The Tribe Has Spoken

Game 1: Hofstra vs. Towson

Behind the solid post player of Malik Hairston, and the 3-4 different wings they have that can drain the 3, Towson will pull the 9 over 8 “upset” fairly easily. TU: 75  HU: 64

Game 2: W&M vs. Georgia State

After last year we really can’t take anything for granted, but this should be a pretty easy win. A rested Laimis Kilielius should be a productive LK, and as long as he doesn’t go 1-10 again the final score will be…W&M: 68 GSU: 54

Game 3: Delaware vs. Drexel

Elegar will cause the Hens some trouble early, but you can’t win conference tournament games on one guy, and the Hens will pull out a close winner. UD: 72 DU: 71

Game 4: Northeastern vs. JMU

This game will be the only blowout of the first round, with JMU playing uninspired ball due to their unstable coaching situation. Matt Janning will be unstoppable as usual and the Huskies will win by 20. NU: 82 JMU: 60

ROUND 2

VCU vs. Towson

I would like to see Towson give VCU a scare, but they just don’t have enough in the arsenal. Expect VCU to keep a solid lead early and go on a second half run to put it out of reach. VCU: 82 TU: 65

ODU vs. W&M

The Tribe will go to Sunday in the CAA Tournament for the first time in forever, pulling the minor upset of ODU. Cold Monarch shooting and suffocating Tribe defense will be the keys to the game. Gerald Lee will keep it close with his interior play, but fatigue and foul trouble will make him fade late. W&M: 58 ODU: 55

UNCW vs. Delaware

Similar to the VCU game, the Hawks will just have too much for the Hens to handle. A big game from Kuljanin and a steady performance from Carter will lead to an easy UNCW…W. UNCW: 78 UD: 65

George Mason vs. Northeastern

My second upset of the semis, a performance for the ages from Matt Janning gives the Huskies a 4-point win over a Mason team that has been inconsistent all year. NU: 66 GMU: 62

ROUND 3

VCU vs. W&M

All things equal I think the Tribe would have a shot at upsetting VCU, but playing their third game in 3 days on pretty much a VCU home court, Eric Maynor and the Rams will be too much to contain. Expect over 20 from EM. VCU: 61 W&M: 52

UNCW vs. Northeastern

The matchup of Matt Janning vs. TJ Carter will be a fun one to watch, but the dub will win this due to the supporting cast. Fountain, Lacy, Tomko, Hendley, Kuljanin are a little bit better than Adako, Ojougboh, Allen, and Spates. UNCW: 79 NU: 74

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

VCU vs. UNCW

A lot of games are determined by desire. At this point, in my opinion, VCU has an at-large bid locked up, while on the other hand UNCW has 4 seniors that don’t want to be playing their last game. In a spirited, well fought game similar to last year, this season the home team doesn’t pull out the victory and UNCW gets a last second stop that gives them a tourney bid.

UNCW: 76
VCU: 74