#CAAHoops MBB Notebook - Dec. 27

#CAAHoops MBB Notebook - Dec. 27

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Miles McQuiggan

SCHEDULE AND RESULTS

WEEKLY AWARDS
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Maleeck Harden-Hayes, UNCW
Senior | Guard | Moorhead, Minn. / Moorhead
Harden-Hayes poured in a career-high 22 points on 8-of-9 shooting and 4-for-4 from three to lead UNCW to its ninth-straight win in Wednesday’s 74-66 victory at Campbell. The guard from Minnesota came off the bench to contribute 34 minutes and tallied 17 of his 22 points in the second half to go along with three rebounds and two assists. Harden-Hayes was in double figures for the fifth-straight game and sixth time this year.
 
CO-ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Max Mackinnon, Elon
Freshman | Guard/Forward | Brisbane, Australia / Lake Ginninderra College
Mackinnon’s strong non-conference showing wrapped up with a 19-point, six-rebound performance at No. 18 Indiana on Tuesday night in Bloomington. The rookie from Australia was 6-of-11 from the field in his fourth game of 18+ points over his last six contests. Mackinnon averaged 11.5 points per game in non-league action and 15.7 over his last six games.
 
CO-ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Jared Turner, Northeastern
Freshman | Guard/Forward | Silver Spring, Md. / Gonzaga College High School
Turner contributed 12 points, three rebounds, and two assists in his second career start as Northeastern wrapped up non-league play with a win at Davidson. The freshman from Maryland was 4-for-5 shooting including 3-for-4 from distance for his second-straight double-figure scoring output and third in his last five games.
 
2022-23 CAA MEN’S BASKETBALL WEEKLY AWARD WINNERS
Player of the Week
Nov. 14: Nicolas Timberlake, Towson
Nov. 21: Aaron Estrada, Hofstra; Ryan Larson, Charleston
Nov. 28: Cam Holden, Towson
Dec. 5: Jyáre Davis, Delaware; Jordan Nesbitt, Hampton
Dec. 12: Jameer Nelson Jr., Delaware
Dec. 19: Jyáre Davis, Delaware
Dec. 26: Maleeck Harden-Hayes, UNCW
 
Rookie of the Week
Nov. 14: Amar’e Marshall, Hofstra
Nov. 21: Amar’e Marshall, Hofstra
Nov. 28: Amar’e Marshall, Hofstra
Dec. 5: Jack Collins, Monmouth
Dec. 12: Amar’e Marshall, Hofstra
Dec. 19: Noah Ross, UNCW
Dec. 26: Max Mackinnon, Elon; Jared Turner, Northeastern
 
NEWS AND NOTES
THAT’S CALLED A WINNING STREAK
The CAA enters the day with two teams in the top 75 of the NET thanks to Charleston (53) and UNCW (72). Charleston (12-1) closed non-conference play winning 11 in a row, while UNCW (10-3) has been victorious in nine straight contests, making the duo the only conference foes currently on winning streaks of 7+ games. Neither lost to a mid-major opponent in non-conference play.
 
STUDYING ON THE QUAD 
CAA teams hold eight wins that qualify as Quad 1 or Quad 2 in the NET. Three of them rank in Q1 with two belonging to Charleston (Kent State, Virginia Tech) and one to UNCW (North Texas). Hofstra holds three Q2 wins (Iona, Princeton, San Jose State) and Towson (UMass) and Delaware (Princeton) each have one.
 
Some victories with the potential to move up in stature this week include Charleston’s home win over Colorado State (84) and Hofstra’s road victory at Princeton (106). The CAA went 6-2 vs. both the Sun Belt and MAAC, 8-3 vs. the A10, and 7-3 vs. the SoCon this winter in addition to wins over the ACC and American.
 
KINGS OF KING STREET 
Charleston is 12-1 with wins over five NCAA Tournament teams and three defending conference champions (ACC, A10, SoCon), a title in the Charleston Classic, and the lone setback at preseason No. 1 North Carolina followed by a current 11-game winning streak. Charleston is the third team in CAA history to open the year 12-1 or better, joining the 1985-86 Richmond squad (16-1) and the 1983-84 George Mason team (12-1).

HOLIDAY BUCKETS FROM COACH KELSEY
The Charleston head coach had no issue burning off the Christmas cookies  
SEAHAWKS SOARING ON AN EVEN KEEL
UNCW has won nine straight games following a victory at Campbell to close non-league play. The Seahawks have climbed 110 spots in KenPom, won the Baha Mar Hoops event, and defeated a member of The American during the streak. Maleeck Harden-Hayes has scored in double figures off the bench in each of the last five including a 22-point performance in the win in Buies Creek on Wednesday. UNCW’s bench has outscored the opposition’s reserves in all nine games of the winning streak.
   
DEL YEAH!
Delaware is 5-1 in its last six games with victories over Davidson, Delaware State, Siena, Princeton, and Rider. Jameer Nelson Jr. has scored 20+ points in four of the six while Jyáre Davis has added two 20-point outings. The duo has earned CAA Player of the Week honors for the Hens in three of the last four weeks.

WE LIKE A CHALLENGE
Three CAA teams rank among the top 50 most challenging schedules according to the NET. UNCW has played the 39th-toughest schedule in the nation, while North Carolina A&T ranks 41st and Hofstra 43rd. NET calculations factor in results against Division I opponents.
 
