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A quick check of news around the Association in Tournament Week (final report for this season) and a look at Saturday's opponent, Elon.



PLAYER OF THE WEEK:

C.J. Bryce • UNCW
So., G, 6-5, 185 - Charlotte, N.C./North Mecklenburg

Bryce averaged 25.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists as UNCW clinched the CAA regular-season title with a pair of victories last week. The sophomore guard poured in a career-high 28 points with six rebounds in an 83-78 triumph over Towson and shot 61.8% from the floor, including 5-of-6 from 3-point range for the week.



ROOKIE OF THE WEEK:

Bolden Brace • Northeastern
Fr., G, 6-6, 221 - Santa Barbara, Calif./Santa Barbara

Brace averaged 26.0 points and 6.0 rebounds as Northeastern split a pair of road games last week. The freshman guard scored a career-high 40 points in a 105-104 double overtime victory at Elon and shot 44% from the floor for the week.




UNCW CAPTURES THIRD STRAIGHT TITLE: UNCW captured its third straight CAA regular-season title after posting victories over Towson (83-78) and Northeastern (74-65) to wrap up the season. The Seahawks are the first team to capture three consecutive regular-season crowns since VCU did it from 2007-09.



CLOSE GAMES CONTINUE: Five of the 10 CAA games last week were decided by six points or less, including Northeastern’s 105-104 double OT win at Elon on Thursday and the Tribe's Senior Day win over Towson. Eleven CAA games played over the past four weeks were decided by two points or less.



OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCES: It was another week of high octane offensive performances around the CAA. Northeastern freshman Bolden Brace tied a CAA record with 10 three-pointers and scored 40 points in the Huskies’ 105-104 double OT win at Elon. In the same game, NU’s T.J. Williams recorded the first triple-double by a Huskies’ player since 2006 with 26 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists, and Elon’s Tyler Seibring scored a career-high 30 points with 12 rebounds. Hofstra’s Justin Wright-Foreman averaged 27.0 ppg and 5.5 rpg last week, including 35 points in a win at William & Mary. The Tribe's Daniel Dixon posted back-to-back 32-point efforts against Hofstra and Towson, while the Tigers William Adala Moto scored a career-high 33 points at UNCW. CofC’s Jarrell Brantley recorded back-to-back double-doubles in wins over Delaware (21 pts/10 reb) and Drexel (22 pts/10 reb). Elon’s Dmitri Thompson averaged 22.5 ppg last week and had the two highest-scoring games of his career.



PILING UP WINS: UNCW (26-5) is one of 11 teams in Division I with at least 26 wins this season as of Feb. 27. The others are #1 Kansas (26-3), #2 Villanova (27-3), #3 UCLA (26-3), #4 Gonzaga (29-1), #6 Oregon (26-4), #7 Arizona (26-4), #20 Saint Mary’s (26-3), #21 Wichita State (27-4), Monmouth (26-5) and Vermont (26-5).


RPI REPORT UPDATE: Three CAA teams are ranked in the Top 100 in the latest RPI rankings released by Collegiate Basketball News (rpiratings.com). UNCW (26-5), which has won 23 of its last 27 games, leads the way at #37. College of Charleston (23-8), which has captured 20 of its last 25 contests, is ranked #67. Towson (19-12), which has won 11 of its last 14 games, is ranked #98. The Tribe fell, with the loss to Hofstra, to #127. The CAA continues to be ranked #11 among the nation’s 32 Division I leagues.




Tribe DISA & DATA

• Daniel Dixon scored a team-high 32 points vs. HU and TU with 5 assists in each game. He’s reached double figures in 22 straight games, has 14 20+-point efforts and five 30-point outings. He’s averaging 22.9 ppg in CAA play. Dixon hit 20-of-22 FT’s last week.

• Nathan Knight scored a career-high 20 points with a team-best 7 rebounds vs. TU. He’s averaging 11.3 ppg in the past 8 games and tops the CAA with 1.4 bpg.

