It was ferocious. It was spirited. It was exciting. It was consequential. It was pulse-pounding, passionate, and perilous to one’s cardiovascular health if you had a stake in the outcome.

But boy, the second semifinal of the 2010 Colonial Athletic Association Tournament was also one ugly basketball game.

In a fiercely-contested competition that was both riveting and revolting, the Tribe of William & Mary were the last ones standing inside Richmond Coliseum. The third seed from Williamsburg, Va., outlasted the second-seeded Northeastern Huskies on Sunday evening and created an in-state CAA final. William & Mary advances to play Norfolk-based Old Dominion in Monday night’s all-Virginia championship game.

This collision between two evenly-matched foes was not for the faint of heart; the statement applied to Sunday’s slugfest on multiple levels. In one sense, the vigor of the competition was breathtakingly admirable; yet, the ugliness of each team’s shooting performance also tested the ticker in a less positive sense.

How improbable was this Bill-and-Mary breakthrough? Just consider all the improbable occurrences that littered this wild but low-scoring white-knuckler:

The Tribe, coached by Tony Shaver, scored only 16 points in the second half. William & Mary scored six of those 16 points in the final 1:30 of regulation, meaning that the No. 3 seed in this tournament posted just 10 points in the first 18 and a half minutes after halftime.

William & Mary hit just 37 percent of its shots, committed more turnovers (10) than the number of foul shots it converted (six), and needed almost seven minutes just to hit its first field goal in the second half.

Yet, despite all of that, the Tribe never trailed by more than one point in the second half… and that’s because W&M smothered Northeastern in the first half, limiting the boys from Boston to just 17 points. Coach Bill Coen’s Huskies produced a better CAA regular season than Shaver’s squad did, but in the one-and-done pressure of a conference tournament, Northeastern’s fortunes went south.

With just under 40 seconds remaining, the Huskies led, 45-44, and stood a few defensive stops from pulling off a remarkable comeback from a 31-17 halftime deficit. Yet, precisely when the Tribe were just about to throw away their dominating first-half performance, David Schneider made a very timely, even theatrical, appearance in this passion play.

Schneider – a 16-point-per-game scoring stud who had missed all eight of his previous field goal attempts – hit the one and only shot that mattered in this suspenseful Sunday that carried even more drama than the Academy Awards. Schneider’s lone make of the day on a 3-point bomb gave William & Mary a 47-45 edge with 37 ticks left on the clock.

Yet, for all the twists and turns in this tussle, the most remarkable sequence of this head-spinner was still to come.

Northeastern – trailing by two – preceded to snare six offensive rebounds in the final 21 seconds. Yet, the Huskies could never find the bottom of the net. Coen’s kids subsequently missed not one or two chances to tie or win the game, but three… then four… then five… six… and ultimately seven chances to send this game into overtime (on six 2-point tries) or win it outright (on a 3-point attempt by swingman Matt Janning with 13 seconds left). When NU’s Nkem Ojougboh missed twice within three feet of the rim in the final two seconds of play, the Tribal survival act became a reality.

Don’t ask Tony Shaver or the rest of his coaching staff how they lived one more day on their way to the CAA final. They have to rest up for the game that will decide their NCAA Tournament destiny.

> Find CAA team apparel & merchandise including Northeastern Huskies hats through DFN Sports sites!

What’s Next

William & Mary now prepares to face Old Dominion in Monday’s CAA final at 7 p.m. Eastern at the Richmond Coliseum. During the regular season, the Monarchs swept the Tribe. ODU won on the road in Williamsburg on Jan. 23 by a 58-55 count, and when the teams reunited in Norfolk on Feb. 3, the Monarchs mashed Bill & Mary by a 61-42 score. The Tribe isn’t as athletic or as consistent as coach Blaine Taylor’s team is; Shaver needs to find a way to become less reliant on the long ball and create inside-outside action that will put ODU on a defensive pendulum. If William & Mary can establish some offensive balance and unpredictability, this championship showdown could become quite a compelling watch for a national cable television audience.

