Blaine Taylor press conference following semifinal loss to Drexel in CAA tourney Shaka Smart’s presser following CAA tourney quarterfinal win VCU’s Shaka Smart comments on win over Northeastern Preview: Georgia St. at VCU

via USAToday.com: Trying to become the first team in the Colonial Athletic Association to post

Theus, Rams tip Zips in OT, 76-75

Darius Theus’ layup with 1 second left in overtime lifted Virginia Commonwealth to a 76-75 win over Akron on Thursday night for the Rams’ seventh-straight win.

For VCU’s Smart, It’s All About Family

VCU’s 2011 Final Four appearance was an incredible story. Many journalists wrote about and captured

CAA Walk-ons, the Soul of Sports!

    “A man can be as great as he wants to be. If you

CAA buzz is high, but it needs more teams to win

The Colonial Athletic Association has put two more teams in the Final Four in the past six seasons than every other league outside the power six.

VCU wins “Best Upset” ESPY Award

Virginia Commonwealth University wins the ESPY for “Best Upset” for beating Kansas in the Southwest Regional final their 2011 NCAA Final Four run.

CAA Basketball schedule rotation announced

Over the past 6 years, the 12 CAA basketball teams have been working on a set rotation of opponents. That rotation that involved 7 home-and-home series each year (5 of which were with permanent partners), plus two additional road-only and two home-only opponents. For 2010-2011, everybody knew what teams they’d be playing at home and on the road six years ago. For 2011-12 and the two seasons after that, there is a new rotation that was announced on Tuesday. Here are some quick thoughts on both the Northeastern schedule and the rotations for other CAA teams. We know that the Huskies will be playing both a home game and a road game against each of Delaware, Drexel, Georgia State, Hofstra, and Towson for the next three seasons. In the coming year, Northeastern will also have home-and-home series with Old Dominion and William & Mary. NU will host George Mason and UNC-Wilmington, and will travel to James Madison and Virginia Commonwealth. For 2012-13, the two additional home/away partners are GMU and VCU, with home games against ODU and JMU plus road games at UNCW and W&M. The following year, the Huskies get home-and-home series with JMU and UNCW, home games only against VCU and W&M, and away games only at GMU and ODU. STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE: Looking at the level of talent that’s expected to be on each of those teams, Northeastern has a favorable schedule. It’s no secret that the powerhouses of the CAA are George Mason, VCU, and Old Dominion – each one of those schools made it to the NCAA tournament in 2011, with VCU making an improbable run to the Final Four after squeaking into the field in one of the new “First Four” games added for this year. Each of those three teams has been highly competitive for the last several years, and likely will be for many more to come – so it’s nice that NU only has to play each of them twice in one of the three seasons on the new rotation (ODU in 2011-12, GMU and VCU both in 2012-13). Georgia State and Towson have long been bottom-feeders in the league, though both have new coaches (Ron Hunter and former Northeastern assistant Pat Skerry, respectively) this year. I’m not going to make any predictions on the Huskies’ end of season record right now, but it certainly should be better than the 6-12 mark the team played to this past season. ROAD GAMES: Travel-wise, Northeastern couldn’t have asked for better permanent partners. That was no doubt a consideration for each team, as the cost of travel for 12+ players per team plus coaches and team staff can get high. The team can take a bus to each of Delaware (just south of Philadelphia), Drexel (in Philly), and Hofstra (on Long Island); Towson is just outside of Baltimore making that a quick and easy trip through the air, and Georgia State is in downtown Atlanta – again, not hard to find flights to. James Madison and UNC-Wilmington are the most difficult to get to, so it’s nice that Northeastern will only have to play at each of those locations (Harrisonburg, VA and Wilmington, NC) twice each over the next 3 years. For those that don’t know the geography of the CAA, George Mason is in Fairfax, VA, just a short drive from Washington’s Dulles International Airport. Virginia Commonwealth is in downtown Richmond, VA, Old Dominion is in Norfolk, VA, and William & Mary is just north of Norfolk in Williamsburg (there is an airline adding direct flights from Boston to Norfolk in May, making trips to both ODU and W&M much easier). PROMOTION: In terms of promotion of games and drawing fans in, it’s too bad Northeastern doesn’t get to host VCU in 2011-12. Of the three CAA teams that danced this past March, the Huskies only get to host the one that didn’t win a game. They lost to two-time national runner-up Butler, but that doesn’t have nearly the promotional value of a team that made the Final Four coming to Matthews Arena, or even a team that beat Villanova in the first round (and, of course, made it to the Final Four back in 2006). Delaware, Drexel, Georgia State, Towson, and William & Mary have very little name recognition on Northeastern’s campus, and Hofstra is mainly recognized because of the population of New York students. Old Dominion beat Notre Dame in the 2010 NCAA tournament, but they still don’t have much name value. OUT OF CONFERENCE: For now, we don’t have much information on the out of conference schedule. Head Coach Bill Coen and Boston University Coach Pat Chambers reportedly came to an agreement last year that says the two teams open the season against each other for the next few years, alternating between home arenas. Expect a game on Commonwealth Ave on November 11th or 12th, and be prepared to see the Terriers raise their America East banner before the game. We’ve been told that Southern Illinois will be coming to Boston for homecoming, likely on November 19 in a basketball/hockey doubleheader similar to what we had this past year. The only other game we’re aware of is a road game at Louisiana Tech, probably the week before Christmas which would prevent the Huskies from playing another 3-game tournament in an exotic location like Hawai’i or Cancun. They’ll also host a Bracketbusters game sometime around February 17-19. All of those games could change, and there will probably be about 6 more games added to that list – possibly including an in-season tournament (or two, if the LaTech game gets moved to a different time on the schedule). THE REST OF THE CAA: There’s not a whole that that jumps out about the rest of the rotation. One good thing, though, is that Old Dominion, Virginia Commonwealth, and George Mason will all play each other twice per year for the next three years. Those will be some very exciting matchups, and it wouldn’t be too surprising to see some of those games on national networks. For the most part, travel makes sense. As I mentioned before, it had to have been a consideration. UNC-Wilmington will have a tough test each year, as that’s another team that’s been lower down in the standings for a few years and they drew each of George Mason, Old Dominion, and Virginia Commonwealth as permanent partners (to go with Georgia State and Hofstra).

« Previous Page — Next Page »