Busting Brackets
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CAA Basketball: 2020 conference tournament preview and predictions

By Holden Walter-Warner

BALTIMORE, MD - MARCH 07: Flags of the schools line the wall during the Colonial Athletic Conference Championship college basketball game tournament between the North Carolina-Wilmington Seahawks and the Hofstra Pride at Royal Farms Arena on March 7, 2016 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD - MARCH 07: Flags of the schools line the wall during the Colonial Athletic Conference Championship college basketball game tournament between the North Carolina-Wilmington Seahawks and the Hofstra Pride at Royal Farms Arena on March 7, 2016 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /
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WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 08: Nathan Knight #13 of the William & Mary Tribe (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 08: Nathan Knight #13 of the William & Mary Tribe (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

Key teams

Team to beat: Hofstra

The Pride finished with the best record in the conference for a reason. They are led by senior guard Desure Buie, who paced the team in both scoring (18.5 ppg) and assists (5.9 ppg). Senior guard Eli Pemberton is just as dangerous, averaging 17.3 points per game. Two of the Pride’s four CAA losses came by exactly two points each and they did beat the surging UCLA Bruins at Pauley Pavilion during the non-conference slate.

Top contender: William & Mary

There’s a history across conference tournaments suggesting one dominant player can lead a team to victories in these day-to-day pressure cookers. Nathan Knight is that player, sporting a double-double in over two-thirds of the Tribe’s games this season, including a 27-point demolishing of Hofstra at the beginning of January. William & Mary enters the CAA Tournament on a five-game winning streak.

Team likeliest to surprise: Delaware

The Delaware Blue Hens finished in a tie for fourth place in the CAA with an 11-7 conference record and will slot into the 5-seed due to tiebreakers. Delaware began the season with nine straight wins and took Villanova down to the wire in a memorable early-season moral victory for the conference. The Blue Hens’ bench is thin, though, so staying healthy and out of foul trouble will be key to scoring a quarterfinals win over Northeastern.