PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Jalun Trent, Delaware

Fifth-Year | Guard | Baltimore, Md. / Upper Darby

Trent contributed a double-double of 16 points and 11 assists while adding six rebounds in Delaware’s game against a Princeton team receiving votes in both national polls. The guard from Baltimore was 8-of-12 from the floor in Delaware’s first points/assists double-double since Jarvis Threatt in 2014. Trent is the first two-time CAA Player of the Week this season.

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

Nick Dorn, Elon

Freshman | Guard | Charlotte, N.C. / Julius L. Chambers

Dorn is Rookie of the Week for the second time this season after his performance in Elon’s Friday win over Valparaiso. The guard from Charlotte contributed 11 points and four rebounds in 18 minutes to help the Phoenix secure its most non-conference wins since going 8-5 in 2017-18.

NEWS AND NOTES

NEW YEAR, NEW SEASON

Drexel is the first CAA team with a league win under its belt after the Dragons defeated Hampton in Monday’s conference opener on CBS Sports Network. All 14 teams will be in action Thursday following a traditional Thursday-Saturday schedule - with exceptions for a Monday CBS Sports Network package and one Sunday game on the network in two weeks.

HEN-CINNATI

Delaware bounced back from a 10-point deficit in the first half to down Xavier, 87-80, on Dec. 5. The Blue Hens shot 50% and turned the Muskeeters over 17 times while receiving a career night from Jalun Trent (27 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists.)

STATEMENT SATURDAY

Drexel and UNCW took down AP Top 25 opponents on Dec. 2 with Drexel holding off No. 18 Villanova, 57-55, and UNCW powering past No. 12 Kentucky, 80-73. It marked the first time in league history that two CAA teams defeated Top 25 opponents in the same day. The CAA holds wins over the Big East (2x), Big 12, and SEC in 2023-24.

CHECKING THE NET

Hofstra leads the CAA with a NET of 96 in the latest update, while UNCW (111) and Charleston (119) have climbed in recent weeks. UNCW, Drexel, and Delaware each hold a Q1 win, while Charleston has three Q2 wins and is one of six schools clear of a Q4 loss.

TROPHIES

Drexel and Hofstra were winners of their multi-team events with the Dragons taking both games in the Market Street Challenge and the Pride sweeping the three-game bracketed Gulf Coast Showcase. Hofstra’s Tyler Thomas took MVP honors in Florida after averaging 30.3 points per game in wins over Buffalo, Wright State, and High Point.

HEALTHY COMPETITION

The CAA was .500 or better against the Horizon (4-0), Missouri Valley (3-0), CUSA (1-0), Southland (1-0), Patriot League (9-1), MAAC (6-1), Big South (4-2), Sun Belt (8-3), Atlantic Sun (3-2), and MEAC (6-5) in non-conference play. The CAA has two wins against the Big East (Drexel at Villanova, Delaware at Xavier) and The American (Northeastern at East Carolina, Hofstra vs. South Florida) and one vs. the Big 12 (Monmouth at West Virginia) and SEC (UNCW at Kentucky).

HIGH FIVE!

Hofstra’s Tyler Thomas (Nov. 28) and UNCW’s Trazarien White (Dec. 12) earned one of the five spots on the USBWA’s Player of the Week list this year, thanks to Thomas’ 30.3 scoring average at the Gulf Coast Showcase and White’s 27-point effort to knock off Kentucky.

TURN UP THE VOLUME

Hofstra’s Tyler Thomas and North Carolina A&T’s Landon Glasper have combined for six of the CAA’s top 11 scoring performances and five of the league’s 10 30-point games. Thomas’ 40 points against High Point are the most in the CAA this year, while Glasper has scored 30+ points three times. Thomas’ 22.2 points per game rank sixth nationally, while Glasper is 25th in the country with 20.0 points per game. UNCW’s Trazarien White ranks 21st with 19.8 points per game.

HOME IS JUST ANOTHER WORD FOR WIN

CAA teams went 52-12 (.813) at home in non-conference play; 13 of 14 teams won at least one home game.

ALMOST HEAVEN, CENTRAL JERSEY

Monmouth made a statement in the season’s opening week with a 73-65 victory over West Virginia in Morgantown. Graduate transfer Xander Rice scored 30 points in his second game playing at Monmouth for his father, King Rice, who defeated a high-major opponent for the ninth time at the helm of the Hawks program. The victory was the CAA’s first over a school in the Big 12 at the time of the matchup since VCU’s Elite Eight win over Kansas in 2011.

AND-ONES

One thing to know on each #CAAHoops team

•         Campbell went 22-for-25 from the free-throw line on Saturday at Saint Francis.

•         Charleston’s Reyne Smith became the 17th player in league history to make nine three-pointers in a game in the win over Saint Joseph’s and the first since Hofstra’s Omar Silverio made a league-record 11 in 2022.

•         Delaware’s Jyáre Davis is fourth in the CAA with 19.5 points per game; Davis surpassed 1,000 career points on Saturday.

•         Drexel’s 99 points in the win over Hampton were the Dragons’ most in regulation vs. a Division I opponent since defeating George Mason 100-69 on Jan. 26, 2002.

•         Elon’s seven non-conference wins are its most since going 8-5 in non-league play in 2017-18.

•         Kyrese Mullen’s eight double-doubles for Hampton rank fifth nationally and are two off the national lead.

•         Hofstra’s Tyler Thomas is sixth in the nation with 22.2 points and first with 4.23 made three-pointers per game.

•         Monmouth’s Xander Rice is fifth in the conference with 18.6 points per game.

•         Landon Glasper is third in the CAA and 25th nationally with 19.8 points per game in his first season at North Carolina A&T.

•         UNCW’s Trazarien White is second in the CAA and 21st nationally with 20.0 points per game.

•         Northeastern will play its first three games of CAA play on CBS Sports Network.

•         Aaron Clarke has been the most proficient player in the CAA at not fouling opponents, committing 1.14 per 40 minutes this season; three Stony Brook players rank in the top 11 in the league in the category (Clarke, Frey, Snoddy).

•         Pat Skerry won his 200th game as Towson’s head coach on Saturday.

•         William & Mary has taken 48% of its field-goal attempts from three, which ranks 11th nationally.