2022 CAA Tournament Thumbnails

Remember thumbnails from the newspaper? They're back! In blog form! 

After a sabbatical last year due to, well, you know, the CAA Tournament thumbnails are back (not in pog form though — the picture lied, sorry). We say this every year, but the tournament looks like it could be as wide-open as ever. Think about this:

—The top two seeds, Towson and UNC Wilmington, were picked eighth and ninth in the preseason before becoming the first pair of CAA teams with at least 15 league wins since 2012 (Drexel and VCU). Yet Towson lost to last-place Northeastern (a potential foe on Sunday) and UNC Wilmington was pushed to overtime by ninth-place William & Mary.

—Third-place Hofstra is a perennial league power who had the CAA’s signature non-conference win with an upset of nationally ranked Arkansas.

—Fourth-place Drexel is the defending league champion.

—Fifth-place Delaware was picked first in the preseason.

—Sixth-place Charleston played 12 league games decided by six points or fewer.

—Seventh-place Elon made the finals last year and the semifinals the year before.

—Ninth-place William & Mary beat Hofstra.

—Tenth-place Northeastern is coached by Bill Coen, who needs one victory to become the winningest CAA tournament coach of all-time.

It might go according to chalk, because that happens a lot in the CAA. But I’ll wager anything you want (for entertainment purposes only) that at least one top-3 seed is losing at the under-8 media timeout in the second half on Sunday. In the meantime, sit back and check out the thumbnails in advance of the best and most stressful weekend of the CAA season!

1.) TOWSON (15-3 CAA, 24-7 overall)

The Tigers were picked eighth in the preseason poll. It’s the biggest gap between predicted and actual finish since…way back in 2020-21, when James Madison was picked ninth and finished first. Prior to last season, no team picked lower than sixth had won the CAA regular season crown since the league expanded prior to the 2001-02 school year. The regular season title is the first for Towson since it won the 1994 Big South. That's two leagues ago! The top seed has won the CAA tournament 21 times, most recently in 2020, when Hofstra did so (yay). Towson, whose 15 CAA victories were a school record, won the tiebreaker with UNC Wilmington by virtue of its sweep of Hofstra. The Tigers won their final six scheduled games but didn’t clinch the title until they earned a 69-57 win over Delaware on Monday in a game that officially went into the books as being played and completed on Jan. 27. The game, of course, was suspended due to court conditions at Towson with 18:42 left and Towson down 38-29.

CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY: Towson is in its 21st season in the CAA and is the only active CAA school that’s never advanced to a championship game. Towson made its two NCAA Tournament appearances in 1990 and 1991, when it won the ECC’s final automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers also won the ECC in 1992, when the league did not carry an automatic bid.

BY THE NUMBERS: The Tigers rank 65th at KenPom.com, the highest for a CAA team since UNC Wilmington finished the 2016-17 season ranked 59th. The Tigers are also first in conference-only offensive efficiency (113.0) and first in conference-only defensive efficiency (96.0). They are the first CAA team to lead in both categories since George Mason in 2011. 

CAA HONOR ROLL: Senior guard Cam Holden and redshirt junior Nicolas Timberlake were named to the all-CAA first team, making the Tigers the first team with two first-team selections since Charleston’s Jarrell Brantley and Grant Riller were honored in 2019. Junior forward Charles Thompson was named to the all-CAA second team while Holden and Thompson were named to the CAA all-defensive team.

ON THE CAA LEADERBOARD: Holden ranked ninth in scoring (13.6 ppg), second in rebounding (8.2 rpg), eighth in assists (3.03 apg) and second in steals (1.97 spg). Timberlake ranked fifth in scoring (14.3 ppg) while Thompson was tied for eighth in rebounding (6.8 rpg). Terry Nolan Jr. ranked third in assists (4.0 apg) and sixth in steals (1.63 spg).

