I believe it was last year when I first heard friend-of-the-blog Tommy Glasgow mention the “Kaplan Kurse.” Glasgow, proprietor of the College of Charleston basketball-focused Holy City Hoops blog and podcast, was referring to the fact that his Cougars had, somehow, never collected a win at Kaplan Arena on the campus of The College of William & Mary in Virginia.
Considering the relative strength of the Charleston program over the past half-decade or so and the turmoil that W&M men’s basketball has been through in that same period, it seemed somewhat unlikely. But I was able to confirm with my own two eyes (thanks, CBB Reference) that this was, in fact, the case. The Tribe is 7-0 against Charleston at Kaplan Arena.
Could this possibly be because of the strength of the home court advantage and incredible parity in CAA play? The result of a good matchup in playing styles for the Tribe? Just dumb luck?? A combination of all of these???
Impossible. It must be a curse. Or, should I say, a Kurse.
In celebration of the inevitable extension of this cur—um, Kurse, we at No Bid Nation have collected some of the biggest moments of the W&M-CofC rivalry in Williamsburg. Please enjoy this trip down memory lane…
Jan. 27, 2014 – W&M 74, CofC 63
In the first-ever matchup between one of the oldest members of the CAA and one of the newest, the Tribe demonstrated a game script that would become common when these teams met in Williamsburg – a come-from-behind W&M win. Charleston jumped out to a 13-point lead in the first half before a 15-3 Tribe run in the second half, keyed by seniors Brandon Britt and (current Tribe assistant coach) Julian Boatner, as well as junior G.O.A.T. Marcus Thornton, took back the lead for good. Thornton led W&M with 26 points on the night.
Jan. 3, 2015 – W&M 75, CofC 45
The Cougars came into the league at the wrong time to challenge W&M on its home court – the Tribe was in the midst of its best run ever, while Charleston was still building into the team that would eventually win the CAA Tournament a couple of years later. So there’s a little explanation as to how this game ended up as W&M’s largest margin of victory in a CAA game ever. Sophomore Omar Prewitt had 18 for the Tribe, while Thornton added 16.
Feb. 24, 2018 – W&M 114, CofC 104 (OT)
This might still be the best basketball game I’ve ever seen in person. This was a contest between the ultimate run-and-gun offense in the Tribe and the aforementioned Cougars squad that went on to win the CAA tourney and advance to the Big Dance. W&M led by 16 early in the second half, and 90-84 with just 28 seconds left. But Joe Chealey and Grant Riller would not be denied, with the former knocking in two three-pointers in the span of seven seconds and the latter hitting a half-court shot at the buzzer to send it into overtime. It was there that David Cohn, having the game of his life, scored six of his game-high 30 to seal a Tribe victory. (Cohn also dealt out nine assists.)
Feb. 21, 2019 – W&M 86, CofC 84 (OT)
William & Mary did not have a great season in 2018-19, but never fear. The power of Kaplan Arena stays strong regardless. And Nathan Knight helped, too. The co-G.O.A.T. dropped 30 points, 6 boards and 8 (count ‘em, E-I-G-H-T) blocks, including one on Jarrell Brantley to send the game to OT. Knight added 7 points in the extra session to secure the win.
So there you have it; when Charleston visits W&M, anything can happen – the Tribe can win by a little, or the Tribe can win by a lot. And I bet the rims wouldn’t have been quite as kind to John Meeks with 1.1 seconds to play earlier this season had that game been at Kaplan. CAA brethren, you can go ahead and Sharpie in W&M as the winner of Thursday’s contest.
P.S. Tommy, we’re excited to see you throw this back at us when the time comes…