WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – William & Mary men's basketball meets Northeastern in the first round of the 2022 Colonial Athletic Association Championship presented by Jersey Mike's Subs on Saturday evening. It marks the second-straight season in which the teams have met in the league tournament and the fifth time overall in the post season. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. from the Entertainment and Sports Arena in Washington, D.C.

The Tribe's CAA first round game will be streamed on FloHoops with Dave Ryan and Mack McCarthy on the call. W&M fans can catch the men's basketball action over the Tribe Sports Network with Jay Colley and Bobby Dwyer on the call.

Stay up to date with all the information and happenings in Washington, D.C. by visiting TribeAthletics.com/MarchOnTribe. 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).
 

Tournament/Match-Up Notes

- The Tribe is the No. 8 seed in the CAA Tournament for the ninth time and the first since 2007. W&M looks for its first win as the No. 8 seed and its first win over the No. 9 seed in the league tournament.
 
- Last season, the Tribe defeated UNCW, 73-60, in the CAA First Round as Connor Kochera led the Green and Gold with 17 points.
 
- W&M and Northeastern meet for the fifth time in the CAA Tournament and the second time in as many years. NU holds a 3-1 advantage in the league tourney. Last season, the Tribe led the Huskies, 28-25, at the half before NU rallied for a 63-47 win. W&M defeated NU in the 2010 semifinals, while Northeastern downed the Tribe in the 2012 first round and 2015 championship. 
 
- The last time W&M was the No. 8 seed it dropped a heartbreaking 70-68 first-round game to Georgia State on a Leonard Mendez half-court shot at the buzzer.
 
- All-time in the CAA Tournament, the No. 9 seed holds a 13-10 advantage vs. the No. 8 seed.
 
- Northeastern holds a slim 17-15 advantage in the all-time series and the teams split the season series with each winning on its home court. W&M has won three of the last five in the series, including 71-70 at home earlier this year. Four of the last eight meetings between the teams have been last-second wins decided by one or two points.
 
Team Notes

- The Tribe has improved at the free throw line in CAA play and has been even better over the last five games. Over that stretch, the Green and Gold is shooting 80.8% (63-of-78) from the charity stripe. In league play, W&M ranks fifth in the CAA at 73.5% (219-of-298) from the free throw line, which is an improvement from 65.9% (147-of-223) in nonconference play.
 
- 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 14th youngest team this season, averaging just 1 year of experience. W&M has started four freshmen and sophomores in each contest in 2021-22, including all five starters on seven occasions. The two classes have accounted for 77.8% of the team's minutes (4863-of-6250) and 77.2% of its scoring (1529-of-1981).
 
- The Tribe ranks among the CAA leaders in rebounding. W&M is third in rebounds (35.0) and fourth in defensive rebounding (25.2) and offensive rebounding (9.8). The Tribe is also fifth in the league in rebounding margin and has outrebounded its opponent nine times in CAA play.
 
- The Tribe has 206 steals on the year, which ranks 94th nationally. The total is the seventh most in W&M history and the most for a W&M team since 1998. The Green and Gold is seven steals shy of sixth on the single-season list and nine away from fifth. The Tribe's 6.6 steals average this season is its best since 2006 (7.0).
 
- In CAA play, the Tribe improved from 3-point range compared to its non-conference numbers. After shooting just 28.7% from long distance in the first 13 games of the year, W&M connected at a 33% clip in league play. W&M also increased in 3-pointers made per game from 6.5 in the nonconference to 7.0 in CAA games.
 
Player Notes

- Freshmen Tyler Rice and Julian Lewis both earned CAA All-Rookie Team honors, becoming the second and third honorees in head coach Dane Fischer's three seasons. In total, the Tribe has had 25 All-Rookie Team honorees. It marks the second time  that W&M had two All-Rookie team choices in the same season since the award started to be handed out in 1987.
 
- Sophomore forward Ben Wight leads the Tribe in both scoring (11.5) and rebounding (5.6), which ranks 22nd and 11th in the CAA, respectively. He has scored in double figures in 12 of the Tribe's last 15 games along with producing three double-doubles.
 
- As of March 1, graduate student Brandon Carroll is one of only nine players nationally averaging 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocked shots per game. He is the only player in the CAA currently among the top 10 in blocks (3rd at 1.4) and steals (9th at 1.5). In CAA play, he has been even better at 1.9 steals per game. He produced the only game of six steals and five blocked shots in program history at Charleston on Jan. 25. His blocked shot total (39) ranks 14th in W&M history, while his average is 11th on the Tribe's single-season list.
 
