Final 2013-14 CAA Men's Basketball Report
Tim McDonnell
Final 2013-14 CAA Men's Basketball Report
DELAWARE FALLS TO MICHIGAN STATE IN NCAA TOURNEY: Delaware fell 93-78 to Big Ten champ Michigan State in the second round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship. The Blue Hens trimmed an 11-point halftime deficit to five early in the second half, but could get no closer. Devon Saddler led UD with 21 points and Davon Usher added 20 points. UD was making its fifth appearance in the NCAA Tournament, but first as a member of the CAA. The Blue Hens earned NCAA berths in 1992, 1993, 1998 and 1999 and suffered first-round losses each year. In four of UD’s five NCAA appearances it has been a #13 seed.
TOWSON ADVANCES TO CIT QUARTERFINALS: Towson, which made its first postseason appearance since 1991 in the CIT, earned road victories over USC Upstate (63-60) and East Tennessee State (83-77) before falling to eventual champ Murray State (85-73) in the quarterfinals. Four McGlynn drained a halfcourt shot at the buzzer to beat USC Upstate and then hit 6-of-7 threes and scored a season-high 23 points at ETSU. The postseason victories were Towson’s first ever and culminate a remarkable turnaround for a program that was 1-31 in 2011-12. CAA teams are now 11-5 all-time in the CIT.
QUALITY THROUGHOUT THE LEAGUE: With Towson receiving a berth in the CIT, all nine CAA members have competed in post-season play at least once since 2006 and eight teams have made post-season appearances in the past four years. The list with most recent appearance is as follows: College of Charleston (2013/CBI), Delaware (2014/NCAA), Drexel (2012/NIT), Hofstra (2011/CBI), James Madison (2013/NCAA), UNCW (2006/NCAA), Northeastern (2013/NIT), Towson (2014/CIT) and William & Mary (2010/NIT).
DELAWARE CAPTURES FIRST CAA TITLE: Top-seeded Delaware overcame a six-point deficit with 1:20 to play and edged #3 William & Mary 75-74 to capture its first CAA Men’s Basketball Championship at the Baltimore Arena. The Blue Hens closed the game on a 7-0 run, capped by a Carl Baptiste layup with 13 seconds to go. The Tribe, which was making its third appearance in the CAA finals over the past seven years, had a final shot to win it, but Marcus Thornton’s 3-pointer went off the back of the rim at the buzzer. After leading by six at the half, UD increased its advantage to 47-35 with 16:35 play. The Tribe battled back behind 14 second-half points from freshman Omar Prewitt, whose 3-pointer with 1:20 left put the Tribe up 74-68. The Blue Hens responded with a pair of free throws from Devon Saddler and a 3-point play by Jarvis Threatt, which set the stage for Baptiste’s game-winner. Baptiste finished with a career-high 24 points while Threatt added 18 points and Saddler scored 16. Thornton tallied a team-best 22 points for W&M and senior Tim Rusthoven had 16 points on 8-of-10 FG shooting.
UD’S THREATT RECEIVES TOURNAMENT MOP HONORS: Delaware guard Jarvis Threatt was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2014 CAA Men’s Basketball Championship. He averaged 19.7 points on 64.5% FG shooting and 7.0 rebounds over the three games while also contributing 13 assists and 8 steals. He was joined on the all-tournament squad by UD teammates Carl Baptiste and Devon Saddler, William & Mary guards Marcus Thornton and Brandon Britt and Northeastern junior forward Scott Eatherton.
CAA MEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP MOVES TO BALTIMORE: The CAA Men’s Basketball Championship drew nearly 20,000 fans, including a crowd of 5,414 for the finals, to the Baltimore Arena in Baltimore, Md. It was the first year of a three-year agreement to bring the CAA’s showcase event to Baltimore after having its champion crowned at the Richmond Coliseum for 24 years.
BENIMON REPEATS AS CAA PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Towson senior Jerrelle Benimon was named the CAA Player of the Year for the second straight season, becoming the eighth player to receive the award in multiple years. Benimon, who averaged 18.7 points and a league-best 11.2 rebounds per game, ranked 3rd nationally with 21 double-doubles. Delaware’s Monte’ Ross received CAA Coach of the Year honors after guiding the Blue Hens to their first regular-season title. William & Mary’s Omar Prewitt was named Rookie of the Year, Northeastern’s Scott Eatherton was chosen as Defensive Player of the Year and W&M’s Tim Rusthoven received the Dean Ehlers Leadership Award.
THREE CAA TEAMS REACH 20-WIN MARK: Delaware eclipsed the 20-win mark for the first time since 2000-01 and its 25 victories were tied for the 2nd-most in school history. The Blue Hens, who captured their first-ever CAA regular-season title, won 19 of their last 22 games. Towson has set a new Division I record for victories with 25, topping the previous mark of 21 set in 1993-94. The Tigers won 9 of their last 11 contests. William & Mary won 20 games in a season for just the seventh time in school history.
UNCW HIRES KEATTS AS NEW HEAD COACH: UNCW selected Kevin Keatts as its new head coach, replacing Buzz Peterson. Keatts was previously the associate head coach at Louisville, where the Cardinals won a pair of Big East titles, made two Final Four appearances and captured the 2013 national championship during his three seasons. Prior to Louisville, Keatts compiled a 263-17 record in 10 seasons as head coach at Hargrave Military Academy.
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: Home teams went 26-11 in CAA play over the final five weeks after a run of success by visiting squads. Home teams were 44-28 for the year but four teams achieved .500 or better records on the road in league play.
