CAA Men's Basketball Report - Feb. 26, 2024

The CAA Men's Basketball Player of the Week is Hofstra's Tyler Thomas!

Feb 28, 2024 by Nicole Beckelman

CAA Men's Basketball Report - Feb. 26, 2024

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Tyler Thomas, Hofstra

Graduate Student | Guard | New Haven, Conn. / Amity Regional

Thomas is CAA Player of the Week for a league-leading third time this season after two more stellar performances to help Hofstra stay in the driver’s seat for a double-bye. The guard from Connecticut averaged 26.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 4.0 steals in a 2-0 week with a 28-point game in Thursday’s CBS Sports Network win over Drexel and 23 on Saturday in a Senior Night victory over Elon. Thomas is third in the nation in scoring at 22.4 points per game.

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

Tyler Tejada, Towson

Freshman | Guard | Teaneck, N.J. / Teaneck

Tejada erupted for a career-high 30 points to power Towson to an 80-61 win over Monmouth on Thursday night. The guard from New Jersey was 10-of-15 from the floor and added six rebounds as the Tigers picked up their 10th win of league play. Tejada averaged 18.0 points on 57% shooting and 55% from three while corralling 5.5 rebounds per game in a 1-1 week. The fourth honor of the year for Tejada leads all CAA rookies.

NEWS AND NOTES

THE GOAL: SUNDAY RESERVATIONS

The top four teams at the end of the regular season will be guaranteed a spot in the Sunday Quarterfinals at the CAA Championship in D.C., and three of those four spots are still up for clinching entering the season’s final week.

Charleston (13-3) has earned a top-four seed with UNCW (11-4) the top team among those still looking to secure one. Hofstra (11-5), Drexel (10-5), Towson (10-6), Delaware (9-6), Monmouth (9-7), and Stony Brook (9-7) remain in contention.

68% FROM THREE? THAT IS GOOD.

Charleston made 15 three-pointers on 22 attempts in Saturday’s win, becoming the second team in the nation this year to have at least two-thirds of its three-point attempts go down with 15+ makes. Two of the last three teams to achieve the feat have been from the CAA, as Towson went 16-of-22 in a win last February.

THE COMFORTS OF HOME

CAA teams have gone 69-41 (62.7%) at home in league games, a mark that ranks eighth nationally. The percentage is currently on pace to be the highest since 2016-17, when home teams went 58-32 (64.4%).

I SCREAM, YOU SCREAM, WE ALL SCREAM FOR... ROAD WINS

UNCW enters Monday night in search of its 11th road victory of 2023-24, which would lead the nation. The Seahawks are one of six teams with 10 and one of two in the CAA, as Charleston has also secured 10 true road victories. Charleston is tied with James Madison for the nation’s second-best road-winning percentage (.833).

ARE WE PLAYING 2K OUT THERE?

Hofstra’s Jaquan Carlos dished out 19 assists in the Pride’s Feb. 17 win over Northeastern, breaking the CAA record of 17 by VCU’s Joey Rodriguez in 2010 and the conference game mark of 16 set by Richmond’s Greg Beckwith in 1986. A couple hours south in New Jersey, Monmouth’s Nikita Konstantynovskyi posted the CAA’s first game of 20 points and 20 rebounds since Hofstra’s Rokas Gustys on Feb. 15, 2018.

BOARD MEETING

Drexel and Towson have been two of the nation’s best at outworking their competition on the glass this season. Drexel’s +8.4 rebounding margin is 13th nationally, while Towson is 14th at +8.2. It was the Tigers who had the upper hand in the teams’ regular-season meeting with a +5 margin.

STATEMENT SATURDAY

Drexel and UNCW took down AP Top 25 opponents on Dec. 2 with Drexel holding off No. 18 Villanova, 57-55, and UNCW powering past No. 12 Kentucky, 80-73. It marked the first time in league history that two CAA teams defeated Top 25 opponents in the same day.

HEN-CINNATI

Delaware bounced back from a 10-point deficit in the first half to down Xavier, 87-80, on Dec. 5. The Blue Hens shot 50% and turned the Muskeeters over 17 times while receiving a career night from Jalun Trent (27 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists.)

THEY GET BUCKETS

The CAA boasts three of the nation’s top 17 scorers as of Monday morning. Hofstra’s Tyler Thomas is third nationally at 22.4 ppg, while N.C. A&T’s Landon Glasper is 10th at 21.3 and Monmouth’s Xander Rice is 17th at 20.7.

COMPUTER GAMES

UNCW leads the CAA with a NET of 101 in the latest update with Charleston (102), Hofstra (124), and Drexel (127) also in the top 150. UNCW (Kentucky), Drexel (Villanova), and Delaware (Xavier) each hold a Q1 win; Charleston and Monmouth and have steered clear of a Q4 loss. KenPom ranks two league offenses in the top 100: UNCW (56) and Charleston (75).

One Thing To Know About Each CAA Hoops Team

Campbell

Anthony Dell’Orso has scored 20+ points in each of his last six games.

Charleston

Charleston’s seven-game winning streak is tied for sixth nationally with Loyola Chicago and Little Rock and behind Saint Mary’s (15), South Florida (13), Merrimack (9), James Madison (8), and Tarleton State (8).

Delaware

Gerald Drumgoole Jr. has been in double figures in five straight games.

Drexel

Drexel ranks 13th nationally in rebounding margin (+8.4) and has been outrebounded just three times in 28 games.

Elon

TK Simpkins is averaging 17.2 points per game over his last six wth five in double figures, including a 24-point showing for the Brooklyn native in a game on Long Island Saturday.

Hampton

Jordan Nesbitt has scored 15+ points eight times in conference play.

Hofstra

Hofstra is 10-2 in its last 12 games and is in control of its own destiny for a bye to the CAA Quarterfinals.

Monmouth

Xander Rice scored in double figures for the 25th time in 29 games this year on Saturday.

North Carolina A&T

N.C. A&T is 11th in the nation in fewest turnovers per game (9.5).

UNCW

UNCW has won 20+ games in three straight seasons.

Northeastern

Northeastern has won four of its last six games and can clinch a first-round bye on Thursday.