COACHSPEAK: “We’ve never — whether we were in the America East or the Colonial — we’ve never won the regular season title. So really appreciate what this group did for us. It’s not easy to do it. There are a lot of really good programs and coaches in this league. So I was proud of this group that they were able to hang in and do it.”—Pat Skerry

2.) UNC WILMINGTON (15-3 CAA, 21-8 overall)

The Seahawks were picked ninth in the preseason poll before getting off to a 9-0 start in CAA play and ending with three fewer league wins than they had the previous four seasons combined. The no. 2 seed has won the CAA tournament 10 times, most recently in 2019, when Northeastern did so. The last unbeaten team in CAA play has won the tournament five times but not since UNC Wilmington in 2017. Another good sign for the Seahawks: Their 15-3 mark is tied for the school’s best-ever league record along with the 2006 and 2017 teams, both of whom made the NCAA Tournament. UNC Wilmington was 10-1 in CAA games decided by six points or fewer and/or in overtime.

CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY: UNC Wilmington, which is the third-most senior CAA program with 37 years in the league, has won six league titles, as many as the other eight teams in the tournament combined.

BY THE NUMBERS: The Seahawks rank 187th at KenPom.com. where they are second in conference-only offensive efficiency (108.8) and tied for fifth in conference-only defensive efficiency (104.2).

CAA HONOR ROLL: Senior guard Jaylen Sims was named to the all-CAA first team while graduate student guard Mike Okauru was named to the all-CAA second team. Junior guard Shykeim Phillips was named to the CAA all-defensive team. Takayo Siddle was named CAA Coach of the Year.

ON THE CAA LEADERBOARD: Sims ranked second in scoring (15.8 ppg) and Phillips ranked third in steals (1.9 spg).

COACHSPEAK: “I knew we had a good basketball team. But like any season, there’s highs and lows — and especially with us bringing in so many new guys. I knew it was going to take us some time. I knew it was going to take us some time for everything to start to form — our rotations, their confidence, their belief in one another.”—Takayo Siddle

3.) HOFSTRA (13-5 CAA, 21-10 overall)

The Flying Dutchmen were picked fifth in the preseason poll. This is the highest a team predicted to finish fifth has finished since William & Mary also finished third in 2013-14. The no. 3 seed has won the CAA tournament four times, most recently in 2015, when Northeastern did so. Hofstra, which had CAA winning streaks of four and six games, has finished in the top four in each of the last five seasons, the longest streak in the CAA since Charleston finished in the top four every year from 2017 through 2021. 

CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY: Hofstra, which is in its 21st season in the CAA, finally won the league title in 2020 after falling in the 2006, 2016 and 2019 championship games. It was a nice 24 hours or so. The Flying Dutchmen last officially appeared in the NCAA Tournament in 2001, when they won the America East. The Dutchmen have officially made five NCAA Tournaments. It should have been six.

BY THE NUMBERS: The Dutchmen rank 120th at KenPom.com. where they are fourth in conference-only offensive efficiency (108.5) and second in conference-only defensive efficiency (102.6).

CAA HONOR ROLL: Junior guard Aaron Estrada was named CAA Player of the Year. He is the fifth Hofstra player to win the award, joining two-time winners Loren Stokes (2006-07), Charles Jenkins (2010-11) and Justin Wright-Foreman (2018-19) as well as Juan’ya Green (2016). Shouldn’t they just name the CAA Player of the Year after Hofstra by this point? (Fanboy graduate says what?) Graduate student Jalen Ray, who may have played with Stokes, was named to the all-CAA third team while graduate student Zach Cooks won Sixth Man of the Year honors.

ON THE CAA LEADERBOARD: Estrada led the league in scoring (18.5 ppg) and assists (5.0 apg) while ranking 10th in rebounding (5.8 rpg) and seventh in steals (1.52 spg). Abayomi Iyiola ranked fourth in rebounding (7.22 rpg) while Cooks ranked seventh in assists (3.1 apg) and fifth in steals (1.64 spg).

COACHSPEAK: “I’m focused. I’m really just kind of getting my guys prepared, getting them ready to hopefully win three games in three days and cut down those nets. That’s just where my main focus is at this point. honestly.”—Speedy Claxton

4.) DREXEL (10-8 CAA, 15-13 overall)

The defending CAA champion Dragons were picked third. The fourth-place finish is the highest for a team predicted to finish third since Hofstra won the regular season crown in 2018-19. The no. 4 seed has won the CAA tournament twice but not since 2000, when UNC Wilmington did so. The Dragons had an especially quirky season, never winning nor losing more than two in a row and never being more than one game under .500 or two games over .500. Speaking of quirky, the Dragons earned the fourth seed by virtue of an 80-79 win over Charleston in the regular season finale last Saturday, when Drexel didn’t lead Amari Williams’ dunk with under two seconds left.

CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY: Drexel, which is in its 21st season in the CAA, won the league title for the first time last year, when the Dragons were seeded sixth and knocked off seventh-seeded Elon in the championship game. Only one other CAA champion, seventh-seeded East Carolina in 1993, was seeded lower. The Dragons fell to Illinois 78-49 in the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1996, when, led by Malik Rose, they completed a three-peat in the North Atlantic Conference. Drexel has made five NCAA Tournaments, the first of which it reached after beating Hofstra in the 1986 ECC title game. I bet Litos didn’t think it was real back then, either.

BY THE NUMBERS: The Dragons rank 147th at KenPom.com. where they are fifth in conference-only offensive efficiency (107.7) and third in conference-only defensive efficiency (103.0).

CAA HONOR ROLL: Senior guard Camren Wynter was named to the all-CAA first team. Sophomore forward Amari Williams was named to the all-CAA third team and was also selected the defensive player of the year.

ON THE CAA LEADERBOARD: Wynter ranked third in scoring (15.32 ppg) and second in assists (4.7 apg). Williams ranked third in rebounding (7.3 rpg) while James Butler ranked fifth (7.21 rpg).

COACHSPEAK: “Last year was last year and there’s people that are not on this roster that were on it last year. And we’ve got new guys. So the people that experienced that, hopefully they can communicate as needed. But we’re trying to do something with a different group of people. Every season — I don’t care how many people you return — you’ve got different personnel, support staff, assistant coaches, whatever it may be. This is a totally new group and we’re trying to respect the process for this group to have success.”—Zach Spiker 

5.) DELAWARE (10-8 CAA, 19-12 overall)

The Blue Hens were picked first before finishing fifth for the fourth straight season. This is the lowest a preseason favorite has finished since Drexel finished seventh in 2012-13. No team seeded fifth has ever won the CAA tournament. Delaware had a pair of three-game winning streaks but lost its final two scheduled games before Monday’s loss in the resumption against Towson.

CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY: Delaware, which is in its 21st season in the CAA, won its lone championship in 2014, when the Blue Hens made the program’s first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 1999. The Blue Hens have made five NCAA Tournaments. 

BY THE NUMBERS: The Blue Hens rank 161st at KenPom.com. where they are third in conference-only offensive efficiency (108.7) and seventh in conference-only defensive efficiency (106.3).

CAA HONOR ROLL: Junior guard Jameer Nelson Jr. was named to the all-CAA second team. Freshman Jyare Davis was named to the all-rookie team.

ON THE CAA LEADERBOARD: Nelson ranked sixth in scoring (14.0 ppg) and fourth in steals (1.77 spg). Kevin Anderson ranked fifth in assists (3.61 apg) and 10th in steals (1.4 spg). Dylan Painter ranked sixth in rebounding (6.92 rpg).

COACHSPEAK: “I think we are obviously trying to lift our spirts after a tough ending weekend for us. It’s a new month, it’s a new season and that’s really what we’ve been preaching.”—Martin Inglesby 

6.) CHARLESTON (8-10 CAA, 16-14 overall)

The Cougars were picked to finish seventh and were one of only three teams to finish within one spot of the preseason prognostication. The only six seed to win the CAA tournament was Drexel last season. All but three of the Cougars’ CAA games were decided by 10 points or fewer while 12 were decided by six points or fewer. Charleston fell to 5-7 in those games by ending the regular season with an 80-79 loss to Drexel and an 99-84 loss to Hofstra. 

CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY: Charleston, in its ninth season in the CAA, fell to UNC Wilmington in the 2017 championship game before beating Northeastern in 2018 to earn the program’s first NCAA Tournament trip since 1999, when it won the Southern Conference. The Cougars have made five NCAA Tournament appearances.

