Heading into the final two games of the regular season there's potential for chaos as teams battle for seeds in the CAA Tournament. James Madison could finish anywhere from last to tied for fourth. Here's a look at a potential scenario that sees the Dukes (13-15, 6-10 CAA) as part of a five-way tie for fourth:
— JMU needs to beat both Elon and William & Mary to finish 8-10.
— Towson also sweeping Elon and William & Mary would finish 8-10.
— Losses to JMU and Towson would leave the Tribe 8-10.
— Delaware losses to Northeastern and Hofstra, the league's top two, would make the Blue Hens 8-10.
— Drexel splitting home games with Northeastern and Hofstra would also finish 8-10.
Side note: Should the Dragons beat Hofstra to get said split, the Pride and Huskies would finish tied for first. JMU does better in most tiebreaker situations if Hofstra earns the No. 1 seed.
HARRISONBURG — James Madison coach Louis Rowe said, for right now, he's not worried about where the Dukes might finish in the Colonial Athletic Association race.
“We don’t talk about the standings,” Rowe said. “We’ve gotten into such a good rhythm of what we do on Monday, then what we do on Tuesday and so on. I know these guys are excited and that’s really good, but I focus on what these days look like and everyone getting to work."
That was a common sentiment from coaches around the conference to start the final week of the regular season. It's a tight race and with two games to go for most squads, not a single team has its spot locked up. First-place Hofstra leads Northeastern by a game. Only 2.5 games separate last-place UNC Wilmington and sixth-place Drexel.
For JMU (13-15, 6-10), a sweep of Elon and William & Mary would make a finish in the top half of the league possible. Two losses might send the Dukes straight to the bottom.
“People talk about where we can finish on the high end,” Rowe said. “I know where we could finish on the low end. I understand this team still has a lot of work to do on being consistent.”
The intensity throughout the league should be at a high point tonight with each team in the conference jockeying for seeding.
“Everybody is playing for so much,” Hofstra coach Joe Mihalich said. “The only game that might not mean a whole lot is the game on Saturday when Charleston plays Wilmington, because by then everything could be decided. But these four games on Thursday, everybody is playing for something really important and it’s going to be a battle. It’s going to be a war.”
Expanding All-Conference?
With the season winding down, each coach in the CAA took some time Tuesday to stump for players on their teams who might be deserving of some type of all-conference recognition, including defensive and all-rookie team honors.
But with the CAA loaded with talented veterans, Hofstra’s Mihalich suggested perhaps the first-team all-conference squad shouldn’t be limited to five players.
“It’s pretty clear that six guys should be on that first-team,” Mihalich said. “I hope whoever decides these things doesn’t say it has to be five and only five because the awards are for the kids and there are six guys in my mind deserving.”
Hofstra's Justin Wright-Foreman is the CAA's leading scorer and likely Player of the Year. Mihalich thinks his teammate Eli Pemberton, who averages 15.5 points should also be in the mix for the first team.
But it's a crowded field.
UNC Wilmington's Devontae Cacok, William & Mary's Nathan Knight and College of Charleston's Grant Riller are more or less locks. Riller's teammate, Jarrell Brantley, also had a strong case, averaging 19.4 points and 8.3 rebounds while Delaware's Eric Carter is averaging a double-double at 16.2 points and 10.1 rebounds.
Towson's Brian Fobbs, JMU's Stuckey Mosley, Northeastern's Vasa Pusica and Elon's Tyler Siebring could also get some first-team votes.
Tribe On A Roll
William & Mary, which visits JMU Saturday, enters the week with the conference’s longest winning streak at three games. Last week the Tribe took care of Charleston and UNCW at home, but it’s been much tougher on the road for W&M, which is just 3-11 outside of Kaplan Arena.
Still, William & Mary coach Tony Shave likes his team’s chances heading to Towson and JMU this week if it can keep playing solid defense.
“It was a good week with two good wins,” Shaver said. “The thing we’ve done well is defend our opponents. We’re a better defensive club than we have been. We’re not at good offensively. If we could ever put those two things together it would be fun.”
