No. 4 George Mason kicked off CAA Tournament betting on Saturday with a 60-54 win over No. 5 Drexel. With the win, George Mason earned a trip to the semifinals to take on No. 1 Northeastern. Northeastern is 3-0 SU and ATS in its last three games against George Mason.
The other semifinal matchup will feature Saturday’s other two winners. No. 2 Delaware defeated No. 7 Hofstra 62-57 and No. 3 James Madison beat No. 6 William & Mary 72-67. James Madison is 4-1 SU and 3-2 ATS in its last five games against Delaware.
The winners of these two semifinal games will advance to the Colonial Athletic Association Championship Game on Monday night.
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When the Colonial Athletic Association starts up its 2013 conference tournament this Saturday, it will do so without four of its 11 schools being allowed to participate.
Georgia State and Old Dominion are banned from postseason play for announcing their intentions to join a new conference next year, and Towson and UNC-Wilmington are banned for low APR (academic performance).
The biggest casualty of these bans is Towson. Remarkably turning things around from a 1-31 SU season last year, Towson went 13-5 SU in conference play and 18-13 SU overall this season and would have been a serious contender in tournament play.
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Northeastern is the favorite in the remaining batch of seven schools, finishing with the best conference record (14-4 SU) and overall record (19-11 SU) in the Colonial Athletic Association. Northeastern is the only team in the conference to receive a bye, and will face the winner of the first game of the first round Saturday.
That game has No. 5 Drexel up against No. 4 George Mason. Drexel is 3-2 SU and ATS in its last five games against George Mason and 10-4-1 ATS against George Mason over their last 15 meetings.
No. 2 Delaware should have no trouble taking care of No. 7 Hofstra. Delaware was tied with Towson for the second best conference record in the CAA at 13-5 SU while Hofstra went 7-24 SU this season.
No. 3 James Madison will also be expected to advance going up against No. 6 William & Mary. James Madison is 3-0 SU and ATS in its last three games against William & Mary including two double-digit victories. The winner of this game will take on the winner of the Delaware vs. Hofstra matchup.
Saturday, March 9 – First Round
3:30 PM ET – No. 5 Drexel vs. No. 4 George Mason (Game 1)
6:00 PM ET – No. 7 Hofstra vs. No. 2 Delaware (Game 2)
8:00 PM ET – No. 6 William & Mary vs. No. 3 James Madison (Game 3)
Sunday, March 10 – Semifinals
2:00 PM ET – Game 1 Winner vs. No. 1 Northeastern
4:30 PM ET – Game 2 Winner vs. Game 3 Winner
Monday, March 11 - Championship Game
7:00 PM ET - Semifinal Winners
