CAA Men's Basketball Report - Jan. 29, 2024
CAA Men's Basketball Report - Jan. 29, 2024
The CAA Men's Basketball Player of the Week is Hofstra's Darlinstone Dubar and Towson's Christian May!
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Darlinstone Dubar, Hofstra
Junior | Guard | Charlotte, N.C. / Scotland Campus (Pa.)
Dubar averaged 21.7 points on 60% shooting and 56% from three along with 7.0 rebounds in a 2-1 week for Hofstra. The guard from Charlotte poured in 30 points and 11 rebounds in last Monday’s nationally televised rivalry win at Stony Brook thanks to an 11-for-14 showing from the floor while playing all 40 minutes. Dubar followed the effort with 14 points in Thursday’s win over William & Mary and 21 to go with six rebounds on Saturday at Monmouth. He is the second Hofstra player to win Player of the Week honors this year, joining Tyler Thomas (Nov. 27).
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Christian May, Towson
Sophomore | Guard | Edinburg, Va. / Bishop O’Connell
May averaged 19.0 points on 50% shooting and 9.0 rebounds in a huge 2-0 week for Towson that included a victory over the top team in the CAA standings. The guard from Virginia tallied 15 points and 10 rebounds on Thursday as Towson handed Drexel its first loss of CAA play and followed with 23 points and eight rebounds in Saturday’s win at Delaware. May is CAA Player of the Week for the second time this year after previously collecting the honor on December 11.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Dylan Williamson, Towson
Redshirt Freshman | Guard | Upper Marlboro, Md. / Our Lady of Good Counsel
Williamson contributed 11.5 points per game on 53% shooting in Towson’s 2-0 week that extended the Tigers’ streak to four games. The guard from Maryland scored seven points in 18 minutes in Thursday’s win that gave Drexel its first loss since before Christmas and followed with 16 points in 23 minutes of Saturday’s road victory at Delaware. Williamson scored 14 of his 16 after halftime for a shorthanded Towson squad in Newark. Towson earns Rookie of the Week for the third-straight week and fourth time this season.
NEWS AND NOTES
EVERYTHING’S BETTER WITH OLD BAY
Pregame meals in Maryland have treated Towson well this year, as the Tigers extended their TU Arena winning streak to 17 games Thursday while ending Drexel’s 7-0 start to CAA play. Towson’s streak is tied for second nationally and trails only Virginia (21).
Home teams have gone 35-22 (.614) in conference play, which ranks 12th out of all 32 leagues. CAA teams went 52-12 (.813) at home in non-conference play.
THEY GET BUCKETS
The CAA features three of the nation’s top 10 scorers as of Sunday morning. Monmouth’s Xander Rice is seventh nationally at 21.6 ppg, Hofstra’s Tyler Thomas is ninth at 21.4, and North Carolina A&T’s Landon Glasper is 10th at 21.3. UNCW’s Trazarien White joins them in the top 20 (20.6 ppg).
RISE AND FIRE
The CAA’s top two teams in three-point percentage - Monmouth and Elon - were the bottom two a year ago. Monmouth is shooting 37.0% from three after a league-low 30.2% last season, while Elon is at 36.6% after shooting 30.6% from distance in 2022-23.
BOARD MEETING
Drexel and Towson have been two of the nation’s top teams at outworking their competition on the glass this season. Drexel’s +9.7 rebounding margin ranks 11th nationally, while Towson is 15th at +8.7. It was the Tigers who had the upper hand in the teams’ regular-season meeting with a +5 margin (42-37).
UP FOR THE CHALLENGE
Three of the four teams at the top of the CAA standings have played three of the five toughest conference schedules to date, per KenPom. UNCW (5-3) has faced the most challenging slate, while Towson (6-2) ranks third and Charleston (6-2) fifth. Monmouth and Stony Brook are 4-4 against the second and fourth-toughest schedules.
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.
CHECKING THE NET
Drexel leads the CAA with a NET of 104 in the latest update with UNCW (112) and Charleston (115) right behind and Towson (131) and Hofstra (140) joining them in the top 150. Drexel, UNCW, and Delaware each hold a Q1 win, while UNCW, Charleston, and Monmouth and have steered clear of a Q4 loss so far.
HEALTHY COMPETITION
The CAA was .500 or better against the Horizon (4-0), Missouri Valley (3-0), CUSA (1-0), Southland (1-0), Patriot League (9-1), MAAC (6-1), Big South (4-2), Sun Belt (8-3), Atlantic Sun (3-2), and MEAC (6-5) in non-conference play.
The CAA has two wins against the Big East (Drexel at Villanova, Delaware at Xavier) and The American (Northeastern vs. East Carolina, Hofstra vs. South Florida) and one vs. the Big 12 (Monmouth at West Virginia) and SEC (UNCW at Kentucky).
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.
WHOLE LOTTA WINS
The longest-tenured head coach in the CAA, Northeastern’s Bill Coen passed Jim Larranaga for the top spot in conference history with his 184th league win (conference games + CAA Championship) in January.
Towson’s Pat Skerry ranks sixth on the list with 120, while North Carolina A&T’s Monté Ross is the active coach closest to entering the top 10 with 87 league wins, 83 of which came in his time at Delaware.
One Thing To Know About Each CAA Hoops Team
Anthony Dell’Orso has taken 32.4% of Campbell’s shot attempts this season; that rate ranks 31st nationally.
Charleston’s 107 points in the win over Hampton were the most in regulation in a conference matchup since William & Mary and UNCW scored 108 in a one-week span in 2017.
Christian Ray was the first player in the nation this season with a game of 10+ points, 15+ rebounds, and 8+ assists in the win over N.C. A&T; Ray leads the league with 9.5 rebounds per game in conference play.
Drexel ranks in the top 15 nationally in scoring defense (14th, 63.6 ppg allowed) and rebounding margin (11th, +9.7).
Elon has made 10 or more three-pointers nine times this season and is 6-3 when making double-digit threes.
Kyrese Mullen’s 10 double-doubles lead the CAA.
Tyler Thomas notched his 2,000th career point and 1,000th at Hofstra in Thursday’s win.
King Rice won his 200th game as Monmouth’s head coach on Saturday.
Glasper was named Lou Henson Mid-Major Player of the Week last Monday by College Insider.
UNCW has played the most difficult schedule so far in CAA play, per KenPom.
Chris Doherty recorded a career-high 27 points on Saturday and added 13 rebounds.
Stony Brook hit 9+ three-pointers for the ninth time this season in Saturday’s win; the Seawolves are 7-2 this year when they make at least nine.
Charles Thompson moved into sole possession of fourth place in Towson program history in career starts (104) and minutes played (3,501) Saturday.
Gabe Dorsey is eighth in the nation with 3.33 made three-pointers per game and went 11-for-23 from distance last weekend.