A Midseason Examination Of The CAA's Underdogs

Thanks to the St. Louis Blues and Washington Nationals, the last 12 months have provided plenty of inspiration and hope to underdogs everywhere.

Shooters shoot. 

Hofstra returned to the Thursday/Saturday routine in wildly entertaining and chaotic fashion over the weekend as the Pride scored the tie-breaking basket with fewer than 10 seconds left Thursday night to edge UNC Wilmington, 63-61, and gave up the tie-breaking hoop with fewer than 10 seconds left Saturday in a 69-67 loss to Charleston.

Competition for the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference crown in 2020 promises to be especially tight and unpredictable. Just look at North Carolina A&T.

The first meeting of the season between Hofstra and UNC Wilmington promised to be interesting when the CAA preseason poll was released on Oct. 9 even though Hofstra was picked first and UNC Wilmington ninth. 

A head-to-head clash of the lone remaining undefeated teams in Colonial Athletic Association play lived up to its billing. Now, William & Mary sits atop the conference standings early into the campaign. 

Hofstra played just one game last week, but it was a doozy as Eli Pemberton hit a layup with half a second left to cap an instant classic Thursday night and lift the Pride to a 74-72 win over Northeastern. 

For Dane Fischer and Earl Grant, Saturday’s clash of the two hottest teams in the CAA is just another game, one whose importance, they will insist, is no more enticing nor carrying any greater potential impact than any of the other 17 regular season games during the two-month marathon that is conference regular season play.

College sports typically don’t drive the engine or discussion in the pro sports-obsessed markets of Boston and New York, which means the players and fans of the Northeastern and Hofstra men’s basketball teams probably aren’t going to spend today and tonight jawing at one another and arguing over the color of the sky or the direction in which the sun rises and sets.

College of Charleston senior guard Grant Riller and William & Mary senior center Nathan Knight were named to the Lute Olsen Award Midseason Watch List, CollegeInsider.com announced on Tuesday. The Lute Olson Award is presented annually to the nation's top Division I player.