W&M News and Notes
- W&M and American are former Colonial Athletic Association rivals and founding members of the league. The Tribe and Eagles meet for the third time in four years after not having met since AU left the CAA in 2001. American leads the all-time series at 35-12, but the Tribe has won three of the last five meetings. In 2019, the Tribe rallied from a 16-point deficit to win, 79-70, in Washington, D.C.
- The Tribe offense has erupted over the last two games. During that stretch, W&M is averaging 96.5 points per game, while shooting 56.2% (68-of-121) from the field and 56.3% (27-of-48) from 3.
- W&M has enjoyed a strong start from 3-point range, ranking second in the CAA in both 3-point % (47.8) and 3-pointers made per game (11.0). Nationally, W&M is 12th in the country in 3-point % and 30th in 3-pointers per game. The Tribe's numbers are a substantial improvement from the last two seasons (49 games), when W&M shot just 30.1% from distance and made 6.4 per game.
- Graduate student
Anders Nelson enjoyed his best game with the Tribe at Virginia Tech on Sunday. He scored a season-high 25 points, hitting 10-of-15 from the floor, including 4-of-7 from 3-point range. Nelson leads the Tribe at 12 points per game, which ranks 18th in the CAA. He also dished out six assists against the Hokies and leads the CAA and ranks 32nd nationally at 5.3 assists per game.
- W&M ranks among the CAA leaders in a number of offensive categories. The Tribe ranks second in scoring offense (84.0), 3-point %, 3-pointers made, field goal % (51.1), effective field goal % (59.8) and scoring margin (+14.7), while ranking third in assists (15.3) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.44). Nationally, W&M is 40th in effective FG%, 51st in field goal % and 77th in scoring.
- Sophomore
Gabe Dorsey scored in double figures in two of his first three games with the Tribe after transferring in from Vanderbilt. Dorsey scored a career-high 14 points on 4-of-6 from 3-point range at Virginia Tech on Sunday. He has been dangerous from 3-point range, shooting 47.1% (8-of-17), which ranks ninth in the CAA. He is eighth in the league in 3-pointers per game (2.7).
- The Tribe enjoyed a statistically historic night in its win over Mid-Atlantic Christian. W&M scored the second-most points in school history (116), won by the fourth-largest margin (76) and the largest since 1943, hit the fifth-most 3-pointers (16), shot the eighth-best 3-point % (61.5) and made the ninth most field goals (39).
- Junior
Noah Collier has made a significant impact, averaging a double-double at 9.7 points and a team-high 7.7 rebounds per game. The Pitt transfer is shooting 70.6% from the field goal and ranks second in the CAA in blocked shots (2.0) and ninth in rebounding. After scoring a career-high 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting in the opening against Navy, he tallied 12 rebounds in just 20 wins in the victory over Mid-Atlantic Christian.
- The Tribe is averaging just 10.7 turnovers per game this season, which is a significant improvement from a season ago. W&M averaged 16.2 turnovers per game in 2021-22, the sixth-worst mark in the country. This season, the Tribe ranks 63rd nationally in turnovers per game and 66th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.44). Point guards
Tyler Rice and
Anders Nelson have led the way. Nelson leads the CAA at 5.3 assists per game with an assist to turnover ratio of 4.0. Rice is 10th in the league at 3.3 assists per game and seventh in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.5).
- Junior
Ben Wight, who has scored in double figures in 15 of his last 19 games dating back to last season, was recognized by the CAA as a preseason all-league honorable mention selection. Wight led the Tribe at 11.6 points and 5.5 rebounds per game last season. His 61.6% shooting from the floor ranked third in the CAA and was the six-best mark in W&M history.
- While the Tribe was picked eighth in the preseason CAA poll, national basketball analyst Jeff Goodman of Stadium and the Field of 68 noted W&M as the CAA's sleeper team according to a poll of the CAA coaches. The Tribe had an inflex of 10 new players for 2022-23 in the form of five transfers and five freshmen.
- 2020 graduate Nathan Knight, who was the National Mid-Major Player of the Year in 2020, signed a two-year NBA deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves in the offseason. He spent his first two seasons on two-way deals with the Atlanta Hawks and the Timberwolves. Knight is the third W&M player, joining Marcus Thornton (Cleveland Cavaliers 10-day contract in 2018) and Daniel Dixon (Boston Celtics preseason Exhibit 10 deal in 2017) to sign an NBA deal since 2017.
- A trio of former W&M players are currently on NBA coaching staffs. Jim Moran '01 is in his second season as an assistant coach with the Detroit Pistons, while Sean Sheldon '16 joined the Utah Jazz as an assistant coach this offseason. Daniel Dixon '17 is an assistant coach with the Oklahoma City Blue, the NBA G-League program of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
