Hofstra’s 16-2 record and head-to-head win over 16-2 Charleston earned the Pride the No. 1 seed and placed the Cougars at No. 2 in the 2023 Jersey Mike’s CAA Championship, which begins Friday at the Entertainment & Sports Arena in Washington.
Hofstra and Charleston are the first duo of CAA teams to both reach 16 conference wins in the same season; only three CAA teams had achieved 16-2 regular season conference records prior to this season. The Pride’s 85-81 victory at TD Arena on January 28 is the differentiator for the top seed in the conference tournament. Towson and UNCW secured the other two byes to Sunday’s quarterfinals with Towson taking the No. 3 seed thanks to a comeback win in Wilmington on the season’s final day.
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The tournament will tip off Friday with first round action between No. 12 Hampton and No. 13 Monmouth at 2 p.m. The Pirates won both regular season meetings including an 86-81 victory on Thursday in Virginia. The two CAA newcomers will meet in the Championship for the first time.
Saturday’s second round competition starts at noon with a contest between No. 8 William & Mary and No. 9 Elon at noon. The teams split the season series with the Tribe victorious on Thursday by a margin of 73-60. William & Mary is 2-1 in the all-time tournament series with Elon winning the most recent meeting in the 2020 Quarterfinals.
No. 5 seed Drexel will play the winner of the Hampton/Monmouth contest in Saturday’s second game at 2:30 p.m. Drexel split with both teams in the regular season, defeating both opponents in Philadelphia. The matchup would be the Dragons’ first in the CAA Championship against either opponent.
The evening session begins Saturday with No. 7 seed North Carolina A&T facing No. 10 Stony Brook at 6 p.m. The teams split during the regular season in their first season as CAA members with the Aggies winning in Greensboro and the Seawolves victorious on Long Island.
Saturday’s final contest pits No. 6 seed Delaware against No. 11 Northeastern at 8:30 p.m. Delaware, the defending CAA Champion, split the regular season series with Northeastern in a pair of games decided by less than four points. The teams will meet for the sixth time in the CAA Championship with Northeastern holding a 3-2 advantage. Northeastern won 67-64 in a quarterfinal clash in 2015 in the teams’ last postseason meeting before the Huskies went on to capture the CAA crown.
The top four seeds clinched byes to Sunday’s quarterfinals against teams that will play on Saturday. The day opens at noon with top-seeded Hofstra facing the winner of the Elon/William & Mary game. The Pride won its lone matchup against both opponents this winter in double-digit road victories. Hofstra and Elon would meet for only the second time in the Championship after Elon ousted Hofstra in the semifinals in 2021; the Pride and Tribe have squared off four times in the Championship with Hofstra holding a 3-1 record.
No. 4 seed UNCW will tip off at 2:30 p.m. Sunday in a contest vs. either Drexel or the Hampton/Monmouth winner. The Seahawks won their lone meeting against Drexel and Hampton during the regular season and swept Monmouth. UNCW and Drexel have met four times in the Championship with the Dragons winning the last two in 2012 and 2020; UNCW won the 2003 CAA title against Drexel.
Charleston will get the evening session started Sunday with a game at 6 p.m. against the winner of No. 7 North Carolina A&T and No. 10 Stony Brook. The Cougars, who enter the Championship with a nation-leading 28 wins, won their only matchups of the year against the duo of CAA newcomers.
No. 3 seed Towson will round out the night with an 8:30 p.m. matchup vs. the team to emerge from Saturday’s Delaware/Northeastern contest. The Tigers split with Delaware in the regular season and won their one contest against Northeastern. Delaware is 3-0 against Towson in the Championship after last year’s semifinal triumph; the Tigers and Huskies have alternated victories in five quarterfinal matchups with Towson winning most recently last March.
Monday’s semifinal doubleheader will tip at 6 p.m. with Tuesday’s title game beginning at 7 p.m. Games on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday can be seen on FloHoops; Monday and Tuesday’s contests will be televised on CBS Sports Network.
(Release via Hofstra)
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