Once Upon A Time In Las Vegas – Championship Sunday
Towson (15-7 SU, 11-11 ATS, 7-2 CAA) hosts William & Mary (9-13 SU, 7-12-1 ATS, 4-5 CAA) on Saturday afternoon at 4pmET from SECU Arena.
These teams faced each other twice last season with the Tigers winning both games, but covering just once. They were a 17-point favorite at home on Feb. 10, 2022, and won the game 75-60.
This series has gone to the Tribe until last season. They had won three straight and six of their last seven games against Towson before falling twice last season by double digits. When they are at their best, William & Mary is a sharpshooting team, who limits their turnovers and can stay with quality teams on the boards. On Thursday, they were able to outgun Stony Brook 77-74 as a 4-point favorite at home. That win broke a three-game losing streak. Anders Nelson led the Tribe with 27 points including six of the team's final seven points. William & Mary shot 57% from the floor and an incredible 13-of-16 (81%) from beyond the arc, but just 10-of-17 from the line (59%). They also outrebounded a tall Seahawks team by four. Stony Brook did shoot 50% from the floor and 43% (10-of-23) from long range so defense was not a priority in this game.
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The Tribe shot 8??1??.3?? from 3-point range vs. Stony Brook on Thursday night.? School Record
? Best in the Nation this season#GoTribe pic.twitter.com/8eHnb0xfDE— William & Mary Tribe Men's Basketball (@WMTribeMBB) January 27, 2023
William & Mary has some good size up front led by Pittsburgh transfer Ben Collier (6-8, 220), who is averaging 9.7 points and 8.7 rebounds on 48.8% shooting. Ben Wight (6-9, 220) is an athletic big man, who averages 10 points and 4.5 rebounds on 52.3% shooting. This is a guard-oriented team led by Gabe Dorsey (6-6, 215), a Vanderbilt transfer, who averages 11.1 points and shoots 45% from beyond the arc. Nelson, a 6-1 sophomore transfer from St. Thomas, leads the Tribe with 11.5 points and 4.6 assists on 43.8% shooting from long range.
The Tribe are a solid shooting team (44%), but they rank just 12th in the CAA in free throw shooting (65.7%). Defense has been an issue as they allow opponents to shoot 46.1% from the field and 34.3% (7th) from long range. They also rank fifth in rebounding margin (+1.86) and 10th in turnover margin (-1.00).