Men's Basketball Weekly Honors - March 2
Rob Washburn
CAA MEN'S BASKETBALL WEEKLY REPORT - MARCH 2 (PDF format)
PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Ron Curry • James Madison
Jr., G, 6-4, 190 - Pennsauken, N.J./Paul VI
Curry averaged 21.5 points and 6.0 assists in James Madison’s two games last week. The junior guard posted his first career double-double with a team-high 20 points and a career-high 11 assists in the Dukes’ 82-73 win over Hofstra and poured in a game-high 23 points in a loss at UNCW. For the week, he shot 52% from the floor, including 10-of-13 (76.9%) from 3-point range. He has eight 20-point efforts in the past 12 games.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK:
Elijah Bryant • Elon
Fr., G, 6-4, 225 - Gwinnett, Ga./New Hampton School
Bryant averaged 14.5 points and 8.0 rebounds as Elon knocked off a pair of first-place teams last week. The freshman guard had a team-high 16 points, eight boards, four assists and three steals in a 72-65 win over Northeastern and followed with 13 points and eight caroms in a 74-55 victory against UNCW. He has tallied double figures in 25 of 31 games.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK:
Kory Holden • Delaware
Fr., G, 6-2, 180 - Salisbury, Md./J.M. Bennett
Holden averaged 13.0 points and 6.0 assists as Delaware closed the regular season with back-to-back road wins. The freshman guard scored a game-high 17 points, including four crucial free throws in the final 23 seconds, in a 65-60 triumph at Towson and had nine points, eight assists and no turnovers in a 58-44 win at Drexel. For the week, he shot 52.9% from the floor, including 4-of-8 from 3-point range.
CONFERENCE NOTES:
FOUR-WAY TIE FOR REGULAR-SEASON TITLE: For the first time in CAA history, there was a four-way tie for the CAA regular-season title as James Madison, UNCW, Northeastern and William & Mary all finished 12-6. W&M captured its first regular-season crown since 1997-98, JMU won its first title since 1999-2000, UNCW posted its first regular-season title since 2005-06 and NU claimed its second regular-season championship in the past three years. It was the first tie for the CAA regular-season championship since 2005-06 and the first time the conference has had more than two teams finish in a first-place tie.
HISTORIC BALANCE: The six conference losses for the CAA regular-season champion were tied for the most in league history. 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. There were seven teams that finished .500 or better in CAA play.
CLOSE CONFERENCE GAMES: Of the 65 CAA games played since January 17, 29 were decided by six points or less or in OT. Eleven of Delaware’s past 16 games have been decided by six points or less or OT. Eight of College of Charleston’s last 15 games have been decided by six points or less. Seven of UNCW’s last 14 games have been decided by five points or less. Twelve of Towson’s 18 CAA games had margins of 5 points or less.
CAA MEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP RETURNS TO BALTIMORE: The CAA Men’s Basketball Championship starts Friday at Baltimore’s Royal Farms Arena. It’s the second year of a three-year agreement for the CAA to bring its showcase event to Baltimore. Nearly 20,000 fans attended last year’s tournament. More than 400,000 alumni from CAA schools live within 250 miles of Baltimore. Tickets are currently on sale at TicketMaster.com.
ROAD TEAMS FARE WELL IN CAA PLAY: Road teams posted a 21-19 mark over the final four weeks and home teams finished just 47-43 (52.2%) in CAA play this season. Seven squads posted winning records in league road games, led by Hofstra (6-3) and James Madison (6-3). All 10 teams won at least one conference road contest and eight won three or more. Last season, home teams went 44-28 (61.1%) in CAA play.
THORNTON BECOMES W&M’S ALL-TIME LEADING SCORER: William & Mary senior guard Marcus Thornton became the school’s all-time leading scorer last Wednesday and now has 2,081 points. He broke the oldest Division I scoring record in the country, which was set by Chet Giermak (2,052 pts) back in 1950. Thornton ranks third among all active NCAA Division I players in career 3-pointers made (308) and he’s sixth in career scoring. He’s also fifth on the CAA’s career treys chart and 11th on the CAA career scoring list.
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Men's Basketball Notebook on our Hoop Scoop blog.