CofC Basketball Ready for CAA Tournament Quarterfinal Sunday vs. Hofstra

Sunday, March 6

Washington, D.C.

8:30 PM

College of Charleston

Hofstra

Photo by: Al Samuels Photography

CofC Basketball Ready for CAA Tournament Quarterfinal Sunday vs. Hofstra

3/5/2022 11:26:00 AM | Men's Basketball

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Tip off in Washington D.C. is set for 8:30 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Charleston Basketball is poised for the 2022 CAA Tournament in Washington, D.C. from March 6-8. The 6-seeded Cougars take on No. 3 seed Hofstra in Sunday night's quarterfinal matchup at 8:30 p.m. ET on FloSports.

STORYLINES

CofC enters the postseason winners of six of its last 11 games. The Cougars wrapped up the regular season with 16 wins, clinching their sixth straight (full-length) season above .500. A 17th win on Sunday night vs. Hofstra for Pat Kelsey and CofC would match the most the Cougars won in legendary coach John Kresse's first season at the helm in 1979-80.
CofC is seeking its first CAA Tournament victory since 2019. The Cougars and Hofstra have never faced in the CAA Tournament. The Cougars have lost three straight to the Pride, losing the regular season series by a combined eight points. A win on Sunday would be CofC's second vs. Hofstra since Feb. 3, 2018. Eight of the last 10 meetings between the two have been decided by six points or fewer.
Against seeds 4-9 in this year's CAA Tournament, CofC is 8-2 this season. The Cougars lost all six games to seeds 1, 2 and 3 by single digits. The Cougars have played an eye-popping amount of close games, including 16 of 30 decided by five or fewer points, going 9-7 in those games.
CofC's offense is riding momentum heading into postseason, shooting above 50 percent in four consecutive games and scoring at least 79 points in all four contests. The Cougars have been one of the most electric offensive teams in the country all season, leading the nation in pace with 73.9 possessions per 40 minutes and ranking second in overall possessions per game (77.0)
A large part of the offensive explosion has come via the Cougars' impressive freshmen class that poured in a season-high 57 of CofC's 84 points at Hofstra and 56 points at Delaware on Feb. 24. Freshmen Cougars Reyne Smith and Ben Burnham made up 40 percent of the CAA's All-Rookie team, becoming the first CofC duo to earn All-Rookie honors in the same season since Jarrell Brantley and Marquise Pointer in 2015-16. CofC's freshmen are averaging 30+ combined points this season. A CofC freshman has scored in double figures in 25 of 30 games this season.
Smith is on fire of late, averaging 13.7 PPG and 3.4 threes per game over the last seven games.
Charleston ended the regular season as one of the elite rebounding teams in the country, ranking 12th nationally in total boards and fourth in offensive rebounding (both CAA-highs). CofC outrebounded Hofstra in both meetings and outpaced all 30 opponents by 197 combined boards.
Seniors Dimitrius Underwood and John Meeks took home some hardware as well, with Underwood taking home CAA All-Defensive honors and All-CAA Third Team recognition and Meeks earning All-CAA Second Team honors. Underwood had a historic season, becoming the first CofC player in 30 years to have at least 300 points, 200 rebounds, 100 assists and 60 steals in the same campaign. His 65 steals rank eighth all-time at CofC in a single season. Meeks is averaging a team-high 13.7 PPG, having surpassed the 1,000 career point mark and reached double figures a team-high 18 times.