CAA MEN’S BASKETBALL Co-PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Matt Janning, Northeastern, Sr., G/F, 6-4, 198

Janning averaged 17.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists in a pair of Northeastern road wins that moved the Huskies into sole possession of first place in the CAA. The senior guard had a team-high 17 points and four rebounds in a 67-51 victory at Delaware and a team-best 17 points and five boards in a 75-55 triumph at Hofstra. For the week, Janning shot 50% (5-10) from 3-point range and was 11-of-12 at the free throw line.

CAA MEN’S BASKETBALL Co-PLAYER AND ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

Chris Fouch, Drexel, Fr., G, 6-2, 170

Fouch averaged 22.5 points off the bench in Drexel’s 2-0 week. The freshman poured in a team-high 28 points as the Dragons rolled past Towson 97-55 and tallied a team-best 17 points in a 73-60 victory over first-place George Mason. For the week, Fouch shot 54.5% from the floor, including 8-of-13 (61.5%) from 3-point range. He has scored double digits in seven straight games and leads all CAA freshmen in scoring with 11.0 ppg.

Northeastern Takes Sole Possession Of First Place: Northeastern took over sole possession of first place in the CAA at 11-2 after posting road victories at Delaware (67-51) and Hofstra (75-55) last week. The Huskies hold a one-game lead over Old Dominion, which went 1-1 last week, and George Mason, which dropped a pair of road contests. Drexel and VCU each went 2-0 last week and are tied for fourth at 9-4, while William & Mary is a game back at 8-5. There are three head-to-head matchups between the top six teams this week as Mason faces VCU and ODU and Northeastern visits W&M on Saturday.

Top Teams Playing Well: The top teams in the CAA standings are all playing well. Northeastern has captured 14 of its last 15, VCU has won four in a row and eight of its last nine, Drexel has won five of its last six, Old Dominion has won eight of its last 10 and George Mason has won nine of its last 12.

Five CAA Teams Selected For TV Games In BracketBusters: George Mason, Northeastern, Old Dominion, VCU and William & Mary were selected for televised games in BracketBusters, which will be held Feb. 19-20. The CAA led all conferences with five teams selected for television and it’s the third time in the last four years that the CAA has had five teams picked by ESPN. On Friday, ODU visits #22 Northern Iowa at 7 p.m. on ESPN2, followed by W&M at Iona at 9 p.m. on ESPNU. On Saturday, Northeastern hosts Louisiana Tech at 1 p.m. on ESPN2 and VCU entertains Akron at 4 p.m. on ESPNU. At 8 p.m., Mason hosts College of Charleston on ESPN2. The CAA has been extremely successful in BracketBusters, posting an 11-5 record in televised games over the past five years. In non-TV matchups, Delaware hosts Boston University, Drexel visits Bradley, Georgia State entertains South Carolina State, Hofstra welcomes Rider, James Madison travels to Canisius, UNC Wilmington heads to Radford and Towson is at Manhattan.

ODU Extends Home Court Winning Streak: Old Dominion has the fifth-longest home winning streak in the nation at 20 games after beating William & Mary 61-42 last Wednesday. The Monarchs’ home court streak ranks behind Kansas (55), Siena (33), Tulsa (22) and Xavier (21). George Mason has captured a school-record tying 17 consecutive CAA home contests heading into its home game with VCU.

Four CAA Teams In RPI’s Top 55: The CAA has four teams ranked among the top 55 in the latest RPI released by Collegiate Basketball News through games of Feb. 7. Old Dominion leads the list of CAA teams at #38, while William & Mary is #52, VCU is #53 and Northeastern is #54. Drexel moved up to #95, giving the CAA five teams in the top 100 for the first time this season. The CAA is ranked 12th among the nation’s 32 Division I conferences. Only five conferences (Big East – 8, Big 12 – 8, ACC – 6, Atlantic 10 – 6, SEC – 5) have more than four teams in the top 55 of the RPI. The Big Ten and Mountain West also have four.

Close Games In CAA Play: Of the 77 CAA games played thus far, 28 have been decided by six points or less, and six others have had margins of less than 10 points. William & Mary has had eight CAA games decided by three points or less, including four one-point contests. Delaware and Drexel have had five conference contests decided by four points or less.

Home Court Success In CAA Play: Home teams have gone 16-7 over the past two weeks, ending a recent run of success for road squads. For the season, home teams have won 62.3% (48-29) of the CAA contests. Six squads have .500 or better records on the road in conference action. Home teams went 66-42 (.611) in CAA play in 2008-09 and 71-37 (.657) in 2007-08.

