RE: 2015 CAA Tournament Bracket
Nothing like letting the facts get in the way of a CAA tourney preview from midmajor madness. See below:
It was the first time in head coach Tony Shaver's tenure at William & Mary that the Tribe finished with a share of the regular season title. The school has only won their regular season twice in their nearly 80 year D-I history, the others being in 1998 and 1983.
Meanwhile at UNCW, head coach Kevin Keatts took the Seahawks from worst to first in his very first season in Wilmington. The Seahawks have not won the CAA's regular season since current Clemson coach Brad Brownell led UNCW to first place in two of his four seasons at the university.
Check out our final edition of the CAA power rankings with insight into each team's tournament hopes.
1. William & Mary Tribe (18-11, 12-6 CAA, LW- 1):
Tournament matchup: #1 Tribe vs. Elon/Towson winner, March 7, Noon
The Tribe have one of the most complete teams in the CAA tournament, being able to have plenty of scoring options behind star Marcus Thornton. They came within three points of getting to the NCAA Tournament in 2014 and are poised to make it back to the CAA Championship game this season. The Tribe went 2-0 against Towson and 1-1 against Elon during the regular season. You know they want to see Northeastern in the finals, who they blew out at home back in January.
2. Northeastern Huskies (20-11, 12-6, LW- 3):
Tournament matchup: #3 Huskies vs. #6 Delaware, March 7, 8:30 p.m.
The way the seeding ended up, the tournament is set up for a championship game between the Huskies and the Tribe. The Huskies stumbled a bit towards the end of the regular season, losing a crucial road game to Elon that could have helped them win the regular season title outright, but did just enough to hang in the top group. Northeastern went 1-1 against Delaware this season, with each team winning on the road.
3. UNCW Seahawks (17-12, 12-6, LW- 2):
Tournament matchup: #2 Seahawks vs. Drexel/CofC winner, March 7, 6 p.m.
The cinderella darling of the regular season looks to be the surprise of the tournament as well. The last time UNCW made the NCAA Tournament was in 2006 and their do-it-all duo of Addison Spruill and Freddie Jackson look to get them back this season. The Seahawks went 1-1 against Drexel and 2-0 against Charleston in the regular season. UNCW will have confidence against William & Mary if they happen to meet in the finals, winning both regular season meetings with the Tribe.
Looking for other articles with perhaps more accurate facts. I did see one that predicts Hofstra. I don't think given how the season went, that there is a clear favorite. All the teams have proven unable to stand prosperity.
BTW, I will be shocked if Keatts does not win Coach of the Year. It is deserved. I didn't include the rest of the article which had previews for the other 7 teams. I personally don't have any preference over who the Tribe plays. We can beat anyone, and we can lose to anyone. Given history, I'd like to avoid Delaware, I guess.
I don't think most actual CAA fans think Northeastern is a clear favorite. It is wide open.
(This post was last modified: 03-03-2015 06:31 PM by TribePride91.)
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