SB Nation DC - CAA Tournament 2011: Old Dominion Tops Virginia Commonwealth, 70-65, To Win NCAA Tournament Berth

CAA Championship 2011: Frank Hassell Leads Old Dominion To 70-65 Win, NCAA Tournament Berth

2011-03-08T02:37:04Z

Well, it was fun while it lasted, #3Bids4CAA. Frank Hassell scored 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds as the Old Dominion Monarchs manhandled the Virginia Commonwealth Rams 70-65 to win the 2011 CAA Tournament championship and get the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Monarchs move to 27-6, while the Rams drop to 23-11 and likely are headed to the NIT.

Kudos to Blaine Taylor's squad, who dominated VCU on the glass and held the Rams to 39 percent shooting. VCU threatened to make this a nail biter with some spirited ball halfway through the second half, led by a Jamie Skeen mini-explosion and nine straight stops on defense again the Monarchs (thanks @defiantlydutch for that nugget). The Rams cut an 18-point deficit down to two on several occasions.

But the aformentioned beastmode contender Hasell put a stop to that. The burly senior finished with 22 points on 8-9 shooting, and Kent Bazemore filled the stat sheet with 14 points, six rebounds, six assists and three steals. Ben Finney, Keyon Carter and Darius James are all solid senior contributors on a team I'm putting in the Sweet 16 on any bracket I fill out. In pen.

The CAA put on a fantastic show this year, and though the regular season now comes to a close, two of their teams (George Mason, Old Dominion) are going dancing, with something to prove and some damage to do.

Oh yeah, Mike Patrick further proved he has no understanding of basic basketball strategy late in this game. And water is wet.

CAA Championship 2011: Old Dominion Leads Virginia Commonwealth, 39-26, At Halftime

2011-03-08T01:22:42Z

The much Tweeted #3Bids4CAA campaign is looking to be in jeopardy as the first half of the 2011 CAA Tournament Championship wrapped. The big boys (Monarchs, if you will) of Old Dominion are taking it to Rams of VCU, leading 39-26 at halftime.

I pondered retitling this halftime update "Frank Hassell's Elbow 1, Ed Nixon's Face 0," but that frankly wouldn't be fair to the rest of Nixon's teammates, who have been equally steamrolled by Hassell in the first half of the CAA final. Hassell has a cool 14 points and five boards in the first half, leading into this expert analysis from CAA-lover and Gheorghe The Blog founder rob:

ODU is so, so tough and physical. They are beating on VCU – the Rams’ bigs are more the long type and ODU’s are the strong type. ODU rebounding edge is telling. The ODU zone is making VCU start their offense way too far from the basket.

That, folks, is why he gets paid the big bucks and wears the small shoes. Let's put it this way: VCU might want to shoot better than 38 percent in the second half AND prevent their opponent from shooting 64 percent. That's certainly a start. ODU has an 18 to 4 edge on the boards - I almost thought i mistyped that, but yes, VCU has four total rebounds. In the immortal words of Steve Buckhantz, that is a dagger.

The CAA has provide gripping ball for an entire regualar season and conference tournament - let's hope for the sake of all CAA fans (and hoops lovers alike) that VCU makes a run in the second half and we get a CAA Final befitting the season as a whole.

Also, pleasse, let Jimmy Dykes and Mike Patrick lose their voices somewhere during the second half.

CAA Championship 2011, VCU Vs. Old Dominion: Rams Look For Second Upset In CAA Title Game

2011-03-07T22:19:50Z

The Virginia Commonwealth Rams have already had one shocking upset in the 2011 Colonial Athletic Association Tournament, knocking off No. 1 seed George Mason in the semifinals on Sunday. Now, they look for their second straight upset and a surprising berth into the NCAA Tournament, as they will play rival and No. 2 seed Old Dominion in the CAA championship game at the Siegel Center at 7 p.m. Monday night on ESPN.

VCU and Old Dominion have developed a fierce rivalry in recent years, so this is a fitting way for the CAA to be decided. The two teams have won five of the past seven CAA Tournament championships, with Old Dominion coming away with the title last season. The two teams last played in the title game in 2005, with Old Dominion coming away with a 73-66 win.

This game is particularly important because a VCU win would likely ensure the conference gets three bids to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in its history. George Mason is likely to be named as an at-large team, and if Old Dominion loses, they probably have done enough to earn an at-large bid too.

The Rams entered the CAA Tournament on a cold spell, having lost four of their last five games after a midseason nine-game winning streak, but righted the ship with wins over No. 5 seed Drexel, 62-60, in the quarterfinals and over George Mason, 79-63, in the semifinals. Led by seniors Joey Rodriguez, Jamie Skeen and Brandon Rozzell, the Rams will look to ride their home crown to victory.

Old Dominion, on the other hand, is riding an eight-game winning streak entering this game. The Monarchs topped No. 7 seed Delaware, 59-50, in the quarterfinals before holding off CAA Player of the Year Charles Jenkins and No. 3 Hofstra, 77-69, in the semifinals. Defensive demons Frank Hassell and Ken Bazemore lead the way for the Monarchs.

