Men’s Basketball concludes homestand on Thursday Night vs. Northeastern

The William & Mary men’s basketball team wraps up a three-game homestand with Northeastern on Thursday evening. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m., from Kaplan Arena. The contest pits two of the teams at the top of the Colonial Athletic Association. W&M leads the league at 5-1, and NU is in a group of four teams one game back at 4-2.

The contest will be broadcast online at Tribe Athletics TV via Stretch Internet. Tribe fans can catch the men’s basketball action over the Tribe Radio Network with Jay Colley and Charlie Woollum on the call. The Tide 92.3 FM and 107.9 Bach FM are the flagship stations of the Tribe Radio Network and the audio is also available over the Web at TribeAthletics.com.

Catch up with the Tribe through social media. Fans can keep up with W&M men’s basketball by following the program on social media as well. Be sure to check out the Tribe on Twitter (@WMTribeMBB), Facebook (WMTribeMBB), Instagram (WMTribeMBB) and Snapchat (TribeMensHoops).

W&M News and Notes

– Over the last five years, the Tribe is the winningest program in the CAA in terms of league wins (48) and overall winning percentage (61.8). W&M’s 89 wins over the last five years are just one behind Towson’s league-leading 90. The Tigers have played nine more games than the Tribe during that stretch.

– W&M has won 20 of its last 22 games inside Kaplan Arena, including a 7-1 mark in 2017-18. Over the last four seasons, the Tribe is 44-8 (.846) at home. Over the last two years, the Green and Gold is averaging 92.8 points per game at home, while shooting 54.4 percent from the field and 45.8 percent from 3-point range.

– The Tribe is the best shooting team in the country, ranking among the top 10 at all three levels. W&M leads the country in free throw shooting (81.9), while ranking second in 3-point (44.5) percentage and eighth in field goal percentage (51.0). W&M is the only team in the country to rank among the top 10 in all three shooting categories. No team in NCAA history has shot 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from 3-point range and 80 percent from the free throw line in the same season.

– The Tribe started league play at 5-0, which was the best CAA start in program history. It is also the best conference start since going 9-0 to win the regular season crown in the ECAC South in 1982-83.

– W&M’s five-game winning streak to start CAA play was its second this season after winning five straight from Nov. 21 through Dec. 6. It marks the sixth time in program history that W&M enjoyed two five-game winning streaks in a season, including 1932-33, 1948-49, 1962-63, 1982-83 and 1997-98.

– On four occasions this season, the Tribe has rallied from a double-digit deficit to pull out a win. W&M trailed by as much as 16 at Mason, 14 at JMU, 10 at Drexel and 20 at home vs. JMU. Against the Dukes on Jan. 11, W&M trailed by 18 with 12:15 to play, 13 at the five-minute mark and nine with just 50 seconds left. Under head coach Tony Shaver, the Tribe has rallied from a double-digit hole 26 times.

– Sophomore Nathan Knight was named to the Lou Henson Award Mid-Season Watch list, which annually recognizes the nation’s top Division I mid-major player. He ranks second in the CAA and 37th nationally at 20.0 points per game to go along with 8.2 rebounds. Knight, who is a two-time CAA Player of the Week, ranks 36th nationally with seven double-doubles, including three of the 30-point, 10-rebound variety and four in CAA play.

– Senior David Cohn has been on a scoring tear in CAA action, producing 20 or more points in each of the Tribe’s last three games and four overall in league action. He twice set a career-high with 26 points in victories over Hofstra and at Drexel. Cohn, who is averaging 14 points per game overall, is up to a 20.5 scoring average in CAA play, which ranks third in the league.

– W&M is averaging 86.4 points per game, which leads the CAA and ranks 14th nationally. The scoring average would be the highest in the CAA since 1996 (Mason at 90.6). The Tribe owns a school-record four 100-point games in 2017-18, including a school-record 126 vs. Milligan. W&M scored the most points on the road in program history with 108 at Savannah State.

– Sophomore Justin Pierce pulled down 17 rebounds, including 16 in the second half and OT, in the win over JMU on Jan. 11. It marked the fourth-most rebounds for a Tribe player since 1973, and was his second 17-rebound game of the season. He is one of just two W&M players, along with David Cully in 1996, to have multiple 17-rebound games in a season since 1973. Pierce averages nine rebounds per game, which ranks fourth in the CAA and 48th nationally.

– Senior Connor Burchfield and sophomore Matt Milon are two of the top 3-point shooters in the country. Burchfield ranks second nationally at 51.5 percent from long range, while Milon is sixth at 49.5 percent. Burchfield is the active NCAA Division I career leader at 50.2 percent from 3-point range followed closely by Milon at 49.4 percent.

– According to advanced statistical website KenPom.com, the Tribe ranks ninth nationally in effective field goal percentage (58.4) and 35th in adjusted offensive efficiency  (114.2). W&M has been in the top 60 in adjusted offensive efficiency each of the previous four seasons with a high of No. 31 in 2015. W&M has ranked among the top 25 in effective field goal percentage each of the last six seasons, including as high as No. 6 in both 2013-14 and 2014-15.

– Senior David Cohn own 393 assists in his three seasons at W&M, which is only 17 shy of the school record. He ranks 24th among active Division I players in career assists with 422 after playing his freshman season at Colorado State. Cohn leads the CAA and ranks 14th nationally at 6.5 assists per game.