Hofstra’s Jenkins In Select Company: Hofstra’s Charles Jenkins is one of only 16 players in Division I to be averaging at least 18 points (18.8 ppg), four rebounds (4.2 rpg) and three assists (3.9 apg) per game as of Feb. 7. Jenkins leads the CAA in scoring and is sixth in assists.

Dominant Defense: The CAA can make a case as one of the nation’s top conferences defensively. As of Feb. 7, Old Dominion ranked third in Division I in scoring defense (55.6 ppg) and Northeastern was 23rd (60.5 ppg). In FG percentage defense, Hofstra (39.3%), ODU (39.4%) and Drexel (39.8%) are among the top 40 nationally. Six CAA teams are also ranked among the top 45 in the nation in 3-point FG defense – UNC Wilmington (26.9%/2nd), Hofstra (28.0%/6th), ODU (28.8%/12th), Georgia State (30.2%/34th), VCU (30.3%/36th) and Drexel (30.7%/44th). A complete list of NCAA stat leaders in included in this release.

Road Records: Northeastern has won six consecutive road games, matching the school record set in 1970-71 and 1972-73. William & Mary has eight road victories this season, which is the second-highest total in school history and the most since 1949-50.

Season-High Five CAA Teams In Mid-Major Top 25 Poll: A season-high five CAA teams are ranked in the Mid-Major Top 25 poll released on Feb. 8 by CollegeInsider.com. Northeastern tops all CAA squads at #8, followed by VCU at #11, Old Dominion at #12, George Mason at #18 and William & Mary at #20. The CAA leads all conferences with five teams in the poll.

Northeastern’s Janning Closes In On Milestone: Northeastern senior Matt Janning is four rebounds shy of joining Dave Caligaris as the only players in school history with at least 1,500 points, 500 rebounds and 300 assists in a career. Janning ranks fifth on NU’s career points list (1,691) and is sixth in assists (323).

Block Party: The CAA features five of the nation’s top 31 players in blocked shots. Towson’s Robert Nwankwo is 8th (3.4 bpg), VCU’s Larry Sanders is 23rd (2.6 bpg), Hofstra’s Greg Washington is 24th (2.6 bpg), UNCW’s John Fields is 25th (2.5 bpg) and Northeastern’s Nkem Ojougboh is 31st (2.4 bpg).

DELAWARE (7-17 overall, 3-10 in CAA)

The Blue Hens rebounded from a  67-51 loss to Northeastern last Tuesday by topping UNCW 69-62 on Monday. Junior Jawan Carter scored 30 of Delaware’s 51 points versus NU and tallied a team-high 23 points against UNCW. He was 10-of-21 from 3-point range in the two contests. Carter has tallied double figures in a league-best 17 straight games and is averaging 23.8 ppg over his last five contests. He ranks second in the league in scoring and assists and is the first player since Harding Nana in 2005 to score 20+ points in five straight games. Junior Alphonso Dawson posted a double-double (10 pts/12 reb) versus UNCW and has scored double digits in 11 of his last 13 contests. Freshmen Kelvin McNeil, who ranks eighth in the CAA in rebounding (6.2 rpg), and Josh  Brinkley are out for the season with injuries. The Hens are at William & Mary on Wednesday.

DREXEL (14-11 overall, 9-4 in CAA)

The Dragons have won five of their past six after defeating Towson (97-55) and George Mason (73-60). Freshman Chris Fouch went 6-of-7 from 3-point range and poured in a team-high 28 points versus TU and netted a team-high 17 points against Mason. He has scored double figures in seven straight games. Fouch is averaging 17.5 ppg over his last seven games and is 23-of-42 from three in the past six contests. Sophomore Samme Givens grabbed a team-high 10 boards versus Towson and has six double-digit rebounding efforts in the past nine games. He’s averaging 10.6 rpg over the nine-game stretch. The Dragons were a season-best 12-for-24 from beyond the arc against TU and the 97 points were the second-highest total in nine seasons under coach Bruiser Flint. Junior Jamie Harris added 14 points versus Mason, which was his fifth double-figure effort in the last six games.

