W&M News and Notes
- Friday's game is the second of three road contests against the ACC for the Tribe this month. W&M fell at Virginia Tech, 94-77, on Nov. 13, and will travel to NC State on Tuesday. It marks the first time it has played three ACC road games in a regular season since 1983-84 (Virginia, Maryland and Wake Forest). The Tribe played three road games against the ACC in 2009-10 with wins over an NCAA Tournament team in Wake Forest and eventual regular-season champion Maryland, before falling at North Carolina in the opening round of the NIT.
- The Green and Gold is 16-101 all-time against the ACC. The Tribe's last win against the ACC was an 85-68 upset of NC State to open the 2015-16 season.
- In short order, sophomore
Gabe Dorsey has established himself as one of the top shooters in the country. He leads the Tribe at 11.3 points per game and ranks 30th nationally in 3-point % (51.4). He has been even better of late, shooting 57.7% (15-of-26) from 3 over the last four games. Dorsey scored 14 points at Virginia Tech, before tallying a career-high 16 at American.
- In the win over Radford, the Tribe turned in its best defensive performance of the season, limiting the Highlanders to just 51 points, 40% from the floor and 3-of-17 from 3 (17.6%). The 51 points marks the best scoring defensive performance for the Tribe against a Division I opponent since 2020. W&M ranks third in the CAA in scoring defense at 66.2 points per game.
- Junior
Noah Collier has made a significant impact in his first season at W&M, averaging nearly a double-double at 9.7 points and a team-high 7.7 rebounds per game. The Pitt transfer is shooting 55.8% from the field and ranks fourth in the CAA in rebounding and blocked shots (1.3). After scoring a career-high 17 points in the opener against Navy, he posted his first career double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds at American.
- W&M has enjoyed a strong start from 3-point range, leading the CAA and ranking 11th nationally in 3-point % (42.2). The Tribe is averaging 8.2 triples made per game. The Tribe's numbers this season are a substantial improvement from the last two seasons, when W&M shot just 30.1% from distance and made 6.4 per game.
- Graduate student
Anders Nelson moved into the starting lineup at the point guard position in the win over Army and has been a catalyst for the Tribe offense. He leads the CAA in both assists per game (5.7) and assist-to-turnover ratio (4.3). He ranks 39th nationally in assists and 26th in A/T ratio. Nelson enjoyed his best game with the Tribe at Virginia Tech, scoring 25 points and dishing out six assists.
- The Tribe posted back-to-back games with 10 or more steals in its wins over Army and Radford. Graduate student
Chris Mullins leads the Tribe and ranks fifth in the CAA at 1.5 steals per game. Graduate student
Anders Nelson and junior
Noah Collier rank among the top 20 in the CAA at a steal per contest. As a team, the Tribe is third in the CAA at 7.5 swipes per game.
- W&M leads the league in scoring margin (+9.5), while ranking second in effective FG% (53.9) and third in scoring (75.7), field goal % (46.0) and bench scoring (29.7). Nationally, W&M is 63rd bench scoring.
- The Tribe is averaging just 10.8 turnovers per game in 2022-23, 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. The Tribe ranks 44th nationally in fewest turnovers per game and 97th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.22).
- Junior
Ben Wight matched his career-high with 21 points in the win over Army. Prior to the season, he was recognized by the CAA as a preseason all-league honorable mention selection. After leading the Tribe at 11.6 points and 5.5 rebounds per game last season, he ranks 19th in the CAA in rebounding (5.3), while ranking second on the team in scoring (10.7).
- In its win over Army, the Tribe got the free throw line at will, hitting 28-of-39 at the charity stripe, including 20-of-29 in the second half. It marked the most made free throws and attempts since 2020. On the year, the Tribe leads the CAA and ranks 54th nationally, making 15.8 free throws per game. W&M ranks third in the CAA at 71.4% at the free throw line. Individually, graduate student
Chris Mullins leads the CAA and ranks 27th nationally with 30 made free throws. According to KenPom.com, he is second in the country in free throw rate (158.3), which measures a player's ability to get the line relative to how often he attempts to score.
- 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 influx of 10 new players for 2022-23 in the form of five transfers and five freshmen.
- Four former Tribe standouts are in the NBA as either a player or a coach. 2020 graduate Nathan Knight, who was the National Mid-Major Player of the Year in 2020, signed a two-year deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves in the offseason. He spent last season with the Timberwolves after playing his rookie season with the Atlanta Hawks. 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. Another nine former Tribe players are currently playing professionally in Europe.
