In my previous posting, I said the CAA playoff picture could get a lot clearer or even more murky after tonight. It got clearer, but perhaps not in the way most people thought.
I was at Hofstra Arena tonight where 4,200 fans witnessed Hofstra defeating #25 George Mason 77-66. Both teams came out strong early as George Mason led 22-21 with 8:07 left in the first half. Hofstra then went on a 20-11 run to close out the first half up eight, 41-33, many of the points coming on three pointers as Hofstra shot five of six from the three point arc in the first half. The three pointers opened up the lane for easy layups by Loren Stokes and Adrian Uter
In the second half, Hofstra kept the lead at eight with 8:57 left. However, the Patriots chipped away, first limiting Hofstra to one of six from the three point arc in the second half. On the offensive side of the ball, George Mason worked the ball inside to Jai Lewis, who had 13 of his 23 points in the second half. Lewis used his 270 pound frame to either hit layups or get to the free throw line. This resulted in George Mason cutting the lead to 65-62 with 4:13 left.
However Hofstra would end the game on a 12-4 run and salting the game away from the free throw line. As the clock ran out, many of the record 1200 Hofstra students attending the game stormed the court as another ranked mid major team went down in the same week as they were ranked. The number one rated CAA scoring offense in Hofstra shot 48 percent against the number one rated scoring defense in George Mason. All five Hofstra starters scored in double figures led by Stokes lwith 26 points and Aurimas Kieza added 17 points and 10 rebounds. Antoine Agudio and Adrian Uter each had 12, while Carlos Rivera added 10. For George Mason, besides Lewis' 23 points on eight of twelve shooting, Lamar Butler added 14, Folarin Campbell had 9 and Will Thomas and Tony Skinn each had 8.
The game had significant impact on the standings. Hofstra clinched not only a first round bye with the win, they also clinched at least the third seed in the CAA tournament (they swept ODU during the season) The Pride is now 21-5 overall, 13-4 in the CAA. Hofstra can finish second if they defeat Drexel and George Mason loses at home to James Madison (highly unlikely). George Mason (21-6 overall and 14-3 in the CAA) as a result of the loss fell to a tie for first place and is actually in second due to the following...
In Richmond, UNC Wilmington came back from a 13 point deficit by ending the game on a 32-12 run to defeat VCU 61-54 and as a result, the Seahawks are now in first place in the CAA. This is due to the tiebreaker the Seahawks have on George Mason. Since both teams split the season series, the next tiebreaker is the record vs. the third place team. In this case, UNC Wilmington split the season series with Hofstra, while Hofstra defeated George Mason in the only game they played against each other. So due to a better record vs. Hofstra, the Seahawks with a win on Saturday at home against Georgia State would be the #1 seed in the CAA tournament.
VCU was up six, 35-29 at halftime. Then the Rams went on a 7-0 run to extend the lead to twelve, 42-29 with 15:07 left. Then the Rams proceeded to miss 13 of their last 17 shots as UNC Wilmington went on a 22-4 run. VCU would cut the lead to one with 3:18 left but UNC Wilmington pulled away for the victory. TJ Carter scored 14 of his 19 in the second half to lead the Seahawks to the come from behind victory.
UNC Wilmington is now 21-7 overall and 14-3 in the CAA. VCU is 17-9 overall and 10-7 in CAA. With the loss, VCU is locked into the #6 seed and will play in the first round of the CAA tournament.
In other CAA games, ODU clinched a bye in the first round with a 75-58 win over James Madison. The Monarchs, 12-5 in CAA and 20-8 overall have the tiebreaker on Northeastern should they finish in a tie. Northeastern clinched the fifth seed in the tournament with a 80-66 win over Delaware. Drexel and Towson are still fighting it out for the seventh seed in the CAA tournament. Drexel held on at home to defeat William and Mary 61-56 to improve to 8-9 in conference, tied with Towson. The Tigers won on the road at Georgia State 70-69.
Barring any major upsets on Saturday, the top six seeds should be set.
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