Busting Brackets
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CAA Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2022-23 season

By Holden Walter-Warner

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 07: Cameron Holden #55 of the Towson Tigers tries to dribble by Kevin Anderson #1 of the Delaware Fightin Blue Hens during the semifinals of the Colonial Athletic Association Basketball Tournament at the Entertainment & Sports Arena on March 7, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 07: Cameron Holden #55 of the Towson Tigers tries to dribble by Kevin Anderson #1 of the Delaware Fightin Blue Hens during the semifinals of the Colonial Athletic Association Basketball Tournament at the Entertainment & Sports Arena on March 7, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /
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CAA Basketball Dylan Painter Jyare Davis Delaware Fightin Blue Hens (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
CAA Basketball Dylan Painter Jyare Davis Delaware Fightin Blue Hens (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

With college basketball only a few weeks away, we’ve been taking a look at the coming season, conference by conference. Next up is CAA Basketball, always a competitive mid-major league.

Last season, UNC Wilmington and Towson were both expected to finish near the bottom of the Colonial Athletic Association standings. Naturally, they were co-champions by the end of the season.

The team that would represent the conference in the NCAA Tournament, however, was middle-of-the-pack Delaware, which stole the conference tournament title. The No. 15 seed was quickly knocked out in the First Round by Villanova.

With the season only a few weeks away, what does the pecking order look like in the CAA, which is in the midst of big changes?

Last season was the last for the James Madison Dukes. The Virginia school won the CAA as recently as 2001 but has traded the Colonial for the Sun Belt, where it will reengage with former conference rival Old Dominion.

As one door closes, however, four doors open. The CAA is welcoming four new programs to the league for the 2022-23 season: the Hampton Pirates, the Monmouth Hawks, the North Carolina A&T Aggies, and the Stony Brook Seawolves. The possibilities with the new members are endless, such as a larger push for a Long island rivalry between Stony Brook and Hofstra.

There are 13 schools in the CAA, but they combine for only three CAA titles. There’s a good chance a team will be taking home the trophy for the first time this year.

Here are the preseason rankings entering the 2022-23 season.