CAA Basketball: 2021 conference tournament preview, predictions

Key players

G Tyson Walker, Northeastern (18.5 ppg, 4.9 apg, 45.3 FG%)

Just a sophomore from Long Island (not far from Hofstra’s campus, incidentally), Walker has developed into one of the best scorers in the conference. He’s averaging 18.5 points per game over the season, but two of his last three games have seen him score at least 30. In Northeastern’s last game, which came out of conference against North Carolina, Walker carried the Huskies with 27 points, hitting 57.1 percent of his threes. Word to the wise: don’t let Walker heat up if you expect to beat Northeastern.

F Isaac Kante, Hofstra (13.0 ppg, 10.1 rpg, 55.1 FG%)

When he’s at his best, Kante is capable of being one of the best big men in the conference. He averaged a double-double over the course of the season and has no problems being physical on the inside. He’s not a traditional big man, though, standing at 6-foot-7 and recording just 0.3 blocks per game. He also struggled a bit down the stretch, averaging seven points in the last two games of the season. After a long break for Hofstra entering the CAA Tournament, the junior will need to kick it into gear quickly.

G Hunter McIntosh, Elon (15.5 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 90.7 FT%)

McIntosh may prove to be one of the biggest X-factors in the whole tournament. Elon is rolling with four straight wins entering the CAA Tournament and could make more noise than expected. McIntosh is a big reason for that, scoring at least 17 points in two of those four games. Interestingly, McIntosh wasn’t nearly as noticeable in the team’s two blowout victories over William & Mary in that stretch. That was likely an oddity more than anything, as Elon will need the sophomore to play well to have a chance.