#RANKCHARLESTON
Charleston is receiving votes in both national polls this week and slotted as high as No. 18 on one voter’s AP Top 25 ballot. CAA teams have 14 non-conference games against teams ranked or receiving votes in the AP poll and three against the current top five (No. 1 Purdue, No. 2 UConn, No. 3 Houston).
 
Charleston is No. 2, UNCW is No. 18, and Hofstra and Towson are receiving votes in the most recent College Insider Mid-Major Top 25. CAA teams will play 24 games against non-league foes ranked or receiving votes in that poll with five wins over the group.
 
GETTING DEFENSIVE
Drexel’s 62.2 points per game allowed ranks 44th nationally, with UNCW just outside the top 50 at 63.2. The Dragons held UT Arlington to 38 points in a win at the Gulf Coast Showcase - the fewest points a CAA team has allowed to a Division I non-conference opponent since Charleston held East Carolina to 35 in 2016.
 
EYE ON THE PRIZE
Wednesday’s conference opener will be the first game this season of the CAA’s television package on CBS Sports Network. The 15-game regular season package, which includes at least one game for every CAA team, will feature John Fanta and Dave Ryan as play-by-play broadcasters and Tarik Turner, Terrence Oglesby, and Dr. John Giannini as analysts. Fanta will also join Karlie Smith for a weekly #CAAHoops breakdown on CAASports.com and @CAABasketball on Twitter.
   
AND-ONES
One thing to know on each #CAAHoops team
 
• Charleston is the third team in CAA history to start the year 12-1 and first since Richmond in 1986-87.
• Delaware’s Jameer Nelson Jr. ranks second in the league and 20th nationally with 19.8 points per game while leading the league and placing 29th in the country with 2.31 steals per game.
• Drexel’s game Thursday will be its first since December 17 due to a CoVID postponement against Fairfield
• Elon’s Max Mackinnon scored 19 points at Indiana, which were one shy of the most by a freshman against the Hoosiers this season, as Kansas’ Gradey Dick scored 20 the week before.
• Hampton has gotten to the line 24.9 times per game, which ranks 15th nationally.
• Hofstra’s Aaron Estrada leads the CAA at 21.6 points per game, which is good for ninth nationally.
• Monmouth will play a nationally televised home game Wednesday for the first time since Feb. 22, 2019 and one of 14 games available regionally this season for Hawk fans.
• North Carolina A&T is in a stretch of seven games away from home that includes three in Texas, two in Las Vegas, one in Boston, and one on Long Island.
•  UNCW’s bench has outscored its opposition in every game of the current nine-game winning streak.
•  Northeastern’s Coleman Stucke ranks 19th nationally in turnover percentage, limiting his miscues to a 5.6% rate.
• Stony Brook’s rebounding margin has been positive or even in six of its last seven contests.
• Towson is one of two CAA teams with two scorers at 15+ points per game, as Nicolas Timberlake is averaging 15.7 and Cam Holden checks in at 15.2.
• William & Mary’s Anders Nelson leads the CAA with 5.2 assists per game; he has assisted on 40.6% of made field goals while on the floor, good for sixth nationally.
 
NCAA STAT LEADERS
Top 25 Nationally
NCAA TEAM LEADERS
Category Team Rank Stat
Bench Points/Game Charleston 7 33.85
UNCW 17 31.77
Fouls/Game Drexel 5 12.7
Stony Brook 15 13.6
FT Att./Game Hampton 15 24.9
FT Made/Game Hampton 25 16.6
Off. Rebounds/Game Charleston 22 13.31
3-Pt. FG Att/Game Charleston 4 30.4
N.C. A&T 22 27.3
3-Pt. FG/Game Charleston 15 10.0
Turnovers Per Game UNCW 20 10.6
Delaware 22 10.7
W-L Pct. Charleston 4 92.3
 
NCAA INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Category Player Rank Stat
Double-Doubles Frankie Policelli, SBU 21 5
Free-Throw Att. Jameer Nelson Jr., DEL 10 91
Cam Holden, TOW 12 90
Trazarien White, UNCW 25 81
Free Throws Made Jameer Nelson Jr., DEL 10 68
Minutes/Game Aaron Estrada, HOF 3 37:37
Tyler Stephenson-Moore, SBU 7 37:16
Cam Holden, TOW 12 36:27
Nicolas Timberlake, TOW 22 36:00
Deuce Dean, HAMP 22 35:58
Total Points Jameer Nelson Jr., DEL 16 258
Points/Game Aaron Estrada, HOF 9 21.6
Jameer Nelson Jr., DEL 20 19.8
Total Rebounds Frankie Policelli, SBU 10 131
Christian Ray, DEL 16 125
Def. Reb./Game Frankie Policelli, SBU 3 8.54
Christian Ray, DEL 20 6.92
Rebounds/Game Frankie Policelli, SBU 12 10.1
Christian Ray, DEL 20 9.6
Total Steals Jameer Nelson Jr., DEL 17 30
Sean Halloran, ELON 24 29
3-Pt FG Att. Kam Woods, NCAT 15 103
Reyne Smith, CofC 24 98
3-Pt FG Pct. Demetric Horton, NCAT 7 49.3
 
EDUCATING THE NEXT GENERATION ON THE CLASSICS
FloHoops' Kyle Kensing reminding you to #RankCharleston with a little help from his friends
   
The #CAAHoops Notebook is a weekly look around CAA Men's Basketball for conference fans, media, and more. Like it? Have suggestions for how to make it better? Email the writer at mmcquiggan@caasports.com or find him on Twitter @MilesMcQuiggan.

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