This week, it’s Brendan and Cameron’s jobs to get y’all prepared for the Tribe men and women, who are both taking on Delaware this weekend. I, on the other hand, am going to countdown to tip-off a different way. Since I’m No Bid Nation’s resident record-keeper and stats man, I’m going to report the most salient CAA men’s basketball stats going into this weekend from five; each of the stats will involve 5, 4, 3, 2, or 1. So here we go for NBN’s first Stats Countdown!
5: The number of positive lineups for William and Mary through 7 games
And although I’ve said before that there were a lot of positives to take from the Hofstra game, I still have to remind people (if I even have to) about our struggles before the second half of last Sunday’s game. Through seven games, only five lineups have positive net ratings. Surprisingly, our best lineup is comprised of Ben Wight, Connor Kochera, Luke Loewe, Miguel Ayesa, and Thatcher Stone (and no Yuri Covington). I’ve seen this lineup most often when Dane Fischer wants to get a couple threes to get back into a game, so it might not be so surprising that they have by the far the best offensive rating. Nevertheless, this lineup still has the team’s second-best defensive rating, so who really knows?
Our most used lineup sadly has a negative rating — but it is the best of the bad bunch!
4: The number of 20+ point games from Luke Loewe this season
We all knew Loewe had to carry this team at times following the departure of four starters, most notably high-flying Atlanta Hawk Nathan Knight. But boy has he looked good doing it. The four 20+ point games are double the rest of such games in his entire college career. Loewe also has the 91st best assist rate in the country (despite not being the Tribe’s primary ball-handler) and is second in the conference in offensive rating. No Bid Nation appreciates his talent, grit and leadership. Game respects game.
3: The number of wins in a row for Northeastern
Northeastern did not get off to a great start this season. The Huskies followed up a 94-79, defensively horrific debut at Massachusetts by winning only one of their next six games. However, non-conference doesn’t really matter as long as it gets the players ready to roll. And Coach Bill Coen has them rolling (I guess howling?). Northeastern easily dispatched Elon in their first back-to-back conference tilt and survived OT against reigning-champs Hofstra. Northeastern will probably always be good with Coen as their coach, but this just serves as a reminder.
2: The number of KYUSAG points separating the CAA’s top 3 teams
While Hofstra were clearly the dominant team in the CAA last season, this year looks to be different. The conference is wide open, perhaps even for William and Mary. Northeastern, Hofstra, and Drexel are going to make this season interesting. After leading the CAA in the KYUSAG rankings for the last couple weeks, Hofstra find themselves overtaken by a surging Northeastern both on the court and the table. Drexel have also been incredibly solid this season and will no doubt perform well when they finally kick off their conference schedule.
1: One-in-200 is the chance of William and Mary to make the NCAA tournament
Okay, so maybe this year won’t be the year we finally do it. KYUSAG hasn’t been impressed by the Tribe’s improved offensive performance at Hofstra. The final scores were actually right around what the model predicted, though some might feel the second score line does not reflect the effort. Given the rest of our schedule, KYUSAG still thinks the Tribe have the worst chance of making March Madness. And to add insult to injury, KYUSAG has decided it’s impossible for the Tribe to garner the first seed for the conference tournament.
The silver lining is that the team has the chance to prove the robots wrong this weekend! A home back-to-back against the flailing Blue Hens might be exactly what the doctor ordered for Coach Fischer’s guys. They have the sixth-worst three-point percentage allowed in the entire NCAA at 43.4 percent. They don’t shoot the ball particularly well, either. The one challenge will be finishing at the rim: Delaware’s opponents only convert 46 percent of their two-point attempts. As long as the shots fall, the Tribe has a really good shot at picking up its first conference wins.