From Scott Day at VCU:

One day after his head coach labeled him as “the difference in the game” in VCU’s 75-60 victory over George Washington, senior Bradford Burgess (pictured above) was lauded once again, this time by the Colonial Athletic Association.

Burgess, who has now started 118 straight games, was named CAA Co-Player of the Week after averaging 19.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in a 2-0 week for the Black & Gold. He shares the honor with Georgia State’s Eric Buckner, who led the Panthers to a 3-0 week.

After Sunday’s win, Head Coach Shaka Smart said, “He played like a senior, he played like a leader and he made seemingly every big shot for us. That really allowed us to keep the lead and extend the lead at the end.”

To start the week, Burgess poured in 15 points in a home win over Big East foe South Florida. He went 4-of-9 from the field, 2-of-4 from long range and pulled down four rebounds for the Black & Gold.

On Sunday, he was nearly unstoppable with a season-high 24 points on 8-of-15 shooting, while corralling five rebounds and blocking two shots.

Burgess has now scored in double-figures in each of the past seven games and recently moved into the top-20 on VCU’s all-time scoring chart with 1,313 points.

On the year, he leads the team with 14.1 ppg on 36.7% shooting and 38.3% from long-range. He is also grabbing 4.2 boards per night and dishing out 1.3 assists per outing.

Burgess and his teammates have all week to prepare for the Farm Bureau Insurance Black & Blue Classic against crosstown rival, Richmond. Game time at the Verizon Wireless Arena is set for 8 p.m.

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From Rob Washburn with the Colonial Athletic Association:

CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK:

Eric Buckner, Georgia State, Sr., F, 6-8, 203

Buckner averaged 13.0 points and 7.0 rebounds while also blocking 11 shots in Georgia State’s 3-0 week. The senior forward scored a team-high 21 points in an 85-54 road win at S.C. State, blocked a career-high 8 shots in a 73-47 triumph over FIU and had 11 points and six boards in a 66-34 CAA win over W&M. Shot 66.7% from the floor for the week and anchored a dominant GSU defensive effort that held foes to 45.0 ppg.

CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK:

Bradford Burgess, VCU, Sr., G/F, 6-6, 225

Burgess averaged 19.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in VCU’s 2-0 week. The senior guard/forward scored 15 points as the Rams rolled past Big East member South Florida 69-46 and then poured in a season-high 24 points in a 75-60 win over George Washington. Burgess shot 50% from the floor for the week and connected on 6-of-12 from 3-point range.

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK:

Adam Smith, UNCW, Fr., G, 5-11, 160

Smith averaged 23.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists in UNCW’s 1-1 week. The freshman guard scored a career-high 27 points in a 75-73 loss at Toledo and had a team-best 19 points and a career-high six boards in a 63-54 victory at Illinois State. Smith shot 53.1% from the floor over the two games.

CONFERENCE NOTES:

Road Teams Go 3-2 In Saturday’s Conference Openers: Road teams went 3-2 on Saturday as 10 CAA teams played their conference openers. George Mason won 65-53 at Towson, James Madison picked up a 62-60 victory at Hofstra and Old Dominion earned a 69-59 win at Northeastern. Getting victories at home were Delaware, which beat rival Drexel 71-60, and Georgia State, which cruised by William & Mary, 66-34. All 12 CAA teams play one league game in the month of December and then return to non-conference action until Jan. 2. UNCW and VCU will play their CAA opener on Dec. 17.

Georgia State Pushes Winning Streak To Six: Georgia State increased its winning streak to six with convincing victories over South Carolina State (85-54), FIU (73-47) and William & Mary (66-34) last week. The Panthers, who started 0-3, are giving up just 47.0 ppg and limiting opponents to 30.7% FG shooting during the six-game run.  The 34 points by W&M were the second-fewest allowed in school history. The winning streak is the longest for GSU since the 2003-04 season and its 6-3 start is tied for the 5th-best mark in school history.

18-Game Home Win Streak For Mason: George Mason defeated Bucknell 61-57 last Wednesday to extend its home court winning streak to 18 dating back to the start of last year. Mason owns the 9th-longest active home court streak in the nation. The Patriots have won four in a row overall after topping Towson last Saturday.

VCU Rolls Past USF: VCU used a dominant second-half performance to roll past South Florida, 69-46, last Wednesday. The Rams are now 9-4 against BCS foes over the last 2+ seasons under coach Shaka Smart. The win also evened the CAA’s record at 3-3 versus the Big East this season. The Rams also beat George Washington on Sunday and have captured four of their past five games.

Changing Of The Guard: It’s been a year of change around the CAA as many returning players have stepped into new roles and several newcomers are making an impact. As of Dec. 5, 13 of the current top 20 scorers in the CAA weren’t even among the top 30 in the league in scoring a year ago. The only seven who were on last year’s top 30 list are Hofstra’s Mike Moore, Mason’s Ryan Pearson, VCU’s Bradford Burgess, ODU’s Kent Bazemore, UNCW’s Keith Rendleman and Northeastern’s Jonathan Lee and Joel Smith.

Freshmen Making An Impact: Freshmen are seeing significant playing time around the CAA this season. All 12 CAA teams have at least one freshman on their team who is averaging better than 16 minutes per game and JMU and Northeastern are the only teams who haven’t had a freshman start at least one game. Four freshmen are among the CAA’s top 30 in scoring – UNCW’s Adam Smith, Drexel’s Damion Lee, W&M’s Marcus Thornton and Delaware’s Kyle Anderson. Three others – Towson’s Kris Walden, Mason’s Corey Edwards and Delaware’s Khalid Lewis – are among the top 15 in assists, while VCU’s Briante Weber and ODU’s Dimitri Batten are among the top 11 in steals.

UD’s Saddler Ranks 2nd Nationally In Scoring: Delaware sophomore Devon Saddler ranks second in the nation in scoring at 24.7 ppg through games of Dec. 4. JMU’s A.J. Davis is 16th with 21.0 ppg and Hofstra’s Mike Moore is 22nd with 20.4 ppg. In other statistical categories, Davis is 9th in 3-point FG percentage (54.8%), GSU’s Eric Buckner is 10th in blocks (3.6 bpg), ODU’s Kent Bazemore is 5th in steals (3.0 spg) and NU’s Joel Smith is 6th in FT percentage (95.5%). In team categories, Drexel is 11th in the nation in 3-point FG defense (24.1%). James Madison is 8th in 3-point FG percentage (44%) and 7th in threes per game (9.8). Old Dominion is 11th in steals per game (10.0 spg). A complete listing of statistical leaders can be found on Page 4 of this release.

Doubling Up: Seven CAA players have already recorded two or more double-doubles this season. ODU senior Chris Cooper leads the league with five double-doubles, while Delaware’s Jamelle Hagins, Towson’s Robert Nwankwo and George Mason’s Ryan Pearson each have three. Eleven of the 12 teams have a player with at least one double-double.

Starting Streaks: VCU senior Bradford Burgess has made 118 consecutive starts, which is the longest active streak in Division I basketball and is just three away from the Rams’ all-time record. James Madison senior Julius Wells has started 106 straight games, which ranks second on the Dukes’ career list. Wells also moved up to 9th on JMU’s all-time scoring list last week with 1,378 points.

Smith’s FT Streak Ends: Northeastern junior guard Joel Smith was a perfect 20-for-20 at the free throw line this season before missing one against ODU last Saturday. Smith had made 22 in a row dating back to last year.