PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Jyáre Davis, Delaware

Senior | Forward | Newark, Del. / Newark

Davis averaged 21.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 3.0 steals in a 2-0 week for Delaware. The senior from Newark tallied 17 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and three steals in Monday’s 73-69 win at Robert Morris and followed with 26 points, three rebounds, three steals, and two blocks on Saturday to defeat Rhode Island, 67-56, at UBS Arena on Long Island.

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

James Scott, Charleston

Freshman | Forward | Fayetteville, N.C. / E.E. Smith

Scott scored a career-high 14 points on 6-of-6 shooting and tallied five blocks in Thursday’s 86-71 win over The Citadel. The freshman from North Carolina recorded four of his six field goals on dunks and three of his five blocks in a one-minute span as Charleston extended its crosstown rivalry winning streak to 12.

NEWS AND NOTES

RÉSUMÉ WORKSHOP

CAA teams will have three opportunities this week against teams receiving votes in the AP poll. Two come Thursday night when Stony Brook visits Michigan State and Charleston hosts Saint Joseph’s, while Elon heads to South Carolina Friday night on SEC Network.

HEN-CINNATI

Delaware bounced back from a 10-point deficit in the first half to down Xavier, 87-80, on Dec. 5. The Blue Hens shot 50% and turned the Muskeeters over 17 times while receiving a career night from Jalun Trent (27 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists.)

STATEMENT SATURDAY

Drexel and UNCW took down AP Top 25 opponents on Dec. 2 with Drexel holding off No. 18 Villanova, 57-55, and UNCW powering past No. 12 Kentucky, 80-73. It marked the first time in league history that two CAA teams defeated Top 25 opponents in the same day. The CAA holds wins over the Big East (2x), Big 12, and SEC in 2023-24.

CHECKING THE NET

The latest update of the NCAA NET places two teams in the top 100, as Hofstra ranks 83rd in the metric, while Delaware comes in at 90. Three teams currently hold a Q1 win - Delaware at Xavier, Charleston against Liberty, UNCW at Kentucky, and Drexel over Villanova. Hofstra, Delaware, Monmouth, Northeastern, and Towson have avoided a Q4 loss.

TROPHIES

Drexel and Hofstra were winners of their multi-team events with the Dragons taking both games in the Market Street Challenge and the Pride sweeping the three-game bracketed Gulf Coast Showcase. Hofstra’s Tyler Thomas took MVP honors in Florida after averaging 30.3 points per game in wins over Buffalo, Wright State, and High Point.

Elon, Monmouth, and Northeastern produced 2-1 showings at their MTEs.

HEALTHY COMPETITION

The CAA is .500 or better against the Patriot League (9-0), MAAC (5-0), Horizon (4-0), Missouri Valley (2-0), CUSA (1-0), SEC (1-0), Big South (4-2), Sun Belt (5-3), Atlantic Sun (3-2), MAC (3-2), America East (4-4), and MEAC (5-5) in 2023-24.

The CAA has two wins this year against the Big East (Drexel over Villanova, Delaware over Xavier) and The American (Northeastern over East Carolina, Hofstra over South Florida) and one each over the Big 12 (Monmouth over West Virginia) and SEC (UNCW over Kentucky).

ROUND OF APPLAUSE x2

Hofstra’s Tyler Thomas (Nov. 28) and UNCW’s Trazarien White (Dec. 12) have earned one of the five spots on the USBWA’s Player of the Week list this year, thanks to Thomas’ 30.3 scoring average at the Gulf Coast Showcase and White’s 27-point effort to knock off Kentucky. The CAA was the first mid-major league to win two awards from the USBWA so far this season.

ONE, TWO... THREE!

Hofstra’s Tyler Thomas (4.18) and William & Mary’s Gabe Dorsey (4.00) are first and third in the nation in made three-pointers per game. Thomas’ 46 made threes rank first, while Dorsey’s 44 are third. Thomas also ranks fifth in the nation in scoring at 22.9 points per game.

ALMOST HEAVEN, CENTRAL JERSEY

Monmouth made a statement in the season’s opening week with a 73-65 victory over West Virginia in Morgantown. Graduate transfer Xander Rice scored 30 points in his second game playing at Monmouth for his father, King Rice, who defeated a high-major opponent for the ninth time at the helm of the Hawks program. The victory was the CAA’s first over a school in the Big 12 at the time of the matchup since VCU’s Elite Eight win over Kansas in 2011.

HOME IS JUST ANOTHER WORD FOR WIN

CAA teams are 44-10 (.815) at home in non-conference play; 13 of 14 teams have won at least one home game.

TURN UP THE VOLUME

Two CAA players have combined for five of the league’s top nine scoring efforts this winter. Hofstra’s Tyler Thomas has three of them with 40 vs. High Point, 30 against Wright State, and 29 at Saint Louis, while North Carolina A&T’s Landon Glasper tallied 32 at UNC Greensboro and 31 against Texas Southern.

Thomas (5) and Glasper (3) have combined with Monmouth’s Xander Rice (3) for 11 of the top 23 single-game scoring performances in the league this year.

One thing to know about each CAA Hoops team

•         Campbell has limited opponents to a league-low 25.6% mark from three that ranks fifth nationally.

•         Charleston has scored 80+ points in four of five wins during its current 5-1 stretch.

•         Delaware has climbed 74 spots in KenPom since the start of the season and reached a program-record 70 in the NET last week.

•         Drexel’s +28 rebounding margin in the win over UAlbany was its best against a D1 team since outrebounding UNCW by 28 in 2013.

•         Elon has climbed 39 spots in KenPom since its second game of the year.

•         Kyrese Mullen’s six double-doubles for Hampton rank eighth nationally and are one off the national lead.

•         Hofstra’s Tyler Thomas is fifth in the nation with 22.9 points and is joined in the top six in the CAA in scoring by Darlinstone Dubar (17.8).

•         Monmouth is 11th nationally with a 39.8% three-point percentage.

•         N.C. A&T erased an 18-point deficit in the second half to win Saturday.

•         UNCW’s 40.4 points per game from its bench lead the nation.

•         Northeastern outrebounded No. 22 Virginia 35-28 and led for 32 minutes before falling on a last-second shot.

•         Stony Brook has risen 26 spots in KenPom during its three-game winning streak.

•         Towson’s 96-possession double-overtime game Saturday vs Bryant was its first of 90+ since tallying 92 in a 104-103 2OT win over Drexel on Feb. 2, 2017 and the most in a Towson game since KenPom began recording the info in 1998-99.

•         Gabe Dorsey’s 44 made three-pointers and 4.00 per game for William & Mary rank third nationally.