CLOSE GAMES IN CONFERENCE PLAY: More than half (37-of-72) of all CAA games played this season were decided by seven points or less or in overtime. Seven of Drexel’s last 11 games were decided by four points or less. James Madison had 10 contests decided by six points or less. UNCW had eight games with margins of seven points or less and a ninth go to overtime. Northeastern had two games go to overtime and five others with margins of four points or less.
CAA RANKED 15TH IN FINAL RPI RATINGS: The CAA was ranked 15th among the nation’s 32 Division I conferences in the final RPI ratings released by Collegiate Basketball News (rpiratings.com). Delaware was the highest ranked CAA team at #66 followed by Towson at #84, William & Mary at #124 and Drexel at #135. A complete listing can be found on Page 5 of the release.
SADDLER, THORNTON IN DOUBLE FIGURES: Delaware guard Devon Saddler scored double figures in 65 of his last 67 games, while William & Mary guard Marcus Thornton has reached double digits in 60 of his last 63 contests. Saddler had a 38-game streak snapped in the semifinals of the 2013 CAA Championship but scored double figures in 27 of his 28 games this season. Thornton saw a 42-game double-digit streak end after being held to nine points at West Virginia on Dec. 29. He scored double digits in 18 of his final 20 contests.
BENIMON, EATHERTON AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS IN DOUBLE-DOUBLES: Towson’s Jerrelle Benimon ranked 3rd nationally with 21 double-doubles and Northeastern’s Scott Eatherton was 4th with 19 in the final NCAA statistics. Benimon was also 2nd in the nation in rebounding (11.2 rpg), while Eatherton was 12th in rebounding (10.2 rpg) and 43rd in FG percentage (54.1%). In other categories, W&M’s Marcus Thornton was 27th in 3-pointers per game (2.91) and 32nd in 3-pt FG percentage (40.3%). CofC’s Willis Hall was 31st in rebounding (9.2 rpg). Drexel’s Frantz Massenat was 37th in assist/turnover ratio. Hofstra’s Zeke Upshaw was 28th in scoring (19.8 ppg), Delaware’s Devon Saddler was 30th (19.7 ppg) and UD’s Davon Usher was 34th (19.4 ppg). Towson’s Four McGlynn ranked 6th in free throw percentage (91.3%).
HOFSTRA’S UPSHAW HAS NATION’S BIGGEST JUMP IN SCORING: Hofstra’s Zeke Upshaw led the CAA in scoring with 19.8 ppg, which was a significant increase over the 2.5 ppg he averaged in 2012-13 at Illinois State. The 17.3 ppg difference was the biggest jump of any player in Division I.
THREE AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS IN FEWEST TURNOVERS: Drexel averaged only 8.5 turnovers per game this season, which ranked third among all Division I teams. The Dragons committed nine or fewer turnovers in 17 of their last 23 games and didn’t turn the ball over more than 14 times in any game. Delaware recorded single-digit turnovers in 18 of its last 24 games. The Blue Hens ranked 8th nationally with 9.5 tpg. William & Mary, which ranked 26th with 10.3 tpg, turned the ball over 10 or fewer times in 11 of its last 16 games.
BENIMON SETS SEASON REBOUND MARK: Towson senior Jerrelle Benimon broke his own Division I school record for rebounds in a season with 404. The 404 rebounds were the 2nd-highest season total in CAA history and the most by any CAA player other than Hall of Famer David Robinson of Navy, who had 455 rebounds in 1985-86.
SADDLER BECOMES UD’S ALL-TIME LEADING SCORER: Delaware guard Devon Saddler became the Blue Hens’ all-time leading scorer on Feb. 3, breaking the mark held by Mike Pegues (2,030). With 2,222 points, he finished his career ranked 6th on the CAA’s all-time scoring chart. Saddler, who missed seven games due to a team suspension, averaged 19.7 ppg and ranked 3rd in career points among all active players in Division I, trailing Creighton’s Doug McDermott and Oakland’s Travis Bader.
DREXEL DUO CLIMB CAREER LISTS: Drexel guard Chris Fouch ranks 5th on the Dragons’ all-time scoring list with 1,744 points. He also made 275 career 3-pointers, which ranks 9th on the CAA’s career treys chart. Backcourt mate Frantz Massenat ranks third in career assists at Drexel with 548 and is 9th on the CAA’s all-time assists chart. He’s seventh on Drexel’s career scoring list with 1,646 points.
TRANSFERS MAKE AN IMPACT: Transfers made a big impact in the CAA. Hofstra’s Zeke Upshaw (Illinois State) was 1st in the CAA in scoring with 19.8 ppg, while the Pride’s Dion Nesmith (Monmouth) was 10th (13.3 ppg) in scoring and 2nd in assists (4.2 apg). Delaware’s Davon Usher (Mississippi Valley State) was 3rd in the CAA in scoring (19.4 ppg) and 11th in rebounding (6.1 rpg). Northeastern’s Scott Eatherton (St. Francis Pa.) was among the league’s top 10 in scoring (15.9 ppg/8th), rebounding (10.2 rpg/2nd) and FG percentage (54.1%/3rd). Towson’s Four McGlynn (Vermont) led the league in FT percentage (91.3%), ranked 3rd in 3-point FG percentage (40.8%) and 8th in 3’s per game (2.0).
DELAWARE RANKED #7 IN MID-MAJOR POLL: Delaware was ranked #7 in the final CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll. Towson and William & Mary were among others receiving votes.