By Ed Morrone
With the men’s basketball CAA Tournament set to begin on Friday, it’s time to look into our crystal ball and check out the chances of Hofstra, as well as some other issues surrounding the conference.
Q: Hofstra will play in the opening round of the tournament, meaning the Pride will have to win four games in four days. What are the chances of this happening?
A: To be frank, slim to none. Hofstra had a chance to get as high as the No. 6 seed in the tournament, but a loss at Delaware on Feb. 27 dropped the Pride to No. 8. What does this mean? Well, should Hofstra beat Towson on Friday, that means they will be “rewarded” with a second-round matchup against VCU, last year’s champions. How well are the Rams playing right now, you ask? Led by Eric Maynor, VCU has won 20 of its last 23 games and are poised to get back to the NCAA Tournament, where they feel they have unfinished business.
Q: OK, forget about winning four straight, will Hofstra get past the first round?
A: It should be doable. Hofstra drew the Towson Tigers in the first round, a team it went 1-1 against in the regular season (with each team winning at home). Considering each team finished with identical 12-17 overall records, the game should be a dogfight. But you almost have to give the edge to the Pride, who should expect Antoine Agudio to fight for his team’s life. The next Hofstra loss will be Agudio’s last game in a Pride uniform, and we can say with strong conviction that the new all-time leading scorer is not ready to move onto the next stage in his basketball career just yet.
Q: How many teams will the CAA send to the Big Dance?
A: Unless someone beats VCU this weekend, then just one-same as last year. The Rams steamrolled through the conference this year, finishing with a 23-6 mark and are playing their best basketball of the season right now. Maynor willed his team into the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year with a phenomenal win over Duke, and the Rams only missed out on the Sweet 16 after a nailbiting overtime loss against Pitt. With that being said, there are certainly a few teams that can give VCU a run for its money (more on that in a second). But expect to see the boys in black and gold to go dancing again. If you need some more convincing, look no further than the fact that VCU’s campus is located a little over a mile from the Richmond Coliseum. Not a bad homecourt advantage to have, huh?
Q: Who are those teams that could potentially dispatch the Rams?
A: Start with the few teams that beat VCU this year. George Mason gave the Rams their worst loss of the season, a 12-point drubbing in Fairfax on Jan. 29, so they are a popular choice (especially considering Mason’s reputation for March magic). But considering the Patriots are the No. 3 seed, they wouldn’t be able to face VCU until the title game. The same thing can be said for No. 2 UNC-Wilmington, but Mason easily handled the Seahawks in both regular season meetings. That leaves No. 4 Old Dominion, who gave VCU its only home loss of the season and would be positioned the play the Rams in the semifinals. Any Blaine Taylor team should be feared this time of hear, and they are flying under the radar.
Q: Not a CAA Tournament question, but who is the CAA Player of the Year…Agudio or Maynor?
A: I feel sorry for the voters that have to make this decision. Agudio had the better regular season, at least scoring-wise (his 22.5 points per game were nearly better than second-place Maynor’s 17.8), but Maynor is a more dangerous all-around player, so much so that there’s talk that the junior point guard could leave VCU early for the NBA with the help of a strong postseason. Maynor is also playing his best ball of the season right now, which is a scary thought for opposing teams that saw Maynor almost single-handedly will his team into March Madness last year. Considering he was the preseason Player of the Year and will most likely be playing more postseason games than Agudio, the slight edge goes to Maynor. But it is a slight one. The message: don’t count out Agudio.