Just The Facts 2015: CAAT rematches of regular season finales

Can The Terminator get the real Guns N' Roses back together?

The Flying Dutchmen will see a familiar foe Saturday, when they open CAA Tournament play against James Madison at 2:30 PM. The Dutchmen’s regular season ended last Saturday with an 82-73 loss to the Dukes.

So that, of course, got me thinking not only about how a team fares when facing in the tournament an opponent that swept it during the season, but how teams fare when playing each other in the CAA regular season finale and then again in the first game of the CAA Tournament.

Welp, more bad news for the Dutchmen: There have been 13 such rematches in CAA history, and the team that won the regular season finale won the tourney game 10 times. James Madison and Hofstra have accounted for half of those victories: The Dukes swept the regular season finale and CAA Tournament opener three times (1992, 1993 and 2013) while the Dutchmen did it in 2009 and 2010.

Hofstra and James Madison have also been involved in the three times a team lost the finale but won the CAA Tournament rematch. The Dutchmen ended the 2001-02 season by losing to Towson before beating the Tigers in the tournament. James Madison knocked off Drexel in 2010 and was victimized in the tournament by Navy after beating the Midshipmen in the regular season finale way back in 1991.

So as you can see, this has only further muddied the already-confusing waters. Success! Below is the complete list of regular season sweeps and tourney rematches (or re-rematches).

1984-85

George Mason vs. UNC Wilmington

FINALE: George Mason 99, UNC Wilmington 88

TOURNEY: George Mason 70, UNC Wilmington 67

1990-91

James Madison vs. Navy

FINALE: James Madison 106, Navy 86

TOURNEY: Navy 85, James Madison 82***

1991-92

James Madison vs. William & Mary

FINALE: James Madison 98, William & Mary 77

TOURNEY: James Madison 77, William & Mary 53

1992-93

James Madison vs. George Mason

FINALE: James Madison 75, George Mason 59

TOURNEY: James Madison 60, George Mason 49

1993-94

Old Dominion vs. William & Mary

FINALE: Old Dominion 94, William & Mary 70

TOURNEY: Old Dominion 83, William & Mary 58

2001-02

Towson vs. Hofstra

FINALE: Towson 61, Hofstra 60

TOURNEY: Hofstra 72, Towson 52

2005-06

VCU vs. William & Mary

FINALE: VCU 77, William & Mary 59

TOURNEY: VCU 62, William & Mary 59

2008-09

Hofstra vs. UNC Wilmington

FINALE: Hofstra 88, UNC Wilmington 81

TOURNEY: Hofstra 79, UNC Wilmington 66

2009-10

Hofstra vs. Georgia State

FINALE: Hofstra 87, Georgia State 74

TOURNEY: Hofstra 68, Georgia State 67

James Madison vs. Drexel

FINALE: Drexel 67, James Madison 64

TOURNEY: James Madison 77, Drexel 65

2010-11

Drexel vs. Towson

FINALE: Drexel 66, Towson 63

TOURNEY: Drexel 75, Towson 69

2012-13

James Madison vs. William & Mary

FINALE: James Madison 69, William & Mary 67

TOURNEY: James Madison 72, William & Mary 67

2013-14

Northeastern vs. Drexel

FINALE: Northeastern 54, Drexel 52

TOURNEY: Northeastern 90, Drexel 81

***Navy played non-conference foe Army in its regular season finale in 1990-91.