2014–15 Colonial Athletic Association men's basketball season

2014–15 Colonial Athletic Association men's basketball season
League	NCAA Division I
Sport	Basketball
Duration	November, 2014 – March, 2015
Number of teams	10
Regular Season
Co-champions	William & Mary, UNC Wilmington, Northeastern, & James Madison
Runners-up	Hofstra
Season MVP	Marcus Thornton (William & Mary)
Top scorer	Damion Lee (Drexel)
Tournament
Champions	Northeastern
Runners-up	William & Mary
Finals MVP	Quincy Ford (Northeastern)

2014–15 CAA men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
William & Mary	12	–	6		.667			20	–	13		.606
UNC Wilmington	12	–	6		.667			18	–	14		.563
Northeastern †	12	–	6		.667			23	–	12		.657
James Madison	12	–	6		.667			19	–	14		.576
Hofstra	10	–	8		.556			20	–	14		.588
Delaware	9	–	9		.500			10	–	20		.333
Drexel	9	–	9		.500			11	–	19		.367
Elon	6	–	12		.333			15	–	18		.455
Towson	5	–	13		.278			12	–	20		.375
College of Charleston	3	–	15		.167			9	–	24		.273
† 2015 CAA tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

The 2014–15 CAA men's basketball season marked the 30th season of Colonial Athletic Association basketball, taking place between November 2014 and March 2015. Practices commenced in October 2014, and the season ended with the 2015 CAA men's basketball tournament.

This was the first CAA season for Elon, which had spent the previous 11 seasons in the Southern Conference.

Preseason

Coaching changes

• After 3 consecutive 20-loss seasons and a 42-82 record in four seasons, UNCW head coach Buzz Peterson was fired and replaced by former Louisville assistant coach Kevin Keatts.
• College of Charleston head coach Doug Wojcik was fired on August 5, 2014 amid allegations of verbal abuse toward players and assistant coaches.[1] He was replaced by former Clemson assistant coach Earl Grant.

Preseason poll

Rank	Team[2]
1	Northeastern
2	William & Mary
3	Hofstra
4	Drexel
5	James Madison
6	College of Charleston
7	Towson
8	Delaware
9	UNC Wilmington
10	Elon

Preseason All-Conference Teams

Award	Recipients[2]
First Team	Scott Eatherton (Northeastern) Juan'ya Green (Hofstra) Damion Lee (Drexel) Andre Nation (James Madison) Marcus Thornton (William & Mary)
Second Team	Adjehi Baru (College of Charleston) Quincy Ford (Northeastern) Dion Nesmith (Hofstra) Omar Prewitt (William & Mary) Cedrick Williams (UNCW)
Honorable Mention	Tavon Allen (Drexel) Kyle Anderson (Delaware) Ron Curry (James Madison) David Walker (Northeastern)

Colonial Athletic Association Preseason Player of the Year: Marcus Thornton, William & Mary

Regular season

Head coaches

• Earl Grant, Charleston
• Monté Ross, Delaware
• Bruiser Flint, Drexel
• Matt Matheny, Elon
• Joe Mihalich, Hofstra
• Matt Brady, James Madison
• Bill Coen, Northeastern
• Pat Skerry, Towson
• Kevin Keatts, UNC Wilmington
• Tony Shaver, William & Mary

Rankings

Legend

		Increase in ranking
		Decrease in ranking
		Not ranked previous week

Main article: 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

		Pre	Wk 2	Wk 3	Wk 4	Wk 5	Wk 6	Wk 7	Wk 8	Wk 9	Wk 10	Wk 11	Wk 12	Wk 13	Wk 14	Wk 15	Wk 16	Wk 17	Wk 18	Wk 19	Final
College of Charleston	AP
	C
Delaware	AP
	C
Drexel	AP
	C
Elon	AP
	C
Hofstra	AP									RV	RV	NR
	C
James Madison	AP
	C
Northeastern	AP			RV	NR
	C
Towson	AP
	C
UNC Wilmington	AP
	C
William & Mary	AP
	C

Postseason

Colonial Athletic Association tournament

Main article: 2015 CAA men's basketball tournament

• March 6–9, 2015: Colonial Athletic Association Men's Basketball Tournament, Royal Farms Arena, Baltimore, Maryland

Northeastern defeated William & Mary, 72–61, in the finals of the 2015 CAA men's basketball tournament to win the conference, and earn an automatic bid to the 2015 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament.

NCAA tournament

Main article: 2015 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

The CAA has one bid to the 2014 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, that being the automatic bid of Northeastern by winning the conference tournament.

Seed	Region	School	First Four	Round of 64	Round of 32	Sweet 16	Elite Eight	Final Four	Championship
14	Midwest	Northeastern	Bye	Eliminated by Notre Dame 65–69
Bids		W-L (%):	0–0 –	0–1 .000	0–0 –	0–0 –	0–0 –	0–0 –	TOTAL: 0–1 .000

National Invitation tournament

Main article: 2015 National Invitation Tournament

The CAA has one bid to the 2015 National Invitation Tournament, that being the automatic bid of William & Mary by winning the conference's regular season championship.

Seed	School	First round	Second round	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Championship
7	William & Mary	Eliminated by Tulsa 67–70
Bids	W-L (%):	0–1 .000	0–0 –	0–0 –	0–0 –	TOTAL: 0–1 .000

College Basketball Invitational

Main article: 2015 College Basketball Invitational

Hofstra was invited to play in the 2015 College Basketball Invitational.