GEORGE MASON (15-9 overall, 10-3 in CAA)

The Patriots dropped back-to-back games for the first time since Dec. 2 after road setbacks at Georgia State (61-57) and Drexel (73-60). Sophomore Ryan Pearson averaged 12.5 ppg and 8.5 rpg for the week. Pearson has five double-figure outings in his last six contests. Junior Cam Long poured in 17 points at Drexel and is averaging 18.9 ppg with four 20+-point efforts over the past seven games. Sophomore Mike Morrison matched a season-high with 17 points at Drexel on 7-for-8 FG shooting. Freshman Luke Hancock scored 10 points on 5-of-7 FG shooting at GSU and also dished out three assists. It was the eighth double-figure outing of the season for Hancock. The Patriots hit just 11-of-24 from the free throw line at Drexel. Mason, which has won a school-record tying 17 straight CAA home games, entertains VCU on Tuesday.

GEORGIA STATE (10-15 overall, 4-9 in CAA)

The Panthers ended a three-game slide with a 61-57 win over George Mason, but fell 59-56 to William & Mary. Sophomore Jihad Ali scored a career-high 22 points on 9-of-13 FG shooting versus Mason, including a 3-pointer with 42 seconds left that put GSU ahead to stay. Senior Joe Dukes, who has scored double figures in 13 of the past 15 games, recorded his second double-double of the year with 10 points and 10 assists against Mason. Dukes is averaging 14.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg and 5.4 apg over his past six games. Senior Trae Goldston scored a team-high 15 points versus W&M. Goldston, who ranks second on the Panthers’ career treys list with 187, is just 12 points shy of 1,000 for his career. Freshman James Vincent had six points and seven rebounds in 12 minutes versus Mason, while Ousman Krubally added 11 points and seven  boards off the bench against W&M.

HOFSTRA (12-13 overall, 5-8 in CAA)

The Pride won 68-48 at James Madison, but had their three-game winning streak snapped by Northeastern (75-55). Junior Charles Jenkins tallied a team-high 20 points at JMU and scored 14 against NU. He has scored double figure in 16 straight games and is averaging 20.7 ppg over his last six games. Jenkins ranks ninth on HU’s all-time scoring list (1,534 pts) and is five assists shy of 300 for his career. Senior Miklos Szabo averaged 11.0 ppg and 8.0 rpg over the two games. Junior Greg Washington had nine points and a team-best 12 rebounds at JMU and grabbed 10 boards against NU. Washington has 175 career blocks, which is three shy of the Pride record. Freshman Halil Kanacevic is averaging 10.7 ppg and 7.0 rpg over the last four games. The Pride has held three of its past four opponents under 36% FG shooting. Hofstra out-rebounded foes 90-57 last week.

JAMES MADISON (10-13 overall, 3-9 in CAA)

The Dukes dropped a 68-48 decision to Hofstra last Wednesday. JMU shot just 34% from the floor, which was its lowest percentage since Nov. 20, and hit only 2-of-16 threes. Junior Denzel Bowles scored 15 points but grabbed a season-low two rebounds. Bowles, who leads the CAA with eight double-doubles, has tallied double figues in all 15 of his contests and is averaging a league-best 19.5 ppg in CAA play. Sophomore Julius Wells also poured in 15 points and has scored double figures in 14 straight games. Wells has made a CAA-best 66 treys this season and ranks eighth on JMU’s career threes list (144). He has made a trey in 26 straight games. Freshman Darren White added nine points and five rebounds versus Hofstra and ranks second among all CAA freshmen in scoring (9.8 ppg). Senior Pierre Curtis is four assists shy of Joe Pfahler’s career mark of 420.

UNC WILMINGTON (7-17 overall, 3-10 in CAA)

The Seahawks suffered setbacks to VCU (73-60) and Delaware (69-62) and have lost nine of their last 10. Junior Chad Tomko, despite battling a leg injury, averaged 13.0 ppg over the two games. Tomko has tallied double digits in 20 of 23 contests and ranks among the CAA’s top 15 in scoring, assists and steals. Junior John Fields, who leads the CAA in rebounding (9.7 rpg), contributed nine points and a team-high 11 rebounds versus VCU, just missing his eighth double-double. Freshman Keith Rendleman contributed 7.5 ppg and 8.0 rpg over the two contests and is 18th in the league in rebounding (5.5 rpg). Senior Johnny Wolf scored 15 points at Delaware, which was his fourth double-digit effort in the last six games. UNCW made just 3-of-17 from 3-point range against VCU and is 19-of-90 (21.1%) from beyond the arc over the past four games.