By: Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer

The Old Dominion Monarchs held the fate of their own season in their hands on Sunday afternoon in the semifinals of the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament, but they also held the fate of Bubble Nation in their mitts as well. Therefore, when a backyard battle against Virginia Commonwealth took a negative turn at Richmond Coliseum, the regular season champion of the CAA had to be sweating bullets.

Somehow, Old Dominion managed to dodge those bullets as well.

In a game that possessed enormous bubble implications, the mentally tough Monarchs got off the deck and responded down the stretch. A team whose at-large NCAA hopes were going down the drain suddenly pulled itself out of a death spiral against a VCU crew that was intent on springing an upset before a boisterous hometown crowd. By not backing down when VCU had the crowd and in-game momentum on its side, ODU rallied for a four-point overtime victory that should ensure coach Blaine Taylor’s club of an NCAA invite. Even if the Monarchs lose Monday night’s championship game, their ability to get to the CAA final after winning the regular season should go a long way toward satisfying the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee. A road win at Georgetown will also provide needed non-conference ballast to a team that has now solidified its resume to a considerable extent.

But enough of ODU’s tournament-worthy resume. Before getting to the point where it could feel good about its NCAA at-large chances, ODU had to first turn back coach Shaka Smart’s kids from Virginia Commonwealth, and after 30-plus minutes of action, the top seed in the Colonial didn’t look to be up to the challenge.

The two teams traded blows in a first half that didn’t create any appreciable degree of separation, but in the first 10 minutes and 32 seconds of the second half, the Rams started throwing – and landing – haymakers against the shellshocked Monarchs. VCU outscored ODU 26-12 in the first part of the second stanza, using a blended inside-outside game to accumulate dunks, layups and threes. The offensive explosion enabled the Rams to take a 55-44 lead with 9:28 remaining, and with the flow of the game cutting squarely against them – not to mention the energy of a pro-Ram crowd – the Monarchs felt an NCAA noose tightening around their neck. Teams from mid-major conferences generally need to make the final of their tournaments if they expect to get an at-large big to the Big Dance, and that’s for teams with slam-dunk resumes. Old Dominion lost in the BracketBusters event to Northern Iowa, so a semifinal loss might not have made the cut with the Selection Committee. It was fair to say that a late comeback needed to be produced if Selection Sunday was going to be enjoyable for the folks from Norfolk, Va.

Improbably but quite admirably, the Monarchs found the fortitude and the finishing kick they so desperately needed.

While Old Dominion battened down the hatches on defense, conceding only seven points to VCU in the final 9:28 of regulation, Gerald Lee delivered the offensive production his team required in a moment of urgency. Lee – who led all scorers with 26 points on 10-of-13 shooting – started ODU’s comeback by nailing a few jumpers that trimmed the aforementioned 55-44 deficit to just 55-48. Lee later completed the comeback by sticking a jumper at the 1:55 mark to tie the game at 62 and send the proceedings into extra time.

The Monarchs felt as though they had gained a reprieve. In overtime, they played like it.

Ben Finney scored only 11 points for ODU, but he delivered five of them in overtime – two on a basket that tied the game at 66, and three on a long ball that gave the Monarchs a 71-66 edge with 1:08 to go. VCU closed within two and had a chance to tie, but an Ed Nixon tip-in missed with five seconds left, and when Lee grabbed the rebound and then made two foul shots, it was all over… for Virginia Commonwealth.

Old Dominion had lived to fight another day.

> Find CAA team apparel & merchandise including Old Dominion hats and VCU hats & merchandise through DFN Sports sites!

