2009 CAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Predictions
Written March 4, 2009 by Jason Lowry
The Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Men’s Basketball Tournament is set to get underway this Friday from Richmond, VA, as all 12 teams will do their best to earn that automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament that goes along with winning their conference tournament. Last year George Mason was able to take home that automatic bid, but it looks like they well have plenty of competition for that spot this year, as Virginia Commonwealth is the No. 1 seed, and just 3 games separating 1st from 5th. Here is a look at the 3 favorites to win the tournament after regular season play, and a sleeper that I feel could pull off the upsets needed to win this tournament. Bet CAA Basketball Tournament at Bookmaker.com.
1. VCU Rams (21-9, 14-4 CAA)
After rolling through conference play to start the season going 8-1 in their first 9 games, the Rams have come back to the pack a little going just 6-3 to finish the season. The Rams did finish up with 3 straight conference wins, so maybe they are ready to make that run that gets them into the NCAA Tournament. The Rams get a ton of scoring from Eric Maynor, who averages 22.4 points a game, and his play is crucial to the success of this team as he also is the leading distributor with 6.2 assists a game.
2. George Mason Patriots (20-9, 13-5 CAA)
The Patriots followed much of the same path as the Rams, as they started the season 7-0 in conference play, but went just 6-5 in their final 11 games. The Patriots also got it going to end the season, as they come in on a 4 game conference winning streak, that included solid wins over Drexel and Northeastern. There is no star scorer on the Patriots, as they use a much more balanced attack on the offensive side of things.
3. Northeastern Huskies (18-11, 12-6 CAA)
The trend continues with the Huskies, but it gets a little worse here, as the Huskies started the season 10-1 in conference play, but wound up winning just 2 of their final 8 games. The team did show some life to finish the season, as they won back to back games against Drexel and Wright State before losing by 3 to Old Dominion in overtime. The Huskies need a strong tournament performance from Matt Janning, who comes in averaging 14.3 points a game.
Sleeper: Old Dominion Monarchs (20-9, 12-6 CAA)
While the Monarchs are not actually a true sleeper, as they finished just outside the top 3, but I had to talk about this team, as they are playing arguably the best basketball in the entire conference going into the tournament. The Monarchs have won 9 of their last 10 games, including a 8-1 stretch in conference play that includes wins over Northeastern, VCU, and George Mason. The Monarchs are led by Gerald Lee’s 15.7 points per game, but as a team they are really clicking right now, and need just 3 more wins to make it into the NCAA Tournament.
Prediction: Old Dominion Monarchs
For those of you looking to bet on college basketball, be sure to check out our expert NCAA basketball picks and the very latest college basketball lines from Betfirms.
If you liked this article, you may also be interested in:
- 2009 Atlantic 10 Men’s Basketball Tournament Predictions
- 2009 Big East Men’s Basketball Tournament Predictions
- PAC-10 Men’s College Basketball Tournament Predictions
- 2009 Big Sky Men’s Basketball Tournament Predictions
- 2009 Southland Men’s Basketball Tournament Predictions
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