), while Covington is third among freshmen and 29th overall (9.9). Kochera also leads CAA freshmen in 3-pointer made (1.8) and 3-pointer % (40.0), and Covington is second in assists (1.2).
- After playing two years behind
Nathan Knight, who is currently with the Atlanta Hawks, junior
Mehkel Harvey has made an impact in the paint. The 6-9 forward picked up his first career double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds in the win at Hampton and recorded a career-high 16 at Hofstra. Harvey leads the CAA and ranks 27th nationally in blocked shots at 2.2 per game. He also ranks fifth in the CAA in offensive rebounding (2.4) and 10th in rebounds (5.8).
- As a team, the Tribe was picked 10th in the preseason standings. Last season, W&M was picked seventh in the preseason and finished second with a 13-5 league mark. In 2019-20, the Tribe won the fourth-most games in school history (21) and posted program records in conference wins (13) and road wins (10).
- In his first season as a head coach,
Dane Fischer received multiple Coach of the Year award, including VaSID State, CAA and NABC District 10 honors. He was also a finalist for a pair of National Coach of the Year awards, including the Hugh Durham Award Mid-Major Coach of the Year and the Joe B. Hall Award, which is presented annually to first-year D1 head coach. His 21 wins in 2019-20 were the second-most for a rookie head coach in the country last season.