• Omar Prewitt added 12 points and 5 rebounds vs. Hofstra. He’s averaging 17.3 ppg and 7.3 rpg over his last 6 games.

• Jack Whitman scored 11 points off the bench vs. Hofstra. He’s shooting 70.4% from the floor in CAA play.

• W&M’s senior class recorded 76 total wins and 43 CAA wins, which was the most ever for a class.

• W&M shot 51.1% from the floor vs. TU and 50% vs. HU, which was the 16th time overall and 12th in the past 17 games it has topped 50%. W&M has 13 games with 10+ treys.




ELON Notes:

• Fell 105-104 in 2OT to Northeastern, but beat Delaware, 81-59, last week. Finished 7-2 in CAA home games.

• 6'8" Soph. Forward Tyler Seibring posted a double-double with a career-high 30 points and 12 rebounds vs. NU and added 9 points and 10 boards against UD. He has six 20-point efforts and averaged 15.9 ppg and 7.3 rpg in CAA play.

• 6'4" Jr. Guard Dmitri Thompson recorded his first double-double vs. NU with career-highs of 23 points and 10 rebounds and scored a team-high 22 points in the win over UD.

• 6'0" Soph. Guard Dainan Swoope averaged 12.5 ppg last week, including 14 points vs. UD. It was his sixth straight game in double figures. He averages 11.8 points per game.

• 6'4" Soph. Guard Steven Santa Ana has made 69 three point baskets this season and is one of the top free throw shooters in the CAA. He is averaging 11.7 ppg.

• 6'8" Jr. Forward Brian Dawkins had 11 points vs. NU. He has 17 double-digit efforts in the past 22 games. He is averaging 12.7 ppg and 5.2 rpg overall.

• Elon clinched its first winning season since 2013-14.

• Elon made 14 three-pointers vs. NU and 10 against UD and averages 9.6 threes per game. The Phoenix have hit double-digit treys 16 times.




FINALLY: Elon is as good a matchup as any for the opening round opponent (we beat everyone once and lost to everyone, except Delaware, once). They are a dangerous long range team, but as we all intimately know, those that live by the three can die by the three on a bad shooting night. The Tribe zone will have to be extra active getting a hand in the face of Santa Ana, Swoope and especially Siebring, who is one of the most well rounded players in the league and can score inside and from three with ease.
We will also need big games from our Bigs, the better to open up the outside shot. It would be a great time for Nathan to announce himself to the League fans who haven't gotten a chance to see him and for Jack to get back his rhythm.

This has been one of my favorite all-time Tribe teams offensively, their fast break scoring is a thing of beauty, and I would love to see them in action three more time, minimum, but that will require one of the more porous Tribe defenses of all-time to plug up the wall and make it tougher to lose big leads.


Good Luck, guys! Go Tribe!!


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So Dixon averages 32 ppg last week and doesn't get POW. That's some type of combination of sad, disturbing, and impressive.

Amazing that Daniel is averaging basically 23ppg in conference play. Let's see him get CAA Tourney MVP or MOP (whatever the CAA calls it), and lead us to the tourney.

(02-28-2017 11:05 AM)Naptown Tribe Wrote:  So Dixon averages 32 ppg last week and doesn't get POW. That's some type of combination of sad, disturbing, and impressive.

Amazing that Daniel is averaging basically 23ppg in conference play. Let's see him get CAA Tourney MVP or MOP (whatever the CAA calls it), and lead us to the tourney.

Right! Also add the fact that we would've been hammered in both games had it not been for DD. If we can only get Daniel, Omar, and Nathan clicking throughout the CAAT.

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I predict that Cohn will be much more important and play better in the tournament. If we can make it to Monday we are going to be running all game with everyone worn out on both sides. Cohn could shine.

(02-28-2017 12:11 PM)Tribe32 Wrote:  I predict that Cohn will be much more important and play better in the tournament. If we can make it to Monday we are going to be running all game with everyone worn out on both sides. Cohn could shine.

Bold prediction. Cohn has not shown me any reason to believe he will randomly get it together in the CAA tourney.