What’s Next

The Monarchs might not be an absolute lock for the 2010 NCAA Tournament, but they’re in extremely good shape because of the poor quality of the bubble. With that said, ODU can remove all doubt by winning the CAA Tournament and booking its plane reservations for a first-round NCAA site. Blaine Taylor and the rest of his staff will need to keep their players attentive on defense; the lapses at the start of the second half against Virginia Commonwealth were far too frequent and alarming. A strong defensive performance should be good enough to get this team into the winner’s circle on Monday night, in the final CAA game of the 2009-2010 season.

By: Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer

(1) Old Dominion 60, (3) William & Mary 53

Now, the Old Dominion Monarchs won’t have to worry about the bubble.

The regular-season champion of the Colonial Athletic Association created a drama-free Selection Sunday on a magic Monday in Richmond, Va. Coach Blaine Taylor’s team used superb footwork and timely rotations in a dominating defensive display that turned back William & Mary in the CAA Tournament final. The seven-point triumph carries the school from Norfolk, Va., into the NCAA Tournament. The only suspense attached to the selection announcement for the ODU crew concerns the combination of site, seeding and opponent.

This game was defined by defense on both sides of the divide, and that notion shouldn’t strike anyone as a surprise. William & Mary, a gallant third-seeded foe who pushed Old Dominion throughout this contest, won its semifinal at this tournament by outlasting Northeastern, 47-45, in a very rugged and ragged affair. A lot of elbow grease was going to be used in this championship showcase, but what also needs to be said is that conference tournaments are generally low scoring because the opposing teams know each other’s offensive sets. A full season of on-court combat combined with the accumulated experiences of coaching staffs creates a feel of familiarity whenever conference rivals play each other in a tournament setting. As is usually the case in a conference tournament, William & Mary and Old Dominion met for the third time in 2010, so the Tribe and Monarchs were anything but mysterious to each other. It only stood to reason that buckets would be hard to come by.

What might have surprised even the most careful observers of the CAA, however, was the fact that so few players rose above the moment in a contest that felt like a 15-round prizefight.

It’s hard to believe, but it’s true: Of the 19 players who took part in this game, 17 took at least one shot from the field. Of those 17 shooters, only one hit more than three shots (William & Mary’s Danny Sumner, who went 7 of 14 en route to a 19-point performance). All five ODU starters hit exactly three shots, and nothing more. The pervasive inability of players to put the ball in the basket, even at the foul line (the two teams were a combined 21 of 35, or 60 percent on the button), spoke not just to the pressure of this one-and-done event, but to the fact that points were precious. The defense thrown down by both teams was that active and consistent.

The difference, then, was that Old Dominion had just a little more defense to offer.

The Monarchs knew that William & Mary’s sniper, David Schneider, is never hesitant about putting the ball in the air. Schneider entered this game having attempted at least 10 3-pointers in 10 separate games. ODU’s scouting report had to focus on Schneider, and the results bore out the preparation turned in by Taylor and the rest of the Monarchs’ braintrust. Schneider went just 2 of 12 beyond the arc, as Old Dominion’s alert and rangy defenders challenged shots and extended themselves on the perimeter.

> Find CAA team apparel & merchandise including Old Dominion hats & merchandise through DFN Sports sites!

Against a non-conference opponent, William & Mary’s nuanced halfcourt offense – devised by coach Tony Shaver – would cause considerable confusion, but Old Dominion’s thorough understanding of the Tribe’s set plays and concepts enabled the Monarchs to read, react and rotate throughout the night in Richmond. The final results weren’t pretty for a William & Mary team that made only 9 of 31 threes and came away with too many empty possessions.

ODU never ran away with this event, but in the same breath, the Monarchs were never in especially grave danger of losing. Blaine Taylor’s team led by at least five points throughout the second half and was able to shut down the Tribe on the two occasions when William and Mary reached that five-point threshold.

It’s on to the NCAAs for Old Dominion, while William & Mary should definitely be able to snare an NIT bid. Each of these teams will be tough outs in a week, but Old Dominion will be playing in the event where everyone wants to be.

Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer