The Tribe starts a 3-game road trip by travelling to Boston to face the Northeastern University Huskies at Matthews Arena. The Huskies are 5-2 at home this year with wins over ODU and UDel, plus losses against Hofstra and JMU. They are 6-6 in conference and have an RPI of 170. Pomeroy gives them a 72% chance of beating the Tribe this Saturday, and has them finishing the year at 9-9 in conference.

Matt Janning is not only my favorite non-Tribe player in the CAA, he is an all-conference candidate and is scoring 16.4 points per game. He is shooting 35% from the 3 on the year and about 80% from the foul stripe. He is easily the Huskies’ most potent player, and they become average very quickly if he gets slowed down.

Nkem Ojougboh, a sophomore 6-9 center, is second on the team in scoring with 11.3 points a match and first on the team with 7.2 boards. He has 18 blocks on the season and is shooting 43% from the field, both of which should be a little higher for a center. If Pete Stein plays his normal defense I don’t see Ojougboh being a problem.

While the Tribe team is the “team of destiny”, and the Huskies have been average this year, I really don’t like playing at their gym. It is no coincidence that they are significantly better at home than they are on the road, and it will probably continue on Saturday with a close NU win.

WM: 65
NU: 69

Woooo. Anyother hoops win, possibly the biggest of the year. And when the team is fighting for a bye in the CAA Tourney, every game is huge. Hofstra is very dangerous at their place, but lacks luster on the road which could really help the Tribe.

The Pride come into this game at 7-14 and 4-7 in the CAA. HU is 1-5 on the road in conference, and has some terrible OOC losses to teams like St. Francis NY and Stony Brook. They have an RPI of 246, and while Ken Pomeroy predicts they finish out the conference season winning 4 of their last 7 games, he has the Tribe pulling out a 5 point win on Wednesday night.

Antoine Agudio is a top 5 CAA player who is the main returning player from last year’s strong team. He is averaging an elite 22.6 points per game, and is averaging 39.6 minutes per. He has a negative assist/turnover ratio and has missed a few games due to injury, but has a nice rebounding average for a guard(3.9 per) and can flat out put the ball in the bucket. He is lethal from 3 at 43% so keeping him contained will be key.

Freshman guard Charles Jenkins has been a pleasant surprise for the Pride this year, as he is putting up 14.6 points per game and 4.5 boards. He has to be a frontrunner for CAA ROY, also leading the team in steals with 36 and free throw percentage at 76%. After these 2 players there is a huge dropoff so shutting them down is key.

Hofstra is a team the Tribe should beat at home, and if they play their normal defense they will. Hofstra is far in the negative in assist/turnover, and if their guards tire they do not have any depth. Expect it to be close early due to the Antoine Agudio show, but they will fade late and the Tribe wins by an enormous…..10.

WM-79
HU-69

Big game tonight, and sorry this is so late. Here goes.

This game is enormous for both teams as the winner has a very good shot at holding a top 4 seed. The Tribe needs it even more, as tiebreakers will be huge and we can’t count on a Tribe win at the Trask. These teams are very evenly match, with the Tribe’s RPI of 162 and UNCW’s at 160. Ken Pomeroy gives the Tribe a 62% chance of winning.

The return of 2-guard TJ Carter has been key for this Wilmington team. After missing all of last season injured, he has stormed back averaging 16 points per game and 5.1 boards. He is shooting a superb 85% from the foul stripe and has 92 assists and just 68 turnovers. He is an all-CAA candidate and will be the key to stopping UNCW today.

The Seahawk’s zone buster is yet again Daniel Fountain. Fountain is averaging 13.7 points per game this year and is second on the team with 37 steals. He is shooting a very strong 44.3% from 3-point land, however, he is shooting 3 points lower overall from the field.

This game is huge, and after losing to ODU I don’t see the Tribe losing back to back home games. This is going to be a game for the ages, and will come down to the final shot, but the Tribe will pull it out behind a big game from David Schneider.

WM-68
UNCW-67

I already did this, didn’t I? Scroll down for info on players, and all, I’ll focus on the last few games.

