The CAA conference tournament could cause a little drama. There are three to four teams that have a chance at winning this conference tournament. This tournament is one that I am watching extremely close. Here are my predictions for the CAA conference tournament.
The Betting Odds
Charleston -115
Hofstra +180
Towson +600
UNC Wilimington +1000
Drexel +2500
Delaware +5000
WIlliam & Mary +25000
Elon +25000
NC A&T +30000
Northeastern +40000
Stony Brook +50000
Hampton +50000
Monmouth +50000
The Bracket
Will Charleston Go Dancing?
The Cougars are the favorites to win the CAA and the big reason why is how deep they are. They go nine guys deep and all of them make their mark in every game. Charleston has no big scorer, but they have five guys that average double figures. Dalton Bolon (12.7 ppg), Pat Robinson III (11.2 ppg), Ante Brzovic (11.1 ppg 5.7 rpg), Reyne Smith (10.7 ppg) and Ryan Larson. This team averages the most points per game in the CAA (81.7) and they rank 17th in the country as well.
A lot of teams have not been able to keep up with their scoring production. The Cougars are 28-3 on the season with a non-conference loss to UNC and two conference losses to Hofstra and Drexel on the resume as well. Charleston needs this to make the tournament for sure, the question is do they have the luck on their side?
Who Do You Trust More (Hofstra or Towson)?
Towson
I was all in on the Towson Tigers at the beginning of the season. They played real well in the CAA during the regular season and gave a team like Charleston everything they could handle. Towson is led by three incredible seniors in Nicolas Timberlake, Charles Thompson and Cameron Holden. Timberlake is the big time scorer for them, as he averages 17.7 points per game on a 45/42/84 shooting split. Holden is the second leading scorer and averages 14.3 points per game while adding 7.1 rebounds per game and 4.8 assists per game as well. Towson ranks third in the CAA in points per game (71.3). They also allow the fourth fewest points in the CAA as well. Look for the Tigers to make a run here in the CAA tournament.
Hofstra
We can’t knock what the Hofstra Pride did down the stretch as they won ten straight to win the CAA regular season title. The Pride are led by senior guard Aaron Estrada who averages 20.3 points per game to go along with 5.4 rebounds per game and 4.1 assists per game. Another big factor for the Pride is senior guard Tyler Thomas who averages 16.2 points per game on a 49/41/75 shooting split. These two are huge for Hofstra. They need to be at their best if they want to win the CAA conference tournament.
The Don’s Winner
I really do think that we will see what should be the conference final in the semifinals, with Charleston taking on Towson. Charleston has their number this season and I really think that they will get it done. Charleston -115 is the play, but I am also throwing some on Towson at +600 for value purposes.
The Don’s Game By Game Predictions
First Round
12 Hampton over 13 Monmouth
Second Round
9 Elon over 8 William & Mary
5 Drexel over 12 Hampton
10 Stony Brook over 7 NC A&T
6 Delaware over 11 Northeastern
Quarterfinals
1 Hofstra over 9 Elon
4 UNCW over 5 Drexel
2 Charleston over 10 Stony Brook
3 Towson over 6 Delaware
Semifinals
4 UNCW over 1 Hofstra
2 Charleston over 3 Towson
Finals
2 Charleston over 4 UNCW
