By Chris Caron
Virginia Commonwealth (23-7): VCU is heading to the NCAA field of 64 after its 55-54 win over George Mason. The Rams finished off the season as the No. 1 seed in the conference and backed up their records with wins over Towson, Old Dominion and the Patriots in the CAA championships.
George Mason (21-9): The preseason favorite to win the conference finished one point shy of going to the big dance as it lost to Virginia Commonwealth University in the finals of the CAA tournament 55-54. Jim Larranaga’s club finished in third in the standings for the year and will lose four seniors to graduation.
Drexel (18-10): Despite having the CAA Coach of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year the Dragons dropped their quarterfinal game to two-time defending champion UNC-Wilmington. Drexel came in with the No. 2 seed and exits in disappointing fashion.
Old Dominion (17-12): After cruising to a win against the Pride in the Quarterfinals, ODU found a much tougher opponent in Virginia Commonwealth in the semifinals. The Rams crushed the Monarchs 84-67 and shot only 40 percent from the field.
Delaware (16-12): The Blue Hens entered the tournament as the No. 6 and held their own against the Patriots before falling in overtime 65-58 in the quarterfinal match-up. Delaware fought back from a 13-point halftime but fell short in the extra frame.
UNC-Wilmington (15-15): Brad Brownell’s club made up for a sub-par regular season as it won two games in the CAA championships by beating James Madison and then upsetting the No. 2 seed Drexel Dragons. Although they expected better results at the beginning of the season, the Seahawks are bringing back a majority of their club for next season.
Towson (8-21): Towson did not finish last in the CAA and actually won a game in the tournament. For the first time since joining the CAA the Tigers clawed their way out of the basement and finished the year in seventh place. Despite winning their first game against William & Mary, the Tigers lost to VCU in the quarterfinals.
William & Mary (7-21): Despite having the preseason Player of the Year and the Rookie of the Year, the Tribe never found a groove this season. Senior Adam Hess graduates with over 1,300 points for the Tribe even though he didn’t play for the school his freshman year.
James Madison (7-21): The Dukes have been in disarray for the last few seasons and a loss to UNC-Wilmington in the play-in round ended the coaching tenure of Sherman Dillard at JMU. Two days after the 44-41 loss Dillard, JMU’s coach of seven years, resigned. The Dukes have some raw talent for next year, but it should be interesting to see how the JMU roster pans out next year.