Welcome to November, and welcome to the opening week of the 2021-22 Colonial Athletic Association campaign. 

The coming days and weeks offer a veritable smorgasbord to satisfy even the most gluttonous hoops head, starting on Tipoff Tuesday. Seven CAA programs get the campaign rolling then, including matchups with potential NCAA Tournament teams. 

Neumann At Drexel

Last season’s CAA Tournament champion Drexel ushers in the CAA season on FloHoops. The Dragons’ matchup with Div. III Neumann marks the first CAA regular-season contest on FloHoops for 2021-22. 

Drexel guard Camren Wynter is a player to watch; he is on the preseason watchlist for the Lou Henson Award. 

Carlow At James Madison

The surprise of last year’s CAA season, James Madison won’t be sneaking up on anyone in 2021-22. 

Mark Byington has buy-in from the Dukes, who begin their defense of the CAA regular-season championship against NAIA program Carlow. Standouts for the JMU-side include Vado Morse, who was named All-CAA Preseason Second Team, and Takal Molson, who received an honorable mention. 

South Carolina State At College Of Charleston

College of Charleston’s “Great Experiment” in Year 1 under Pat Kelsey gets going with an in-state matchup against MEAC member South Carolina State. 

Notable additions for Charleston include Reyne Smith from Australia, and Babacar Faye of Senegal. 

Monmouth At Towson

King Rice’s Monmouth teams often play with a hard-nosed, defensive-oriented style of basketball, so expect a physical affair when Towson welcomes the Hawks to town. The Tigers are an intriguing bunch to watch in 2021-22, one of the less-known entities in this CAA campaign. 

Monmouth will be an interesting gauge of where they are in their development early into the season.