The Tribe Has Spoken

The W&M Tribe will play its first ever bracket buster game saturday, traveling to Bridgeport, Connecticut to face the Fairfield Stags. Fairfield, a small Jesuit school from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference(MAAC), is 11-17 on the season but has won 8/10. They are under a first year coach, Ed Cooley.

Fairfield is 205 in the RPI, in the 23rd MAAC conference, with their biggest win at Siena. They are rated 202 in the Pomeroy Rating, which gives them a 1 point advantage and a 55% chance of a win. Mike Greenfield has them at #220, and gives them a 2 point spread and a 59% chance of winning. They’re strongest team statistic is offensive rebounding percentage, where they are 9th in the nation.

Fairfield is -3 in scoring differential, and is led by Mike Van Schaick. Van Schaick is averaging 15 points per game, and is shooting 46% from the field along with 41% from 3 and 84% from the foul stripe. He is averaging 3.9 rebounds per game and has a positive assist-turnover ratio to boot. He is one of the top on his team with 32 steals.

Freshman foward Greg Nero is second on the team in scoring, at 9.5 points per. He leads the team with 30 blocks and is also shooting 45% from the field. He’s shooting 78% from the foul stripe, and is averaging 3.6 rebounds a game.

Another Freshman foward, Anothony Johnson, is third on the team in scoring, at 8.4 a game. He is shooting a team-high 53% from the field, and is averaging 4.9 rebounds per. He is shooting 64% from the foul stripe and has 29 blocks on the year.

Now for the Fairfield fans, a little bit of information about the Tribe.

The Tribe has had one of its best seasons in years, currently at 15-11. Highlighted by a win at Final Four participant George Mason and at home Wednesday night against Drexel, W&M is 8-8 in the CAA and competing for 5th place in the conference.

The Tribe has had 3 guards come through this year, Junior Nathan Mann, Senior Adam Payton, and Freshman David Schneider. Schneider came out of nowhere, expected to ride the pine this year, and behind an unorthodox shot is averaging 8.7 points a game. He is probably a lock to make the CAA all-rookie team. Mann, a sharp-shooter from Overland Park, Kansas, is averaging 9.2 points per game and has made more 3’s than anybody else on the team. Adam Payton, a transfer from Vandy, is the Tribe’s most athletic guard and has really stepped up in his final year. Payton is leading the team in points per game, at 13.5, steals, at 40, free throw percentage, at 87%, and rebounds, and 4.2 per game.

The Tribe’s 3 best big men this year have been Laimis Kisielius, Peter Stein, and Alex Smith. Kisielius, a native of Lithuania, is averaging 11.9 points per game, and is shooting 48% from the field and 42% from 3. Stein, a sophomore, is averaging 5.7 points per game and leads the team with 12 blocks. He is also shooting 58% from the floor. Finally, Alex Smith is averaging 5.4 points per, but has been held back due to a dehydration issue, causing him to only play in spurts.

The Tribe’s success depends on its defense, and their interior D against Drexel is what won them the game. They are one of the nations top teams at defending the 3, and if they play like they have been the last 3 games they will beat Fairfield.

W&M-60
Fairfield-50