JMU looked to have regained its swagger after a 19 point win against UNCW immediately after their game at the hall, but since then they have lost 4 straight conference games and everything seems to be falling apart for Dean Keener’s Dukes. They are coming off a lose at Towson, and will be without 2 guard Joe  Posey who got in a shouting match with a teammate during a timeout. Nothing is going right for a team that looked to have turned it around this year.

Pomeroy has JMU winning this game by 4 points, but I really don’t see it. They are in a complete downward spiral, and haven’t beaten W&M in years. This game will be close the whole way, but the Tribe will be looking to get back in the win column and wins by 3.

W&M-72
JMU-69

It’s fun to say that.

It was of the close variety again Wednesday night, with a 1 point OT thriller at Drexel. The Tribes 6th straight win sets the stage for the biggest game of the season.

ODU comes to the Kap tomorrow, and this game has a large impact on the future of this program. It will validate the win streak. It will keep the non-regular students that are coming to the game coming back. It will give the fans and team even more confidence.

I’m not going to preview, because we know who they are. The Tribe took down this team by 9 at the Ted, and is better than the 4-4 Monarchs. The stage is set for them, and the only remaining question is whether they will step up or back down.

It would be incredible to have a big win, but I don’t see it. Another close game, and behind a roaring student section, the Tribe pulls away late for a 5-point win.

W&M - 71
ODU - 66

Go to the game. If you live within 2 hours of the Tribe you have no excuse. Bring all your friends, neighbors, everybody. This is going to be fun.

Can’t stop.

This team just does not lose. This is getting pretty fun, and the Fightin’ Indians have a chance to get to 6-2 in the CAA with a win over a down Drexel team tomorrow. But no game at the DAC is easy, and this should be a fun one.

The Dragons are currently sitting at 9-10 overall, with wins over powerhouses Robert Morris and Loyola MD. They are 2-5 in conference with wins against UNC-Dub and GSU, and losses against everybody else. Their RPI  is solid for how they’ve played, at 210, but their Pomeroy rating is 259. He predicts them to finish at 12-18 and only gives them a 41% chance of winning Wednesday night.

Frank Elegar is the biggest(in many ways) guy coming back to the team from last year’s team, and he has done a solid job of carrying the load. The big center is averaging 15.7 points per game with 8.2 boards per. He has 35 blocks on the year and 19 steals, but an absurd 48 turnovers(to 19 assists). He is shooting 56% from the field and 67% from the stripe.

Tramayne Hawthorne has also played solid ball this year. Double zero is averaging 10.3 points per game and 2 boards per. His assist-turnover ratio is very encouraging, at 67-37. He is the team leader with 34 steals and 134 3 point attempts.

Drexel definitely has the pieces to pull an upset with Hawthorne, Elegar, Randy OVeneke, and Scott Rogers, but they have been sliding since the beginning of the year and I just don’t see them stopping a smokin’ hot Tribe team. It will be close like always, but the Tribe will pull out the W….like always.

WM: 62
DU: 59

Because the Tribe is on a roll(weak).

That is 4 straight conference wins, and another close one. This team just does not lose. It is finally fun to watch Tribe basketball.

Towson visits the Hall on Saturday, and the Tribe needs to take care of business. The Tigers are 6-9 on the year, but absolutely terrible on the road at 1-6 plus 0-2 in the conference. Pomeroy is predicting they win 10 games this year, and says they only have a 17% chance of winning at the Kap.

Junior Hairston, a C of C transfer has been the Tigers top scorer on the season with 13.9 points per game. He is averaging a double-double with 11.9 boards per, and has 28 blocks along with a shooting percentage at 50. He can do pretty much everything, and looks like a guy Laimis should guard.

Rodney Spruill is their second best scorer with 12.3 points per game, however he will not be playing tomorrow due to academic issues. This may be the nail in the Tigers coffin, as they aren’t great scorers as it is.

If the Tribe has a lock in conference play this year, Towson is it. They are without one of their top players, playing at the Hall, against a surging Tribe team. The game will be close, but I don’t see Towson winning. At all.