BY THE NUMBERS: The Cougars rank 155th at KenPom.com. where they are sixth in conference-only offensive efficiency (105.4) and fourth in conference-only defensive efficiency (103.7). They are also the fastest-paced tempo team in the country with an average of 74.2 possessions per game..

CAA HONOR ROLL: Graduate student guard John Meeks was named to the all-CAA second team. Graduate student guard/forward Dimitrius Underwood was named to the all-defensive team. Freshmen Ben Burnham and Reyne Smith were named to the all-rookie team. Charleston and William & Mary are the first teams to place multiple players on the all-rookie team since Elon’s Hunter McIntosh and Hunter Woods were named to the all-rookie team in 2020.

ON THE CAA LEADERBOARD: Meeks ranked eighth in scoring (13.72 ppg). Underwood was tied for eighth in rebounding (6.77 rpg), fourth in assists (3.7 apg) and first in steals (2.2 spg).

COACHSPEAK: “Going through so many late game situations — barn-burners, if you will — I think it’s hardened us as a team and helped us to become better and hopefully we’re ready for those situations come this weekend. Because that’s how all of our games are and that’s how (a) conference tournament always is: It’s going to come down to the last couple of possessions.”—Pat Kelsey

7.) ELON (7-11 CAA, 10-21 overall)

The Phoenix was picked to finish sixth and was one of only three teams to finish within one spot of the preseason prognostication. The only no. 7 seed to win the CAA tournament was East Carolina in 1993. Elon played a whopping five games decided by at least 20 points, with a 23-point win over James Madison and a 26-point win over Hofstra and a 28-point loss to Drexel, a 36-point loss to Towson and a 33-point loss to Hofstra. In addition to splitting with the third-seeded Flying Dutchmen, the Phoenix handed UNC Wilmington its first loss but also lost to ninth-seeded William & Mary. 

CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY: Elon, which is in its eighth season in the CAA, has never made the NCAA Tournament in 23 years as a Division I program. The Phoenix, which reached the CAA semifinals as the no. 7 seed in 2020, reached the CAA title game as the no. 8 seed last season, where it fell to Drexel. It was the second conference championship game all-time for Elon and the first since 2008, when the Phoenix fell to Stephen Curry and Elite Eight-bound Davidson in the Southern Conference title tilt.

BY THE NUMBERS: The Phoenix ranks 244th at KenPom.com. where it is eighth in conference-only offensive efficiency (100.9) and tied for fifth in conference-only defensive efficiency (104.2).

CAA HONOR ROLL: Sophomore Darius Burford and junior Hunter McIntosh were each named to the all-CAA second team.

ON THE CAA LEADERBOARD: Burford ranked seventh in scoring (13.74 ppg), ninth in assists (3.00 apg) and eighth in steals (1.48 spg). McIntosh ranked 10th in scoring (13.3 ppg) and assists (2.8 apg). Michael Graham ranked seventh in rebounding (6.90 rpg).

COACHSPEAK: “You can’t forget the memories and the feelings. We have enough guys who experienced that where it’s special. But it’s a new season. We’ve got to try to recreate them in our own way this year.”—Mike Schrage 

JAMES MADISON (6-12 CAA, 15-14 overall)

The Dukes, who were banned from the CAA tournament because the school announced its plans to leave for the Sun Belt in November, were picked to finish fourth. James Madison opened 4-5 in CAA play before going 2-7 the rest oft he way. The Dukes are the first CAA team banned from the tournament since 2013, when Georgia State and Old Dominion were ineligible as they prepared to leave for the Sun Belt and Conference USA, respectively, and when Towson and UNC Wilmington were ineligible due to APR issues.

CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY: James Madison, which is for the moment one of two remaining original members of the CAA along with William & Mary, won its third CAA title in 2014. The Dukes were the first CAA champions in 1983. The program has made five NCAA Tournament appearances overall.

BY THE NUMBERS: The Dukes rank 233rd at KenPom.com. where they are seventh in conference-only offensive efficiency (105.1) and last in conference-only defensive efficiency (112.4).

CAA HONOR ROLL: Senior guard Vado Morse was named to the all-CAA second team.