CAA Tournament 2011: ODU Defeats Hofstra To Move Onto Finals

2011-03-06T22:10:51Z

We have our CAA championship match set. The ODU Monarchs defeated the Hofstra Pride 77-69 to advance to the conference tournament finals against VCU.

The leading scorer for ODU was Frank Hassell, who notched 22 points for the Monarchs. Darius James and Kent Bazemore were also in double digit figures.

With this victory, ODU has now won eight games in a row and will have a chance to win their second consecutive CAA championship. What's interesting is that they will be playing a VCU team that upset George Mason, and the result of that game could have big implications for the CAA this year as it relates to the NCAA tournament. ODU has had a relatively strong season as a mid major, and if they lose to VCU, we could have as many as three teams from the CAA in the NCAA tournament.

It all makes for a very intriguing matchup between VCU and ODU, which will take place tomorrow.

CAA Tournament 2011: VCU Defeats Mason To Move On To Finals

2011-03-06T19:28:24Z

The George Mason Patriots' 16 game winning streak has finally come to an end, thanks to a 79-63 loss to VCU in the CAA semi finals.It is the third consecutive year that VCU has defeated Mason in the conference tournament.

For the first ten minutes of the first half, the game was a back and forth affair between the Patriots and the Rams. But after that, the Rams took the lead, one that would last for the rest of the game.

There were only two Patriots in double figures, with Cam Long being the team's leading scorer with 22. Aside from that, the Patriots were unable to get a lot of offense going. They were 5 of 13 from the free throw line, committed 15 turnovers, and were not able to get much going inside.

As for Masons defense, the Rams were allowed to shoot 44% (11-25) from the three point line and 47% (24-50) from the field. Four Rams were in double figures, with Jamie Skeen leading the way with 21 points.

Mason will have 11 days to recover from this loss and try to regroup for its NCAA tournament run.

As for VCU, they will play the winner of the ODU vs. Hofstra match up this afternoon.

CAA Tournament: Hofstra Defeats William & Mary 72-56 To Advance To CAA Semi-Finals

2011-03-06T04:11:23Z

The surprising Cinderella run of the William & Mary Tribe has come to an end. The Tribe entered the Tournament as the 11th overall seed and knocked off the James Madison Dukes in the opening round, but the Hofstra Pride were just too much for them.

Hofstra put on an impressive defensive display, limiting the Tribe to under 30 points in each half. William & Mary had only one player score in double-figures. That would be Marcus Kitts, and that wouldn't be nearly enough to defeat the Pride.

Hofstra didn't necessarily shoot well - they hit only 42.6% of their shots, but this game was never really close, as the Pride had four players score in double-figures. Charles Jenkins led all scorers with 20 points, while Brad Kelleher chipped in 13 points, Mike Moore had 11, and David Imes had 10 points and eight rebounds.

With tonight's win, Hofstra will move on to the CAA Semi-finals, where they will meet the Old Dominion Monarchs. These two teams haven't faced each other since Jan. 15, a game that ODU won 75-64.

CAA Tournament: Old Dominion Defeats Delaware To Advance To Semi-Finals

2011-03-06T01:34:45Z

The CAA Tournament is progressing exactly as we would have expected so far today. George Mason, the favorite to win it all, turned in a dominating second half against Georgia State earlier today. VCU won a close game against Hofstra. And now the Old Dominion Monarchs pulled away late to defeat the Delaware Blue Hens.

Starting forward Frank Hassell led the Monarchs with 24 points and nine rebounds, on 9-13 shooting. Kent Bazemore also turned in 11 points for the Monarchs.

Jawan Carter continued his excellent Tournament by scoring another 24 points. Carter had 17 points in the Blue Hens' two-point victory over Northeastern last night, but this time it wasn't enough. Delaware kept the game close, by their season ended tonight.

With their win tonight, the Monarchs will be watching intently the final game of the CAA quarterfinals later tonight. They will face the winner of the game between Hofstra and Williams & Mary tomorrow night. Hofstra will be heavily favored to advance against William & Mary, who upset James Madison in the opening round yesterday in Richmond.

CAA Tournament 2011: George Mason Moves On To Semi Finals With Win Over Georgia State

2011-03-05T19:14:08Z

After overcoming a very tough start, the George Mason Patriots were able to seize control and dominate Georgia State to win 68-45 and advance to the CAA semi finals.

The Patriots started out sluggish, trailing 27-16 around the 7 minute mark of the first half. At that point, the Patriots began to take over. They climbed back into the game in the waning moments of the first half, and went into the locker room regaining the lead 31-29.

In the second half, it was all Mason. After holding on to their lead early in the second half, the Patriots went on a dominating 19-0 run that seemingly ended the game for Mason. It was a spirit crusher for Georgia State and from there, the game was salted away in the final seven minutes of the half.

Mason was able to get good offensive production from up and down the roster, as usual. Cam Long led the Patriots with 15 points, followed by Andre Cornelius and Ryan Pearson with 12 and 11 points respectively.

The Patriots will await the winner of this afternoon's game between VCU and Drexel.