W&M-72
TU-57

What a great win. GSU was smoking and up by 16 in the second half, yet the Tribe comes all the way back for a last minute winner. This team just does not give up, and I’m starting to believe they are going to do something special this year.

But NU is up next and that is all we are going to think about. The Huskies are 2-3 in the CAA and 6-9 overall. Ken Pomeroy has them at 160 with 158 in the RPI, yet gives the Tribe a small advantage for this game. Their conference wins have been against Drexel and GSU, with losses against GMU, Towson, and JMU.

Sophomore Matt Jannings returns, and I don’t say this about a lot of players, but this guy is awesome. Not all that big, doesn’t look like a basketball player at all, yet he is averaging 16 points per game and is shooting 47% from the field. He is also 80% from the charity stripe, and is averaging 3.1 rebounds per game. His only fault is he has a negative assist/turnover ratio - about 3/4.

Sophomore Nkem Ojougboh has also been putting up stellar numbers this season. The 6-9 center is averaging 11.1 points per game to got along with a very strong 7.7 boards a match. He is shooting 45% from the field and 67% from the stripe, but has a pretty high 43 fouls on the year.

NU is a solid team, but they are really struggling right now. These 2 teams are heading in exact opposite directions at this point, and it would take a heck of a game from NU to win. I see the Tribe keeping the winning streak moving.

W&M-70
NU-58

What a great game. Total team effort. Schneider, Darnell, Stratt, Mann, seemed as if everybody had a big play. That was a huge game to win, probably bigger than ODU when it comes to team confidence.

Georgia State looms, with a 2 PM Saturday tip-off. The Tribe is looking to get revenge on a GSU team that knocked them out of the CAA tourney last year on a desperation 3. The Panthers have been playing better ball, but still sit at 4-10 and 1-3 in the CAA. They have played a tough in conference schedule, with ODU, VCU, GMU, and NU, but pulled off a shocking upset of Mason in their own gym.

Ken Pomeroy currently has the Panther pegged as #258 in the nation. He says they have the 241st strongest schedule in the country, and projects them to win 9 games, 6 in the CAA. They are 293rd in his RPI.

Leonard Mendez returns to Atlanta and is the Panther’s top leading scorer this season. He is averaging 16.9 points per game, and shooting 47% from the field. He is averaging 3.3 rebounds per game, and can hit the three(as we saw last year) sitting at 37% from beyond the arc.

Rashad Chase is also have a strong year for GSU. He is nearly averaging a double double on the season, with 9.3 points per game to go along with 9.1 rebounds per. The downside is that his assist/turnover ratio is almost 1/3, and he isn’t all that great from the field.

This game will go down to the wire, and will really test both of these teams. Both squads have been in pressure situations more than enough this year to know how to handle it, but GSU is coming off a few rough games while the Tribe is seemingly on top of the world. I expect the Tribe to win this with a little wiggle room.

WM-72
GSU-64

GO TRIBE!

What a great game!

David Schneider had the best performance from a W&M player in years. Heck, I can’t remember a better one.

Hope is rejuvinated, and we still have a great shot at improving this year. A win vs. JMU tonight would be huge - but not absolutely necessary. This should be a fun game for Tribe fans.

The Dukes came out of nowhere his year and have gotten off to a very nice start, with wins over VCU, Siena, and Northeastern along with a close game at Seton Hall. St. Joe’s transfer Abdulai Jalloh, a former A-10 rookie of the year candidate, has certainly helped by averaging 15.2 points per game on the year. JuCo  transfer Terrance Carter has also been very strong this year, sitting at 15.3 points per game along with 8.1 rebounds per. JuWann James and Pierre Curtis are also averaging double digits in scoring.

This game is pretty much a toss-up - JMU has been stronger on the year, but is coming off a loss at Hofstra, while the Tribe has been very bad on the season but just beat ODU. I think JMU is coming back down to earth and that will continue tonight.

TRIBE: 75
JMU: 72