W&M News and Notes
- The Tribe and Pride split the season series in 2021-22 with each winning on its home court. W&M picked up a 63-62 victory over Hofstra in Williamsburg last season thanks to a steal and last-second lay-up. In the contest, the Tribe limited the visitor to 30.2% shooting and just 6-of-34 (17.6%) from 3. Saturday's game features the top-two 3-point shooting teams in the CAA.
- Junior
Noah Collier nearly averages a double-double on the season at 9.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. He owns four double-doubles on the year, which ranks fourth in the CAA and 66th nationally. Collier also ranks fourth in the CAA and 54th nationally in rebounding. He twice posted a career-high 14 rebounds this season at UMBC and against Randolph.
- Defense has been a key to Tribe victories this season. In its six wins, W&M is allowing just 56.2 points per game. Overall, the Tribe ranks fourth in the CAA in scoring defense (68.3) and has been better in CAA play, allowing just 66 points per game.
- Graduate student
Chris Mullins is the Tribe's best on-ball defender and has put those skills on display. In the Tribe's CAA win over Northeastern, he limited 6-7 Jahmyl Telfort to five points on 2-of-7 shooting. Telfort was a preseason All-CAA selection and entered the game averaging 17 points per game. In the Tribe's win over Richmond, he came up with a big defensive stop in the final seconds, forcing 6-7 wing Tyler Burton into a fade-away baseline jumper in the one-point win. On the year, Mullins ranks 10th in the CAA at 1.4 steals per game. In CAA play, he has three steals in each of the first two contests.
- In short order, sophomore
Gabe Dorsey has established himself as one of the top shooters in the country. He ranks 33rd nationally in 3-point % (42.9) and 49th in 3's per game (2.8). He ranks second in the CAA in both categories. Dorsey connected a career-high five in the win over Richmond. He scored a career-high 16 at American and had 14 at Virginia Tech.
- The Tribe is averaging just 11.7 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 66th nationally in fewest turnovers per game. After not having a single game of 10 or fewer turnovers last season, W&M has seven such games this season. The Tribe has turned the ball over fewer times than its opponents in eight games and is 5-3 in those contests.
- Graduate student guard
Anders Nelson has been a catalyst for the Tribe offense. He leads the CAA in assists per game (4.9) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.4), ranking 50th and 59th nationally in those categories, respectively. Nelson ranks sixth in the country in assist rate (39.0), according to KenPom.com. Assist rate divides the number of assists by the field goals made by the player's teammates while he is on the court.
- Along with his ability to distribute, Nelson has been a key scorer for the Tribe this season, leading het team and ranking 24th in the league at 11.1 points per game. He has been even better over the last seven games, avering 14 points per game and shooting 47.2% (17-of-36) from 3-point range.
- W&M ranks second in the CAA and 75th nationally in 3-point % (36.4). The Tribe is averaging 7.3 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.
- Junior
Ben Wight, who was named preseason All-CAA, ranks second on the team at 10.3 points per game. He enjoyed a career night at Pitt, scoring a career-best 24 points and pulling down 11 rebounds for his fifth career double-double and his third 20-point, 10-rebound double-double. He also tipped in the game-winner against Richmond with just 28.3 seconds remaining.
- Rebounding, especially on the offensive end, has been a focus for the Tribe. W&M has outrebounded its opponents in six games this season. Overall, the Tribe ranks sixth in the CAA in rebounding margin (+1.2) and fourth in offensive rebounding. The Tribe's 11.7 offensive rebounds per game are its most since 2006 (12.1). W&M ranks 86th nationally in offensive rebounding.
- 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.
