CAA Tournament preview

No. 1 Virginia Commonwealth Rams

• Record: 16-2. 24-6 RPI: 55
• Players to watch: Senior guard B.A. Walker (Onancock, Va./Nandua) leads the Rams with 15.3 points per game. He is VCU’s all-time leader in 3-point baskets made. Sophomore point guard Eric Maynor (Fayetteville, N.C./Westover) averages 13.8 points and 6.4 assists per game. Senior Jesse Pellot-Rosa (Richmond, Va./George Wythe) is third on the team in scoring at 13.4 points per game.
• Other: The Rams are 11-3 on the road and 1-2 at neutral sites. They won their first 11 conference games before falling to Hofstra in New York. The loss also snapped a 10-game winning streak. Three of VCU’s six losses came over the final eight games of the season.

No. 2 Old Dominion Monarchs

• Record: 15-3, 23-7 at VCU: L 80-75 vs. VCU: W 79-63 RPI: 33
• Players to watch: ODU has many threats, but leading scorer Valdas Vasylius and Arnauld Dahi did damage in the paint against the Rams.
• Other: ODU is riding an 11-game win streak and has beaten both No. 1 VCU and No. 3 Hofstra.

No. 3 Hofstra Pride

• Record: 14-4, 22-8 vs. VCU: W 79-68 RPI: 67
• Players to watch: Loren Stokes (20.8 ppg) and Antoine Agudio (20.5 ppg) average over 20 points per game. In the Pride’s victory more than the Rams, Agudio netted 30 points while Stokes dropped in 21.
• Other: Hofstra is 10-6 on the road and 2-1 at neutral sites. The Pride ended the regular season on a three-game winning streak.

No. 4 Drexel Dragons

• Record: 13-5, 22-7 vs. VCU: 75-68 RPI: 40
• Player to watch: Center Frank Elegar, a NABC All-Region player, is shooting .508 this season.
• Other: The Dragons will be dangerous for the Rams if they get by Northeastern. They swept both the Huskies and the No. 12 Hens this year.

No. 5 Northeastern Huskies

• Record: 9-9, 12-18 at VCU: L 64-44 RPI: 172
• Players to watch: Bennet Davis led the team in scoring and rebounding with 14.8 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.
• Other: The Huskies ended the year on a hot streak, winning five of their last six games, including four conference matches.

No. 6 George Mason Patriots

• Record: 9-9, 15-14 at VCU: L 100-71 vs. VCU: L 75-62 RPI: 133
• Player to watch: Florian Campbell and Will Thomas are combining for 27.8 ppg and 11.1 rebounds.
• Other: Last year’s Final Four Cinderella will have to beat Hofstra and ODU to play in the championship Monday night.

No. 7 Towson Tigers

• Record: 8-10, 14-16 vs. VCU: L 84-80 (2OT) at VCU: L 85-77 RPI: 170
• Players to watch: Gary Neal averages 25.6 points per game. However, he isn’t just a scorer; he is second on the team with 107 assists.
• Other: Towson is 4-10 on the road and 1-1 at neutral sites. The Tigers ended the season on a three-game losing streak, the longest streak of any kind this season. Towson had previously not won or lost more than two games in a row.

No. 8 William & Mary Tribe

• Record: 8-10,15-14 at VCU: L 64-44 vs. VCU: L 90-68 RPI: 178
• Player to watch: Adam Payton at 13.7 PPG and Laimis Kisielius with 11.3 PPG lead the Tribe.
• Other: ODU made senior night a sad one for the Tribe by taking the lead for good with three minutes left in Saturday’s game. But they swept their series against Georgia State, and will have the Coliseum’s crowd.

No. 9 Georgia State Panthers

• Record: 5-13, 10-19 at VCU: L 100-71 VCU: L 72-70 RPI: 253
• Players to watch: Lance Perique leads the Panthers with 15.6 points per game. Leonard Mendez averages 13.4 points per game and shoots 46.7 percent from 3-point range.
• Other: Georgia State has dropped five of their last seven games, including both games against VCU. The Panthers are 3-11 on the road this season. Mendez dropped 28 points on the Rams in last month’s loss in Atlanta.

No. 10 UNC Wilmington Seahawks

• Record: 4-14, 7-21 at VCU: L 74-65 vs. VCU: L 78-68 RPI: 256
• Player to watch: Vladimir Kuljanin paces the Seahawks with 13.5 points and 7.2 rebounds.
• Other: Don’t plan on seeing UNCW, last year’s regular season champion, stick around too long in this year’s tourney. The Seahawks’ only road win came at William & Mary.

No. 11 James Madison Dukes

• Record: 4-14, 7-22 vs. VCU: L 77-61 at VCU: L 83-72 RPI: 305
• Players to watch: Juwann James, last year’s CAA Rookie of the Year, leads the Dukes in scoring with 13.1 points per game. Forward Terrance Carter averages 12.9 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.
• Other: JMU has dropped 10 of their last 11 games. The Dukes are just 2-11 on the road this season and 1-1 at neutral sites.

No. 12 Delaware Blue Hens

• Record: 3-15, 5-25 at VCU: L 79-60 RPI: 298
• Player to watch: Herb Courtney is king of the coop with 17.9 points and 8.1 rebounds.
• Other: The last-place Blue Hens might as well stay in Delaware unless they can repeat their on-off Hofstra upset.