CAA Stats Update

Junior Matt Milon has struggled offensively this season, but we expect that to change in CAA play. [photo via Bob Keroack, tribeathletics.com]

The time is finally here: we are just ONE day away from the beginning of CAA play. Your William & Mary Tribe currently sits at 4-8 on the season, following a (more than) tough out of conference schedule. But we can safely expect W&M’s record to change for the better moving forward.

Below, we highlight some key offensive and defensive statistics at this point in the season — ranking W&M against the rest of the CAA.

CAA Standings

Charleston and Hofstra, the CAA’s preseason #1 and #3 teams, respectively, sit atop the standings following out of conference play. Charleston is currently on an 8-game win streak and hasn’t lost since November 22nd against LSU. Hofstra is on a similarly impressive run, with their only loss coming in an overtime contest against VCU back on November 24th.

Again, W&M checks in at 4-8, but that’s following an incredibly tough out of conference (OOC) schedule. And while OOC win/loss records don’t mean much, with each team playing a completely different strength of schedule, it’s nonetheless interesting to see how the league stacks up heading into conference play.

Offensive Stats

Here’s where William & Mary stacks up offensively in the CAA:

Scoring Offense:
74.2 Points Per Game (#6)
Field Goal Percentage:
46.6% (#6)
3-Point FG Percentage:
31.7% (#9)
Free Throw Percentage:
66.5% (#9)

Here’s where William & Mary ranked in the CAA last season (at the end of the season):

Scoring Offense:
85 Points Per Game (#1)
Field Goal Percentage:
51.1% (#1)
3-Point FG Percentage:
43.4% (#1)
Free Throw Percentage:
81% (#1)

William and Mary was known for its high powered offense last year, ranking 1st in every statistical category (as seen above). But that has not been the case (so far) this year, as W&M finds itself in the bottom half of the league in just about every category.

With W&M losing key players to graduation (such as David Cohn and Connor Burchfield), the team’s offense has taken a significant decline — at least statistically speaking. Specifically, W&M is scoring 10.8 less points per game, shooting 4.5% worse from the field, 11.7% worse from 3, and a staggering 14.5% worse from the charity stripe.

Freshman LJ Owens has rotated into the starting lineup this season, performing admirably in the process. [photo via Bob Keroack, tribeathletics.com]

Here are some of the reasons we think these numbers are so low:

Matt Milon’s Offensive Struggles: Matt Milon is currently shooting 46.6% from the field, including 38.2% from three. While those numbers are good for most, Milon made his name as a deadly sharpshooter last year; in that season, he shot 42.8% from 3. Milon is also shooting just 63.6% from the free throw line, compared to 92.1% a season ago.
Justin Pierce’s Injury Woes: Justin Pierce has been injured on an off this season, contributing to lower offensive numbers. He is shooting just 30.6% from 3 — compared to 41.6% from 3 last season. He also is shooting just 62.5% from the free throw line — compared to 79% last season.
Freshmen Maturing: This is a YOUNG W&M team. With just one “senior” (Paul Rowley, 2nd year law student), coach Shaver is giving a lot of minutes to his 5 freshmen. The freshmen have been maturing during OOC play, and as they continue to play more games, we expect their scoring will go up.

Defensive Stats

Here is where William & Mary stacks up defensively in the CAA:

Scoring Defense:
80.5 Points Per Game (#9)
Field Goal Percentage Defense:
48.1% (#10)
3-Point FG Percentage Defense:
40.5% (#10)

It is safe to say that W&M currently has the worst defense in the CAA (though take this with a grain of salt — again, all CAA teams have played completely different strength of schedules up to this point). The team is giving up an abysmal 80.5 points per game, and is last in the league in FG PCT defense and 3-Point PCT defense.

Head Coach Tony Shaver has made it a priority to focus on defense this year, and while we think the defense has improved since last season, it has not yet shown statistically.

As you can see above, Charleston, the league’s preseason #1, is ranked first in the CAA in defense. If W&M wants a shot at the CAA crown this year, it needs to tighten up on defense going into CAA play. And we expect it.