- W&M and Valparaiso meet for the first time on Wednesday and it marks the Tribe's first game against a Missouri Valley Conference team since traveling to Wichita State in 2013. In fact, it marks the Tribe's seventh game against the MVC, but just the fifth current member it has faced. W&M squared off with both Bradley (1994) and Northern Iowa (2001) as well as Evansville and Loyola Chicago, though the latter two were not members the league at the time of competition.
- Wednesday marks the Tribe's third trip to the Hoosiers state in the last decade. W&M played well in close losses at Purdue, 73-66, in 2012 and at Notre Dame, 73-64, in 2018. In fact, the Tribe led both the Boilermakers and Irish at the half.
- Sophomore
Connor Kochera, who is reigning CAA Rookie of the Year, is averaging 8.8 rebounds per game over the last four contests, including recording his second career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds against Old Dominion. Kochera ranks among the top 20 in the CAA in both scoring and rebounding, coming in at 16th thanks to 11.8 points per game and 15th with 5.3 rebounds per contest. He scored a season-high 19 points last time out vs. Fairfield. A preseason All-CAA Second Team pick, Kochera is seventh in the CAA in steals and 15th in free throw %.
- The Tribe has turned it up on the defensive end recently. Over the last four games, W&M has limited its opponents to just over a point per possession (1.02). Most recently, the Tribe held Hampton to just 0.84 points per possession, its best performance of the season. At Davidson, the Tribe limited the Wildcats, which rank top 50 in the country in offensive efficiency (1.09 points per possession), to just a point per possession.
- For the second-straight season, W&M ranks as one of the youngest teams in the country according to KenPom.com. After being the 34th youngest team in 2020-21, the Tribe is the 11th youngest team this season, averaging just 0.98 years of experience. W&M has started four freshmen and sophomores in each contest in 2021-22, including all five starters on six occasions. The two classes have accounted for 78.3% of the team's minutes (1879-of-2400) and 79.4% of its scoring (581-of-732).
- The Tribe has been strong at getting to the free throw line this season. According to KenPom.com, W&M is 89th nationally in free throw rate at 33.8%. Free throw rate in determined by dividing free throw attempts by field goal attempts. In nine of 12 games this season, W&M has made more free throws than its opponent.
- Sophomore
Ben Wight has been the Tribe's most improved player in 2021-22. He ranks 27th in the CAA in scoring (10.9), while coming in 10th in the league in rebounding (5.8). Earlier this season, Wight scored 18 points at Wake Forest and tallied a career-high 20 points vs. Mary Baldwin on Nov. 27. He also posted his first career double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds at Navy. Wight ranks seventh in the CAA in field goal % (56.6) and 12th in blocked shots (0.6).
- Freshman
Tyler Rice, who scored a career-high 16 points at Navy and against Old Dominion, has proven to be one of the top assist men in the CAA. The point guard ranks fifth in the CAA at 3.8 assists per game. His assist average is the second-best for a W&M freshman in program history. According to KenPom.com, his assist rate of 32.1 is 57th nationally. In the opener at Wake Forest, Rice dished out nine assists which were the most for a Tribe freshman in a debut in program history.
- Wight is one of the top rebounders in the CAA. He ranks third in the league in offensive rebounding at 2.9 per game and 10th in rebounding overall at 5.8. Nationally, he is 58th in offensive rebounds per game and 85th in offensive rebounding rate (12.7), according to KenPom.com. He pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds, including nine on the offensive end, at Navy.
- Four former W&M players are either playing or coaching in the NBA. Nathan Knight '20 signed his second two-way NBA contract and is with the Minnesota Timberwolves. He saw action in 33 regular-season games, averaging 3.8 points and 2.2 rebounds per game for the Eastern Conference Finalist Atlanta Hawks in 2020-21. Jim Moran '01 is an assistant coach with the Detroit Pistons. Sean Sheldon '16 is the San Antonio Spurs head video coordinator, and Daniel Dixon '17 is the Charlotte Hornets' assistant video coordinator.
