By Chris Caron
Virginia Commonwealth (20-7, 14-4): The Rams moved back into sole possession of first place with a win over Adam Hess and the William & Mary Tribe. Domonic Jones continued to impress with his third Player of the Week award, and could be the front-runner for Player of the Year. Doesn’t hurt this team that the CAA tournament takes place in the Rams hometown of Richmond, Va.
Drexel (18-9, 13-5): Head coach Bruiser Flint’s squad dropped a heartbreaker to Delaware on Saturday dropped the Dragons down to the No. 2 seed in this weekend’s CAA tournament. If senior Phil Goss can keep up his hot shooting from three-land and big man Sean Brooks plays well in the paint, Drexel could catch tournament fever.
George Mason (19-8, 12-6): A slow start hurt the Patriots who finish the season in third. Mark Davis and Jai Lewis headline a club that won five of their last six games. GMU leads the league in assist-to-turnover ratio, something that could come in handy during tournament play. GMU takes on Delaware in the first round.
Old Dominion (16-11, 11-7): A loss to George Mason to end the season now pits the Monarchs against the Pride in the first round of the tournament. Forward Alex Loughton is another candidate for CAA Player of the Year as he is averaging 16.6 points per game, 8.9 rebounds and is fourth in the league in free-throw percentage. It’s the first winning season for ODU in four years.
Delaware (16-11, 10-8): The Blue Hens took care of business at home this year, losing only one game at the Bob Carpenter Center in conference play. Nana Harding is riding a hot streak and was named Co-Player of the Week for his solid play against Virginia Commonwealth and Drexel.
UNC-Wilmington (13-14, 9-9): How the mighty have fallen in North Carolina. The two-time defending champions are going to have a tough time three-peating as it is in the dreaded play-in game against James Madison. The Seahawks are a balanced club as no player averaged in double-figures, but they do have the experience of winning so they could be dangerous.
Towson (7-20, 4-14): The Tigers started the conference schedule out well, but since have fallen towards the bottom of the pack. Towson was able to break an 11-game losing streak with a win against James Madison to finish the regular season. Towson is last in the CAA in scoring and field goal percentage and is hoping to win a game in the conference tournament for the first time since joining the CAA.
William & Mary (7-20, 4-14): It has the pre-season player of the year in Adam Hess, who is a candidate for Player of the Year, but the Tribe doesn’t have much else. Hess leads a club that has struggled mightily all season long’and has lost eight of its last nine games coming into the championships.
James Madison (7-20, 3-15): The Dukes surprisingly finished last in the conference despite having a potent back court. Senior Dwayne Broyles and freshman phenom Ray Barbosa led the Dukes to a league low 12.9 turnovers per game. The only problem for James Madison is it has the lowest shooting percentage in the league, but if Sherman Dillard’s club can get hot look for it to pull off an upset or two.