This has already been quite the season for CAA basketball. The Colonial Athletic Association currently has three 20-win teams in Towson, UNC Wilmington and Hofstra. On top of that, a whopping seven total teams finished above .500 overall in the CAA basketball standings. If not for being a mid-major conference with a weak strength of schedule, the Colonial would have a real chance at being a multi-bid league this year. Unfortunately, that is not the case, and only one team will advance to the NCAA Tournament to play for a college basketball championship. The following contains the CAA Tournament bracket and schedule, as well as a preview of what we can expect to see.
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CAA Basketball Standings
Team | Conf. Record | Overall Record | Seed |
Towson | 15-3 | 24-7 | 1 Seed |
UNC Wilmington | 15-3 | 21-8 | 2 Seed |
Hofstra | 13-5 | 21-10 | 3 Seed |
Drexel | 10-8 | 15-13 | 4 Seed |
Delaware | 10-8 | 19-12 | 5 Seed |
Charleston | 8-10 | 16-14 | 6 Seed |
Elon | 7-11 | 10-21 | 7 Seed |
William & Mary | 4-14 | 5-26 | 8 Seed |
Northeastern | 2-16 | 8-21 | 9 Seed |
James Madison | 6-12 | 15-14 | N/A |
CAA Tournament Schedule
Dates: March 5-8
TV Schedule: FloHoops (First Round, Quarterfinals); CBSSN (Semifinals, Championship)
Venue: Entertainment and Sports Arena – Washington, D.C.
Byes: Top 7 Seeds Receive Single Bye
Defending Champion: Drexel
CAA Tournament Bracket
First Round
- (9) Northeastern 68, (8) William & Mary 63 (OT)
Quarterfinals
- (1) Towson 68, (9) Northeastern 61
- (5) Delaware 66, (4) Drexel 56
- (2) UNC Wilmington 75, (7) Elon 58
- (6) Charleston 92, (3) Hofstra 76
Semifinals
- (5) Delaware 69, (1) Towson 56
- (2) UNC Wilmington 60, (6) Charleston 57
Championship
- (5) Delaware 59, (2) UNC Wilmington 55
Delaware advances to NCAA Tournament
Colonial Athletic Association Breakdown
The consensus feeling coming into the 2022 CAA basketball tournament is that it is Towson’s to lose. The Tigers have four players averaging in double figures this season, with Nicolas Timberlake leading the way at 14.3 points per game. Towson also boasts national ranks of 49th in points scored, 88th in field goal percentage, 53rd in three-point percentage, 93rd in total rebounds, 93rd in turnovers, and 59th in assist-to-turnover ratio. All of that being said, both UNC Wilmington and Hofstra have strong cases as well. As the top two seeds in the bracket, Towson and UNC Wilmington could be headed for a rubber match in the CAA Tournament title game after splitting the season series.
4-seed Drexel, the defending CAA basketball champion in the Colonial, matches up very well with the top teams in the conference. They seemed to lose the close games to Towson, UNC Wilmington, Hofstra while splitting their season series with 5-seed Delaware. Speaking of the Blue Hens, they are probably one of the more complete teams in this conference as they produce on both ends of the floor and have four double-digit scorers. They will have an opportunity to knock off the defending champs in their Quarterfinal matchup.
An underdog to watch out for in the CAA basketball tournament is 6-seed Charleston. The Cougars have a quartet of double-digit scorers and can really light up the scoreboard. They rank top-30 in the country in total scoring offense on the season. It should be a ton of fun to watch the teams of the Colonial Atheltic Association duke it out over the coming days. Unfortunately, this year’s tournament will only feature nine teams after the league itself banned James Madison from participating.
Team Stats | 2022 CAA Basketball Tournament
(1) Towson Tigers
NET Ranking: 61 (No. 1 in CAA)
KenPom Overall Efficiency Ranking: 65 (No. 1 in CAA)
Adjusted Offensive Efficiency Ranking: 111.9 (No. 34)
Adjusted Defensive Efficiency Ranking: 99.9 (No. 101)
Strength of Schedule Rating: -2.41 (No. 210)
(2) UNC Wilmington Seahawks
NET Ranking: 186 (No. 6 in CAA)
KenPom Overall Efficiency Ranking: 187 (No. 6 in CAA)
Adjusted Offensive Efficiency Ranking: 103.7 (No. 178)
Adjusted Defensive Efficiency Ranking: 105.2 (No. 205)
Strength of Schedule Rating: -3.03 (No. 227)
(3) Hofstra Pride
NET Ranking: 114 (No. 2 in CAA)
KenPom Overall Efficiency Ranking: 120 (No. 2 in CAA)
Adjusted Offensive Efficiency Ranking: 109.3 (No. 76)
Adjusted Defensive Efficiency Ranking: 105.0 (No. 203)
Strength of Schedule Rating: +0.01 (No. 151)
(4) Drexel Dragons
NET Ranking: 152 (No. 5 in CAA)
KenPom Overall Efficiency Ranking: 147 (No. 3 in CAA)
Adjusted Offensive Efficiency Ranking: 105.9 (No. 133)
Adjusted Defensive Efficiency Ranking: 104.4 (No. 191)
Strength of Schedule Rating: -1.28 (No. 185)
(5) Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens
NET Ranking: 149 (No. 3 in CAA)
KenPom Overall Efficiency Ranking: 161 (No. 5 in CAA)
Adjusted Offensive Efficiency Ranking: 108.2 (No. 90)
Adjusted Defensive Efficiency Ranking: 107.6 (No. 257)
Strength of Schedule Rating: -2.80 (No. 221)
(6) Charleston Cougars
NET Ranking: 150 (No. 4 in CAA)
KenPom Overall Efficiency Ranking: 156 (No. 4 in CAA)
Adjusted Offensive Efficiency Ranking: 105.0 (No. 150)
Adjusted Defensive Efficiency Ranking: 104.0 (No. 183)
Strength of Schedule Rating: -1.10 (No. 175)
(7) Elon Phoenix
NET Ranking: 246 (No. 8 in CAA)
KenPom Overall Efficiency Ranking: 245 (No. 7 in CAA)
Adjusted Offensive Efficiency Ranking: 100.2 (No. 247)
Adjusted Defensive Efficiency Ranking: 106.6 (No. 240)
Strength of Schedule Rating: +2.21 (No. 117)
(8) William & Mary Tribe
NET Ranking: 341 (No. 10 in CAA)
KenPom Overall Efficiency Ranking: 340 (No. 10 in CAA)
Adjusted Offensive Efficiency Ranking: 90.8 (No. 353)
Adjusted Defensive Efficiency Ranking: 108.8 (No. 278)
Strength of Schedule Rating: -0.81 (No. 165)
(9) Northeastern Huskies
NET Ranking: 257 (No. 9 in CAA)
KenPom Overall Efficiency Ranking: 267 (No. 9 in CAA)
Adjusted Offensive Efficiency Ranking: 97.9 (No. 285)
Adjusted Defensive Efficiency Ranking: 106.2 (No. 228)
Strength of Schedule Rating: -0.67 (No. 163)