CAA men’s basketball notes

CAA Player of the Week: Antoine Agudio, Hofstra, Sr., G, 6-3, 190. Agudio averaged 25.5 points in leading Hofstra to two wins last week. The senior guard poured in 27 points, including a pair of threes during a pivotal 10-0 run, as the Pride beat Towson 81-67 and netted 24 points in an 81-63 road triumph […]

February 25, 2008; 9:32 PM • by FTRea

CAA Player of the Week:
Antoine Agudio, Hofstra, Sr., G, 6-3, 190. Agudio averaged 25.5 points in leading Hofstra to two wins last week. The senior guard poured in 27 points, including a pair of threes during a pivotal 10-0 run, as the Pride beat Towson 81-67 and netted 24 points in an 81-63 road triumph at Iona. He shot 46.3% from the floor and was 8-of-18 from 3-point range. Agudio, who has scored double digits in 59 of his last 60 contests, needs just 10 points to become Hofstra’s all-time scoring leader.

CAA Goes 7-5 In BracketBusters:
The CAA posted a 7-5 record in the O’Reilly ESPNU BracketBusters on Saturday, which included four road victories. The CAA is now 8-3 in televised BracketBusters contests over the past four years after VCU won at Akron 57-52 and George Mason fell at Ohio 69-57. Other CAA winners on Saturday were Hofstra over Iona (81-63), James Madison over Morehead State (89-57), Towson over High Point (73-72), Old Dominion over Bucknell (65-55), Delaware over Toledo (77-69) and Georgia State over Jacksonville State (85-78).

Jumbled League Race:
With just two conference games remaining before the CAA Men’s Basketball Championship, the league standings remain extremely tight. VCU holds a two-game advantage atop the standings and can clinch the top seed for the second year in a row with one more victory. UNC Wilmington and George Mason are tied for second at 11-5 with Old Dominion and William & Mary just a game back at 10-6. There are also ties in the standings for sixth and 10th place.

JMU’s Keener Announces Resignation:
James Madison head coach Dean Keener announced last Friday that he is resigning at the end of the season. Keener is in fourth season as head coach of the Dukes and has compiled a 30-83 record, including a 12-15 mark this season.

Dominant Defense:
VCU leads the nation in 3-point FG percentage defense (27.3%), ranks ninth in FG percentage defense (38.3%) and is 10th in scoring defense (59.2 ppg) through games of Feb. 24. The Rams have held six opponents to less than 50 points and are allowing only 58.1 ppg in CAA play. Only three teams have scored more than 70 points versus VCU this season.

VCU, George Mason Among Top 70 In Latest RPI Report:
Two CAA teams are ranked among the top 70 in the latest RPI report produced by Collegiate Basketball News through games of Feb. 24. VCU leads all CAA teams at #51 and George Mason is at #69. After its 7-5 record in BracketBusters, the CAA moved up spot to #13 among the 31 Division I conferences.

Two CAA Players Among Top 10 In FG Percentage:
UNCW senior center Vladimir Kuljanin is ranked second nationally in FG percentage at 66.7%, while George Mason senior forward Will Thomas ranks eighth at 63.2%. Both seniors are better than 60% shooters for their career and should challenge the CAA’s career FG percentage mark of 61.6% set by JMU’s Clayton Ritter from 1990-94.

VCU (21-6 overall, 13-3 in CAA):
The Rams clinched at least a share of the CAA regular-season title with a 66-62 win at Northeastern and then beat Akron 57-52 in BracketBusters. VCU has won six of its last seven and is 18-3 since Dec. 1.

Junior guard Eric Maynor poured in a team-high 26 points at NU and added 14 points at Akron. Maynor has tallied double digits in 11 straight games and is averaging 20.4 ppg over his last five contests. He ranks fifth in career assists at VCU with 429.

Senior guard Jamal Shuler scored a team-best 19 points at Akron, which was his 13th double-figure outing in the last 15 games. Shuler is tied for fourth in career treys at VCU with 156.

Freshman center Larry Sanders blocked a career-high nine shots at Akron. He tops the CAA and ranks 9th nationally with 3.0 bpg and his 81 blocks are fourth on VCU’s season chart.

Freshman guard Joey Rodriguez scored a career-high 11 points at NU.

– The information above was provided by Rob Washburn, CAA Assistant Commissioner/Communications