- Wight has been automatic from the floor this season. He ranks 46th nationally according to KenPom.com in effective field goal % (62.0). Wight ranks third overall in the CAA at 61.3% shooting and is up to 63.2% in league play. Wight's field goal % ranks sixth in W&M history and is the best % for a Tribe sophomore in program annals.
 
- Carroll has been an impact scorer in CAA play averaging 10.5 points per game. He ranks among the CAA leaders in rebounding (10th at 5.7) and steals (5th at 1.9). Carroll is also shooting 36.2% from 3-point range in CAA play. 
 
- Lewis is one of the top stat-stuffing first-year players in college basketball. He is one of only 15 first-year players nationally averaging aseven points (7.3), four rebounds (4.1) and two assists (2.2). He was even better in CAA play averaging 8.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. Lewis had a career-high 17 points at Delaware on Jan. 20.
 
- Rice has proven to be one of the top assist men in the CAA. The point guard ranks fifth in the CAA at 3.6 assists per game. His assist average also ranks 14th in the NCAA among first-year players. His assist rate of 28.5 ranks 96th nationally according to KenPom.com.
 
- The Tribe's trio of freshmen - Langdon Hatton, Tyler Rice and Julian Lewis - ranks among the top CAA rookies (players without previous college experience) in scoring, rebounding and assists. Lewis leads league rookies in rebounding (4.1) and ranks second in assists (2.2) and fifth in scoring (7.3). Rice leads CAA rookies in assists (3.6) and is fourth in scoring (7.3).  Hatton rounds out the group, ranking sixth in rebounding (2.7) and seventh in scoring (4.4).
 
- Wight has been the Tribe's most improved player this season. He has increased his scoring from 4.4 last season to 11.5 this year (+7.1) and his rebounding from 3.4 to 5.6 per contest (+2.2). Wight also has four double-doubles on the year, including a pair of 20-point, 10-rebound double-doubles in back-to-back games at Delaware (1/20) and Drexel (1/22).
 
- Rice dished out  a career-high 10 assists at Hofstra on Feb. 26, which marked the second most for a Tribe rookie in school history. Randy Bracy holds the record with 11 against George Mason in 1996. Rice's 10-assist game was the 35th in W&M history. He also dished out nine assists in the opener at Wake Forest, which is the third-most for a Tribe freshman and the most in a debut.
 
- Sophomore Connor Kochera ranks 28th in the CAA in scoring at 10.9 points per game. He has scored in double figures on 18 occasions, including a season-high 23 in the win at Drexel on Jan. 22. Kochera, who was the CAA Rookie of the Year in 2021, leads the Tribe with 43 made 3-pointers this season and 68 over the last two seasons. He also ranks 11th in the CAA in steals per game at 1.3.
 
- Senior Mehkel Harvey ranks as one of the top shot blockers in W&M history. His block average of 1.14 per game is fourth in W&M history, while is 64 career rejections rank 14th. He is just three blocks shy of 13th on the Tribe's all-time list.
 
- Wight owns 80 offensive rebounds this season, which ranks ninth in W&M history. He is only three rebounds behind Nathan Knight's 2019 total of 83 for eighth. Wight averages 2.58 offensive rebounds per game, which ranks sixth in the CAA and 102nd nationally.
 
- Rice has 108 assists on the season, which ranks 20th in W&M history. Five more assists would move his total into the top 15. His assist total is also the second most for a Tribe rookie in school history and just 11 shy of Randy Bracy's record mark (119).
 
- On two occasions, a Tribe freshman was named the league's rookie of the week. Most recently, Langdon Hatton earned the honor on Jan. 17 after producing his first career double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds against JMU. Julian Lewis garnered the honor on Jan. 3 after averaging 12.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists in wins over Hofstra and Northeastern.
 
- Four former W&M players are either playing or coaching in the NBA. Nathan Knight '20, who signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves in the offseason, started his first career game on Dec. 27  vs. the Celtics and posted a 20 points and 11 rebounds.  He has appeared in 28 games for the T-Wolves this year. In 2020-21, he appeared in 33 games for the Eastern Conference Finalist Atlanta Hawks. 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.