- Tuesday night's contest with Norfolk State marks the fourth-straight year the teams have met. The Spartans have won the last three in the series, including last season in Norfolk. It is the second of six contests against Commonwealth opponents for W&M, who also travels to Old Dominion (Dec. 2) and VCU (Dec. 22), while hosting Virginia University-Lynchburg (Dec. 4) and Richmond (Dec. 18).
- Tuesday also marks the third annual Teddy Bear Toss. At halftime, fans will toss plush toys onto the court for a chance to win Tribe Athletics experiences, gift cards to local businesses, or other prizes. The collected toys will be donated to the Children's Hospital of Richmond for the holiday season.
- The game with Norfolk State will be the first of five on the program's TV deal with MASN. Thanks to presenting sponsor Howard Hanna Real Estate Services, the Tribe's home games Navy (Dec. 29), Monmouth (Jan. 25), Hofstra (Feb. 13), and Drexel (Feb. 15) will also be broadcast regionally.
- The Tribe has used a deep rotation to start the season with 12 players seeing action in each of the first two contests. Of those, 10 players are averaging double-digit minutes, six are averaging at least eight points per game and six with at least four rebounds per game.
- Over half of W&M's points this season have come off the bench. The Tribe has scored 53.4% (86-of-161) of its points off the bench. The Green and Gold is averaging 43 points per game from its reserves, which ranks 21st nationally and third in the CAA. Last season,
Brian Earl's Cornell team led the nation at 36 points per game from reserves after coming in fifth at 30.4 points per game in 2022-23.
- At Radford, the Tribe went to the free throw line at a high rate and shot 80% at the charity stripe. The Green and Gold was 28-of-35 at the charity stripe, and the 28 made free throws were the program's most since it made 31 against Elon in 2020. As of Nov. 11, W&M ranks 36th in the country in free throws made per game (21.0) and 41st in free throws attempted (28.5). The Tribe is third in the CAA in both categories.
- Three-point shooting has been a key piece of head coach
Brian Earl's offenses, and it has proven true to start this season. W&M ranks 23rd nationally in 3-pointers attempted per game (33.0), 38th in % of field goal attempts coming from 3 (51.7%), and 68th in 3-pointers made per game (10.5). Earl's teams ranked among the top 10 nationally in 3-pointers made and attempted each of the last two years at Cornell.
- Earl's teams are known among the fastest paced and highest scoring in the country. According to KenPom.com, W&M ranks 19th nationally in shortest average possession length at 14.4 and 78th in the country in adjusted tempo (72.9). Over his last three years at Cornell, Earl's teams ranked among the top 25 nationally in adjusted tempo each of the last three years.
- Senior
Gabe Dorsey was named to the Preseason All-CAA First Team by vote of the league coaches. He is the first Tribe player to earn preseason first team honors since Nathan Knight in 2019. Dorsey ranks third among returning players in the CAA at 14 points per game. He topped the Tribe with 16 points on 4-of-7 from 3-point range in just 14 minutes in the season-opener vs. Dickinson.
- Junior
Chase Lowe, who was recruited by
Brian Earl to Cornell before signing at W&M, was a honorable mention Preseason All-CAA selection. He was one of only 16 players in the country to average 12 points, seven rebounds and three assists per game in 2023-24. At Radford, Lowe led the team with 15 points.
- W&M's 11 nonconference DI opponents this season averaged 18.5 wins and posted a 54.7 winning % in 2023-24. The Tribe's non-conference slate includes three games against 2024 NIT teams – Richmond (at home on Dec. 18), VCU, and App State – and a Final Four team in defending ACC Champion NC State.
- Along with the Dorsey brothers, the Tribe has two more former teammate connections on the roster. Junior guard
Kyle Frazier, who transferred from DII Belmont Abbey, is a former high school teammate of
Chase Lowe. The pair won two state titles and 49-straight games at Weddington High School (N.C.) in 2021 and 2022.
Malachi Ndur, who graduated from Brown before enrolling at W&M, was an AAU (with the Northern Kings) and Canadian Youth National teammate of
Matteus Case. The duo helped Canada to the silver medal at the U16 FIBA America Championship in 2017.
- In his two seasons at W&M,
Gabe Dorsey has established himself as one of the top 3-point shooters in the country. Last season, he set school records for 3-pointers (113) and 3's made per game (3.42). Those numbers ranked fourth and sixth, respectively, in the country. In 2022-23, he was fourth nationally in 3FG% (44.4) and 18th in 3's made per game (3.04).