ON THE CAA LEADERBOARD: Morse ranked fifth in scoring (15.28 ppg).

8.) WILLIAM & MARY (4-14 CAA, 5-26 overall)

The Tribe was picked to finish 10th and was one of only three teams to finish within one spot of the preseason prognostication. No no. 8 seed has ever won the CAA tournament. The five total regular season wins for William & Mary are the fewest by a CAA team since Drexel won five regular season games in 2015-16 and the fewest for the Tribe since it went 4-23 in 1993-94. William & Mary didn’t win a non-league game against a Division I foe but opened CAA play with one-point upsets of Hofstra and Northeastern and was 4-5 at the midway point before losing its final nine games, a stretch that included an overtime loss to UNC Wilmington as well as a 62-28 loss to Northeastern.

CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY: The Tribe, one of two remaining original CAA members from the league’s inaugural season in 1982-83, has never made the NCAA Tournament, though it has fallen in the CAA title game four times since 2008. William & Mary is one of just four original Division I programs to never reach the NCAA Tournament, along with Army West Point and St. Francis (NY), each of who have already  been eliminated from their conference tournaments, and The Citadel, which is scheduled to play Chattanooga today in the Southern Conference quarterfinals.

BY THE NUMBERS: The Tribe ranks 341st at KenPom.com, which is two spots lower than the lowest season-ending rank ever for a CAA team (Towson in 2011-12). The Tribe is last in conference-only offensive efficiency (92.9) and eighth in conference-only defensive efficiency (107.0).

CAA HONOR ROLL: Freshmen Julian Lewis and Tyler Rice were named to the all-rookie team. William & Mary and Charleston are the first teams to place multiple players on the all-rookie team since Elon (Hunter McIntosh, Hunter Woods) in 2020.

ON THE CAA LEADERBOARD: Rice ranked sixth in assists (3.60 apg). Brandon Carroll ranked ninth in steals (1.46 spg).

COACHSPEAK: “I really feel a lot like this year is year one, just because of the uniqueness of what our first year was with Nathan Knight as a senior (and) last year being a COVID year. So I think for us, it;'s going to be about going up there and getting that tournament experience and playing in front of fans with a tournament, which we didn’t do at all last year. And hopefully going out and playing well against Northeastern and then seeing if we can hopefully stay around and keep playing from there.”--Dane Fischer

9.) NORTHEASTERN (2-16 CAA, 8-21 overall)

The Huskies were picked to finish second. Their last-place finish marks the first time since at least 2001-02 that a team picked second has finished lower than sixth. The 2-16 league mark was the worst for Northeastern since the Huskies went 2-16 in the America East in 1995-96, which was also the last time Northeastern finished last in its league. That was my last year of college and Northeastern beat Hofstra in an outbracket game, so consider yourselves warned, William & Mary student reporters. The Huskies opened 0-11 — the longest season-opening losing streak for a CAA team since Delaware began 0-12 in 2015-16 — before beating Towson

CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY: Northeastern, which is in its 17th year in the CAA, is the lone multiple champion among 21st-century additions with titles in 2015 (over William & Mary, you’re welcome after Hofstra exhausted the Tribe the day before) and 2019 (over Hofstra, sigh). The Huskies also lead all 21st-century additions with five title game appearances overall, Northeastern has made nine NCAA Tournament appearances.  

BY THE NUMBERS: The Huskies rank 267th at KenPom.com, where they are ninth in both conference-only offensive efficiency (97.6) and conference-only defensive efficiency (108.6).

CAA HONOR ROLL: No Northeastern player made any of the CAA’s all-league teams. The Huskies are the first team since James Madison in 2017 without representation on an all-league, all-rookie or all-defensive team.

ON THE CAA LEADERBOARD: Chris Doherty ranked first in rebounding (9.1 rpg).

COACHSPEAK: “Certainly, the best future predictor is past (performance). We know that, but going into the tournament, everybody’s undefeated and it's a fresh start trying to change the page. Tournament play is different, it’s a one-and-done scenario, and the best way you kind of combat the pressure of that is kind of stay in the moment and try to do the best job that's right in front of you.”--Bill Coen