Northeastern's David Walker
Men's Basketball Weekly Honors - Feb. 23
Rob Washburn
CAA MEN'S BASKETBALL WEEKLY REPORT - FEB. 23 (PDF format)
PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
David Walker • Northeastern
Jr., G, 6-6, 196 - Stow, Ohio/Stow-Munroe Falls
Walker averaged 23.0 points, 5.5 assists and 4.0 rebounds as Northeastern went 2-0 to remain tied atop the CAA standings. The junior guard scored a team-high 21 points and dished out seven assists in a 75-64 victory over William & Mary and followed with a career-best 25 points, including 11 in overtime, as the Huskies edged Drexel 83-73. For the week, Walker shot 66.7% from the floor, including 5-of-8 from 3-point range, was 17-of-18 at the free throw line and played all 85 minutes.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK:
Elijah Bryant • Elon
Fr., G, 6-4, 225 - Gwinnett, Ga./New Hampton School
Bryant had a strong all-around week, averaging 15.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists as Elon split a pair of road games. The freshman guard narrowly missed a double-double with 10 points, a team-high nine rebounds and five assists in an 83-75 overtime win at Delaware and contributed 20 points and three steals against College of Charleston. Bryant has scored double figures in 23 of Elon’s 29 contests.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK:
Greg Malinowski • William & Mary
Fr., G/F, 6-5, 205 - Chantilly, Va./Episcopal
Malinowski averaged 10.0 points while shooting 77.8% from the floor, including 5-of-7 from 3-point range, in W&M’s two difficult road games. The freshman scored 11 points in only his second career start in an 80-78 triumph at Hofstra and drained three treys for nine points at Northeastern. Malinowski, who was filling in for injured starter Daniel Dixon, had scored just 17 points in his previous seven games before last week.
CONFERENCE NOTES:
FOUR-WAY TIE ATOP CAA STANDINGS: The CAA features the most competitive regular-season race in the nation as four teams are tied for first place at 11-5 with two games remaining. James Madison, UNCW, Northeastern and William & Mary all earned victories over the weekend to remain deadlocked. W&M captured its last regular-season crown in 1997-98, JMU won its last title in 1999-2000, UNCW’s most recent first-place finish came in 2005-06 and NU claimed its only regular-season championship in 2012-13. The only remaining head-to-head matchup between the top four teams takes place on Wednesday as UNCW hosts JMU. There hasn’t been a tie for the CAA regular-season championship since 2005-06 and the conference has never had more than two teams finish in a first-place tie.
HISTORIC BALANCE: This will be the first time in 18 years that the CAA regular-season champion has had at least five losses in conference play. The last time the first-place team in the CAA had more than four setbacks was 1996-97 when Old Dominion and UNCW shared the league title with a 10-6 mark.
CLOSE CONFERENCE GAMES: There have been 55 CAA games played since January 17, and 28 have been decided by six points or less or in OT. Ten of Delaware’s past 14 games have been decided by six points or less or OT. Eight of College of Charleston’s last 13 games have been decided by six points or less. Seven of UNCW’s last 12 games have been decided by five points or less. Eleven of Towson’s 16 CAA games have had margins of 5 points or less.
ROAD TEAMS DOING WELL IN CAA PLAY: Road teams have posted a 17-13 mark over the past three weeks and home teams are just 41-39 (51.3%) in CAA play this season. Six squads are .500 or better in league road games, led by James Madison (6-2) and Hofstra (6-2). All 10 teams have won at least one conference road contest and eight have won three or more. Last season, home teams went 44-28 (61.1%) in CAA play.
DREXEL’S LEE OUT FOR THE SEASON: Drexel junior guard Damion Lee, who leads the CAA and ranks fourth nationally in scoring with 21.4 ppg, is out for the season after suffering a fracture in his right hand during Saturday’s game at Northeastern. Lee, who reached the 30-point mark for the fourth time against the Huskies, finished with 578 points, which is the 8th-highest season total in school history. He also ranks 10th on the Dragons’ career scoring list with 1,538 points.
For more CAA men's basketball news and notes, click on the link above for the full weekly release or check out the
Men's Basketball Notebook on our HoopScoop blog.