NORTHEASTERN (16-8 overall, 11-2 in CAA)

The Huskies moved took over sole possession of first place after road victories at Delaware (67-51) and Hofstra (75-55). Northeastern has won 14 of its last 15 games. Senior Matt Janning, who moved into fifth on NU’s all-time scoring list with 1,691 points, tallied a team-high 17 points in each game. He has scored double figures in 21 of 24 contests. Junior Chaisson Allen, who has 15 double-figure efforts in his last 16 games, averaged 15.5 ppg last week. Allen is shooting 53% from three in CAA play.  Senior Nkem Ojougboh had nine points and a team-high 12 rebounds at UD. He has blocked a shot in 26 straight contests. Manny Adako was 5-for-5 from the floor and scored 10 at UD and netted 14 points at Hofstra. NU limited both teams under 32% FG shooting last week and have held foes under 40% in six of the past 11 games. The Huskies are allowing a league-low 55.3 ppg in CAA games and haven’t given up more than 64 points in a conference contest.

OLD DOMINION (18-7 overall, 10-3 in CAA)

The Monarchs extended their home court winning streak to 20 with a 61-48 victory over William & Mary, but fell 70-58 at VCU. ODU has won nine of its last 11. Junior Frank Hassell scored 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds against W&M and added 10 points at VCU. Hassell has scored double figures in six straight games and is averaging 11.7 ppg and 6.3 rpg over that stretch. Junior Ben Finney averaged 9.5 rpg last week, including a season-high 11 rebounds versus W&M. Sophomore Kent Bazemore is averaging a league-best 2.5 steals in CAA play. The Monarchs rank second nationally in scoring defense (55.6 ppg) and have held 10 teams under 50 points. They have limited seven of their last nine foes to less than 36% FG shooting. ODU out-rebounded the Tribe 48-25, but were beaten on the boards (39-37) for just the third time all year at VCU.

TOWSON (5-17 overall, 2-10 in CAA)

The Tigers suffered a 97-55 setback at Drexel last Tuesday. Towson trailed by 17 at the break and then saw the Dragons open the second half on a 19-2 run. Freshman Isaiah Philmore led Towson with a career-high tying 12 points and six rebounds. Philmore is averaging 9.7 ppg and 6.0 rpg over his last three games. Junior Jarrel Smith added eight points at Drexel and has six double-digit outings in the past nine games. Senior Josh Thornton, who ranks third in the CAA with 56 threes, was held without a trey for just the fourth time this season. Junior Robert Nwankwo, who tops the CAA in blocked shots (3.4 bpg) and is second in rebounding (9.6 rpg) and FG percentage (55.4%), added six points and three rejections. Towson shot just 38.5% from the floor at Drexel and was 4-for-18 from 3-point range. Towson starts a three-game homestand against James Madison on Monday.

VCU (17-5 overall, 9-4 in CAA)

The Rams have won eight of their last nine after beating UNCW (73-60) and Old Dominion (70-58) last week. Senior Kirill Pishchalnikov started against ODU and scored a season-high 14 points. Junior Ed Nixon scored a career-high 19 points off the bench at UNCW as VCU’s reserves accounted for 42 points. Junior Joey Rodriguez poured in 18 points at UNCW, which was the fifth time in the last eight games that he’s scored at least 18 points. Junior Larry Sanders didn’t score for the first time all season at UNCW, but grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds. He followed with his eighth double-double (14 pts/12 reb) of the year in the ODU win. Freshman Troy Daniels added seven points at UNCW. Sophomore Bradford Burgess had a team-high 16 points against ODU and snared six rebounds. The Rams have held their last four foes to under 41% FG shooting.

WILLIAM & MARY (16-7 overall, 8-5 in CAA)

The Tribe fell 61-42 at Old Dominon, but rallied for a 59-56 victory at Georgia State. W&M has has eight road wins, which is the second-highest total in school history. Sophomore Quinn McDowell, who  has seven double-digit outings in the past nine games, led W&M with 17 points at GSU. Senior David Schneider, who has scored double figures in 20 of 23 games, contributed 15 points and nine rebounds at GSU. He ranks among the top 12 in the CAA in scoring, rebounding and steals. Schneider has made a school-record 243 career treys, which is eight shy of 10th place on the CAA’s all-time list.  The Tribe has made 10 or more treys 12 times this season, but has made just 14 shots from beyond the arc in the last three games. W&M ranks among the top 10 in the nation in fewest turnovers (10.5 tpg) and assist/turnover ratio (1.4). The Tribe’s 16 wins this season are the seventh-most in school history. Eight of W&M’s 13 CAA games have been decided by three points or less.

– The information above was provided by Rob Washburn with the CAA