School	First round	Second round	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Championship
Hofstra	Eliminated by Vermont 81–85
W-L (%):	0–1 .000	0–0 –	0–0 –	0–0 –	TOTAL: 0–1 .000

CollegeInsider.com Postseason tournament

Main article: 2015 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament

James Madison and UNC Wilmington were both invited to play in the 2015 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament

School	First round	Second round	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Championship
James Madison	Eliminated by USC Upstate 72–73
UNC Wilmington	Eliminated by Sam Houston State 71–87
W-L (%):	0–2 .000	0–0 –	0–0 –	0–0 –	TOTAL: 0–2 .000

Awards and honors

Regular season

CAA Player-of-the-Week

• Nov. 17 – Brian Bernardi, Hofstra and David Walker, Northeastern
• Nov. 24 – Scott Eatherton, Northeastern
• Dec. 1 – Ameen Tanksley, Hofstra and Marcus Thornton, William & Mary
• Dec. 8 – Ameen Tanksley, Hofstra (2)
• Dec. 15 – Luke Eddy, Elon
• Dec. 22 – Scott Eatherton, Northeastern (2)
• Dec. 29 – Juan'ya Green, Hofstra
• Jan. 5 – T. J. Williams, Northeastern and Elijah Bryant, Elon
• Jan. 12 – Freddie Jackson, UNCW and Terry Tarpey, William & Mary
• Jan. 19 – Addison Spruill, UNCW
• Jan. 26 – Damion Lee, Drexel and Ron Curry, James Madison
• Feb. 2 – Damion Lee, Drexel (2)
• Feb. 9 – Ron Curry, James Madison (2)
• Feb. 16 – Scott Eatherton, Northeastern (3)
• Feb. 23 – David Walker, Northeastern (2)
• Mar. 2 – Ron Curry, James Madison (3)

CAA Rookie-of-the-Week

• Nov. 17 – Donovan Gilmore, College of Charleston
• Nov. 24 – Elijah Bryant, Elon
• Dec. 1 – Elijah Bryant, Elon (2)
• Dec. 8 – Kory Holden, Delaware
• Dec. 15 – Jordon Talley, UNCW
• Dec. 22 – Hari Hall, James Madison
• Dec. 29 – Elijah Bryant, Elon (3)
• Jan. 5 – Elijah Bryant, Elon (4)
• Jan. 12 – Kory Holden, Delaware (2)
• Jan. 19 – Tyshawn Myles, Drexel
• Jan. 26 – Kory Holden, Delaware (3)
• Feb. 2 – Mike Morsell, Towson
• Feb. 9 – Sammy Mojica, Drexel and Joey McLean, James Madison
• Feb. 16 – Jordon Talley, UNCW (2)
• Feb. 23 – Elijah Bryant, Elon (5) and Greg Malinowski, William & Mary
• Mar. 2 – Elijah Bryant, Elon (6) and Kory Holden, Delaware (4)

Postseason

CAA All-Conference Teams and Awards

Award	Recipients
Coach of the Year	Kevin Keatts (UNCW)
Player of the Year	Marcus Thornton (William & Mary)
Defensive Player of the Year	Terry Tarpey (William & Mary)
Rookie of the Year	Elijah Bryant (Elon)
Dean Ehlers Leadership Award	Caleb Donnelly (Northeastern) Tom Schalk (William & Mary)
First Team	Scott Eatherton (Northeastern) Juan'ya Green (Hofstra) Damion Lee (Drexel) Addison Spruill (UNCW) Marcus Thornton (William & Mary)
Second Team	Ron Curry (James Madison) Freddie Jackson (UNCW) Ameen Tanksley (Hofstra) Terry Tarpey (William & Mary) David Walker (Northeastern)
Third Team	Kyle Anderson (Delaware) Elijah Bryant (Elon) Yohanny Dalembert (James Madison) John Davis (Towson) Omar Prewitt (William & Mary)
All-Defensive Team	Terry Tarpey (William & Mary) Scott Eatherton (Northeastern) Yohanny Dalembert (James Madison) Freddie Jackson (UNCW) Damion Lee (Drexel)
All-Rookie Team	Elijah Bryant (Elon) Chivarsky Corbett (Delaware) Kory Holden (Delaware) Mike Morsell (Towson) Jordon Talley (UNCW)
All-Academic Team	Kyle Anderson (Delaware) Canyon Barry (Charleston) Dimitrije Cabarkapa (James Madison) Caleb Donnelly (Northeastern) Luke Eddy (Elon) Christian Hairston (Elon) Kevin Hickson (UNCW) Damion Lee (Drexel) Four McGlynn (Towson) Dion Nesmith (Hofstra) Timajh Parker-Rivera (Towson) Tom Schalk (William & Mary) Michael Schlotman (William & Mary) Rodney Williams (Drexel) Ryan Winters (Elon)
All-Tournament Team	Quincy Ford (Northeastern) Scott Eatherton (Northeastern) Juan'ya Green (Hofstra) Omar Prewitt (William & Mary) Marcus Thornton (William & Mary) David Walker (Northeastern)
Tournament MVP	Quincy Ford (Northeastern)

[3] [4]

References

1. McConnell, Glenn. "Important Message to the Campus Community". CofCSports.com. Retrieved August 6, 2014.
2. "NORTHEASTERN PICKED TO WIN CAA MEN'S BASKETBALL TITLE IN 2014-15;". Colonial Athletic Association. Colonial Athletic Association. October 21, 2014. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
3. "2014-15 All-CAA Men's Basketball Release" (PDF). CAASports.com. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
4. "NORTHEASTERN REIGNS IN BALTIMORE". CAASports.com. Retrieved March 10, 2015.