In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Cohn is on a short leash (in place of Tot) if he isn't creating offense. Dixon & Prewitt are capable scorers and Malinowski, Knight, & Whitman are all capable of scoring in double digits, which means Cohn's offense isn't as important.

Tot & Dixon are quality defenders and can be effective at neutralizing Elon's backcourt. Just need to not carelessly turn the ball over and let teams score easily in transition (W&M's transition defense is amazingly awful)

My hopes are for early leads that encourage Coach to stick to his rotations and milk as many minutes as we can from the bench. I'd love to see Connor, Pierce, and Tot lead the way over Elon. I also really want to see Rowley look for his shot again on offense. If he gets covered by anyone 6'4" and under, he needs to be shooting.

Hopefully W&M doesn't play offense like they did in the game @Elon. That was truly a pathetic effort that has only been topped by the pathetic effort @Drexel

(02-28-2017 05:34 PM)WMtribe17 Wrote:  Hopefully W&M doesn't play offense like they did in the game @Elon. That was truly a pathetic effort that has only been topped by the pathetic effort @Drexel

I like the positive vibe your putting out.

(02-28-2017 12:51 PM)WMtribe17 Wrote:  

(02-28-2017 12:11 PM)Tribe32 Wrote:  I predict that Cohn will be much more important and play better in the tournament. If we can make it to Monday we are going to be running all game with everyone worn out on both sides. Cohn could shine.

Bold prediction. Cohn has not shown me any reason to believe he will randomly get it together in the CAA tourney.

In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Cohn is on a short leash (in place of Tot) if he isn't creating offense. Dixon & Prewitt are capable scorers and Malinowski, Knight, & Whitman are all capable of scoring in double digits, which means Cohn's offense isn't as important.

Tot & Dixon are quality defenders and can be effective at neutralizing Elon's backcourt. Just need to not carelessly turn the ball over and let teams score easily in transition (W&M's transition defense is amazingly awful)

Not sure why David gets singled out so often on these boards. He's had some consistency issues. The entire team, besides Daniel and maybe Jack, has struggled in that department. However, he's put up some very respectable PG numbers.


Cohn, David
FG% - .406 (58-142)
3 PT FG% - .358 (19-53)
FT% - .708 (34-48)
RPG - 2.7
Assist to TO Ratio - 2.8:1 (132 to 48)
PPG - 5.8

Those are all very respectable numbers. More importantly, David's numbers are better than Tot's in every category, except FG%, where Tot rarely looks to score and has had few attempts. Tot's assist to TO ratio is 2:1 (38 to 19). I like Tot's play and the spark he can provide defensively off the bench, but can we please end the fiction that Tot should start or his a superior option. I choose to be a fan and expect David to play even better than he has to date in Charleston. Go Tribe!

(02-28-2017 06:53 PM)WMTribe90 Wrote:  

(02-28-2017 12:51 PM)WMtribe17 Wrote:  

(02-28-2017 12:11 PM)Tribe32 Wrote:  I predict that Cohn will be much more important and play better in the tournament. If we can make it to Monday we are going to be running all game with everyone worn out on both sides. Cohn could shine.

Bold prediction. Cohn has not shown me any reason to believe he will randomly get it together in the CAA tourney.

In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Cohn is on a short leash (in place of Tot) if he isn't creating offense. Dixon & Prewitt are capable scorers and Malinowski, Knight, & Whitman are all capable of scoring in double digits, which means Cohn's offense isn't as important.

Tot & Dixon are quality defenders and can be effective at neutralizing Elon's backcourt. Just need to not carelessly turn the ball over and let teams score easily in transition (W&M's transition defense is amazingly awful)

Not sure why David gets singled out so often on these boards. He's had some consistency issues. The entire team, besides Daniel and maybe Jack, has struggled in that department. However, he's put up some very respectable PG numbers.


Cohn, David
FG% - .406 (58-142)
3 PT FG% - .358 (19-53)
FT% - .708 (34-48)
RPG - 2.7
Assist to TO Ratio - 2.8:1 (132 to 48)
PPG - 5.8

Those are all very respectable numbers. More importantly, David's numbers are better than Tot's in every category, except FG%, where Tot rarely looks to score and has had few attempts. Tot's assist to TO ratio is 2:1 (38 to 19). I like Tot's play and the spark he can provide defensively off the bench, but can we please end the fiction that Tot should start or his a superior option. I choose to be a fan and expect David to play even better than he has to date in Charleston. Go Tribe!

Games where Cohn has completely disappeared:

@UNCW, 2 pts, 3 assists, 3 TOs, get blown out
JMU, 3 pts, 3 assists, get lucky and win by 1 at home
@Elon, 5 pts, 3 assists, 2 TOs, comfortably lose to Elon
NE, 5 pts, 3 assists, 1 TO, blow out NE
@Towson, 4 pts, 1 assist, 1 TO, lose a close one to Towson
@Drexel, 2 pts, 1 assist, 2 TOs, get blown out by Drexel
@JMU, 0 pts, 5 assists, 2 TOs, lose a close one to JMU
Towson, 5 pts, 2 assists, 2 TOs, barely beat Towson
and there are other games that can probably be added, but I just chose the worst 8 IMO

The reason I get mad with Cohn is because he was playing much better last season, and with a season to improve (and having what I believe to be better scorers this season on a faster tempo team) is putting up worse shooting percentages and the same number of assists/game. His points/game has also dropped by about half. Also infuriating is he can have games like he did @Hofstra & UNCW at home where he can get a double double and follow it with games where he scores 2 or less points and has more turnovers than assists.

Not saying or arguing Tot is a better player, but if Cohn is contributing very little on the offensive end, then I would rather have a player in Tot who can play some defense over a player in Cohn who defends poorly.

The criticism of Cohn is quite simple, really:




He's regressed offensively and managed to get worse defensively. Tot might be a black hole offensively but he at least tries on defense. W&M really needs 2015 Cohn in the tourney.

I'm just gonna echo what 17 and Rocco have said. It's not that anyone (or most people) think Tot is better than Cohn, it's that if Cohn is struggling offensively we might as well play Tot because he's such a strong defender.

I'll also say that, personally, I get frustrated with Cohn because I expect more out of him. I thought he would get better from last season not worse.

My my my, how some of you have forgotten about Tot's turnovers. Watch the Towson game again...Tot turns the ball over and was in the game when we turned the ball over a bunch at the end of the first half (this tells me there's a disconnect in team chemistry with him in the lineup). The offense tends to click better with Cohn in the game. That doesn't mean our offense is always great with him in - he has no control over others' missed shots.

Neither guy is going to light it up but I'll trust Shaver's judgment.

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(02-28-2017 10:12 PM)Tribal Wrote:  My my my, how some of you have forgotten about Tot's turnovers. Watch the Towson game again...Tot turns the ball over and was in the game when we turned the ball over a bunch at the end of the first half (this tells me there's a disconnect in team chemistry with him in the lineup). The offense tends to click better with Cohn in the game. That doesn't mean our offense is always great with him in - he has no control over others' missed shots.

Neither guy is going to light it up but I'll trust Shaver's judgment.

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I don't want to start Tot because Tot's defense is a band aid on a bullet wound. This team isn't going to win unless their offense goes nova and that's most likely to happen with Cohn out there.

(02-28-2017 08:32 PM)Rocco Wrote:  The criticism of Cohn is quite simple, really:




He's regressed offensively and managed to get worse defensively. Tot might be a black hole offensively but he at least tries on defense. W&M really needs 2015 Cohn in the tourney.

The only number that is down significantly from last year is his PPG. His shooting percentages are only down slightly. Most importantly, his assist numbers are nearly identical. So, he's shooting less, but as others have stated we don't need him to score double digits as long as he takes care of the ball. I will say he was more consistent last year, but he's only had a few good games.

Anyway, I responded to 17 because he implied Tot should be starting, not that Cohn was better or worse than last year. Any objective observer recognizes Cohn has earned starter minutes. Any fan appreciates them both and hopes they both come up big in Charleston. Go Tribe.

If UNCW loses in the conference final I think they will have a decent shot of an at-large. They'll need things to break their way with other teams on the bubble, but a 28-6 record and top 40 RPI should have them in the conversation.

(02-28-2017 11:40 PM)WMTribe90 Wrote:  

(02-28-2017 08:32 PM)Rocco Wrote:  The criticism of Cohn is quite simple, really:




He's regressed offensively and managed to get worse defensively. Tot might be a black hole offensively but he at least tries on defense. W&M really needs 2015 Cohn in the tourney.

The only number that is down significantly from last year is his PPG. His shooting percentages are only down slightly. Most importantly, his assist numbers are nearly identical. So, he's shooting less, but as others have stated we don't need him to score double digits as long as he takes care of the ball. I will say he was more consistent last year, but he's only had a few good games.

Anyway, I responded to 17 because he implied Tot should be starting, not that Cohn was better or worse than last year. Any objective observer recognizes Cohn has earned starter minutes. Any fan appreciates them both and hopes they both come up big in Charleston. Go Tribe.

Last year he scored enough points to complement his assist totals. This year that modest scoring total has gone down to the point that he's a minus player when he's on the court. Not only is he shooting less, he's not shooting as well and not getting to the line nearly as often. His turnover percentage went up as well, so not only is he not scoring as much he's not taking care of the ball as well. His overall production is >100 points lower than last year pending the tourney. One can be a fan yet still acknowledge a player's shortcomings.

The fact is that without David Cohn producing at the high level he is capable of we cannot win the tourney. Tot can give some occasionally valuable relief, especially in a zone defense with his height and long arms extended, but he does not have the speed or offensive creativity of David.

Remember, too, he had Tarpey last year to take some of the pressure off him.

Granted Cohn has had a number of disappointing games, especially on the road, but look back on his brilliant performances at home with major positive assists to tun over ratios, and its easy to see we need
him on his game to win the tourney.

(02-28-2017 11:40 PM)WMTribe90 Wrote:  

(02-28-2017 08:32 PM)Rocco Wrote:  The criticism of Cohn is quite simple, really:




He's regressed offensively and managed to get worse defensively. Tot might be a black hole offensively but he at least tries on defense. W&M really needs 2015 Cohn in the tourney.

The only number that is down significantly from last year is his PPG. His shooting percentages are only down slightly. Most importantly, his assist numbers are nearly identical. So, he's shooting less, but as others have stated we don't need him to score double digits as long as he takes care of the ball. I will say he was more consistent last year, but he's only had a few good games.

Anyway, I responded to 17 because he implied Tot should be starting, not that Cohn was better or worse than last year. Any objective observer recognizes Cohn has earned starter minutes. Any fan appreciates them both and hopes they both come up big in Charleston. Go Tribe.

Nowhere in my comment did I imply Tot should be starting. I said Cohn should have a short leash and if he isn't making the offense better, then it would be more beneficial to have Tot out there and give him more minutes - just like the JMU game where W&M was down a decent amount, put Tot in pretty much the entire 2nd half, and came back to win.

Tony has spoken often about this team needing balanced scoring, not just Daniel and Omar having big games. I became more a proponent of Tot in the Hofstra loss, seeing the advantages his height gave in seeing the floor, defensive disruption, and rebounding. Cohn, though, is without a doubt who I want with the ball against pressure. The eye test difference for me regarding David, last season versus this year, is he seemed much more effective and consistent last year at putting pressure on the defense with pushing our offense up the court and forcing action before the defense could get set up. It's where we can be so explosive as a team and keep opponents uncomfortable. That's hard to measure in stats. Maybe the difference is not having Terry's added defensive rebounding to give David more of those opportunities, I don't know. If David is able to "drive" the offense this weekend the way he is capable, we will be hard to beat. It takes a lot of the pressure off Daniel and Omar to carry a game, and puts us in better position for the balanced scoring Tony harps on. If he's not able to do that, then Tot's size helps us more in other areas where we have deficiencies.

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