TOURNAMENT PREVIEW: Men’s Basketball Makes Fourth Consecutive Trip to CACC Tournament

Copyright 2019; Wilmington University. All rights reserved. Photo by Gavin Bethell. December 14, 2019 vs. Kutztown.
Copyright 2019; Wilmington University. All rights reserved. Photo by Gavin Bethell. December 14, 2019 vs. Kutztown.

NEWARK, Del. - - The 2019-20 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Men's Basketball Tournament begins on Tuesday with a First Round contest between the Wilmington University men's basketball team and Post University at the Drubner Center in Waterbury, Conn.

The Wildcats earned the South Division's number three seed, marking it the fourth straight year in which the Wildcats earned a CACC Tournament berth, and the fifth time in the last six years under head coach Dan Burke. They are looking for another run through the CACC Tournament like the 2014-15 team that saw them go to the CACC Tournament Championship Game.

The CACC Tournament First Round games will be held at the higher seed, while the advancing teams will head to USciences for the remainder of the CACC Tournament.

Links to Follow the CACC Quarterfinals:

Live Stats: https://posteagles.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Live Stream: https://caccnetwork.com/post/
CACC Tournament Central: https://www.caccathletics.org/sports/Championship/MBB

Admission to the 2018 CACC Men's Basketball Tournament:

Adults - $8.00
Seniors - $4.00
Students (with valid ID) - $4.00
Children under 3 – Free

Scouting the South No. 3 Wilmington University Wildcats:

Wilmington earned the South Division's No. 3 seed with an 8-11 conference record. They are 10-18 overall, but come into the playoffs after losing the final two games of the regular season.

As a team, the Wildcats rank ninth in the CACC in scoring 74.7 points per game overall. Post is second in the league in pouring in 80.3 points per game. Defensively, The Eagles only give up 71.3 points per game, ranking third in the CACC while the Wildcats are 12th overall in giving up 80.3 points a game.

The Wildcats are ranked fourth in the league in hitting 35.4 percent of their three-pointers, and lead the league from the foul line at 79.8 percent. But Post leads the CACC in only allowing 30.7 percent shooting, and just 30.0 in CACC play. Post also leads the CACC in grabbing 43.6 rebounds a game while the Wildcats are last at 31.1 rebounds a game.

Individually, the Wildcats are led by CACC scoring leader Jermaine Head, who is tied for third in the East Region, in scoring 23.5 points per game. He also leads the CACC with 65 steals and 152 made free throws, while ranking second overall with an 86.9 free throw percentage. He is also third in the CACC with 156 assists and grabs 4.9 rebounds a game.

Danny Walsh has ended the regular season with his two best games of the year, scoring 23 at Georgian Court and then 25 points against Goldey-Beacom. Walsh is averaging 10.4

Jordan Harding is scoring 12.3 points a game, leading the team and ranked sixth in the CACC in shooting 40.9 percent from the three-point arc.

Kam Cooper has scored double figures in nine games off the bench this year, including each of the final two contests. Freshman Taalib Holloman has six double digit scoring games, including two games with 20 or more.

All-Time Series vs. Post:

Tuesday will be the 20th meeting between the two programs since their first CACC meeting in the 2004-05 season. With this year's victory at the WU Athletics Complex, Post leads the all-time series, 12-7.

The Wildcats last won at Post last season (2018-19), 100-94, in overtime. They also won in 2017-18, making it two wins in a row before this season's loss at home.

In last year's win at the Drubner Center, the Wildcats were led by Thomas Farrior's 31 points, but returners Jordan Harding and Jermaine Head recorded double-doubles. Harding scored 23 points and added 14 rebounds while Jermaine Head scored 25 points and grabbed 10 boards. The Wildcats shot 47.3 percent from the field, and 10-of-23 (43.5 percent) from three-point land.

Wilmington In the CACC Tournament:

2009-10 (0-1): S#2 Goldey-Beacom 79 – S#3 Wilmington 71
2014-15 (2-1): S#4 Wilmington 69 – N#1 Dominican 67; S#4 Wilmington 75 – S#2 Holy Family 71; S#1 Philadelphia 77 – S#4 Wilmington 68
2016-17 (0-1): N#3 Caldwell 81 – S#2 Wilmington 74
2017-18 (0-1): N#2 Dominican 86 – S#3 Wilmington 57
2018-19 (0-1): N#1 Bloomfield 105 – S#4 Wilmington 86

Overall: 2-5

Season Series and All-Time vs. CACC Tournament Participants:

North Division:
#1 Dominican College: 2019-20 – at L 76-69; CACC Tournament – 1-1
#2 Post University: 2019-20 – vs. L 90-63; CACC Tournament – 0-0
#3 Bloomfield College: 2019-20 – vs. W 67-64; CACC Tournament – 0-1
#4 Felician University: 2019-20 – vs. L 89-51; CACC Tournament 0-0

South Division:
#1 Jefferson University: 2019-20 – at L 81-75 (OT)/vs. L 78-62; CACC Tournament – 0-1
#2 Goldey-Beacom College: 2019-20 – at L 91-83/vs. L 73-67; CACC Tournament – 0-1
#3 Wilmington University
#4 Georgian Court University: 2019-20 – vs. W 76-66/at L 76-71; CACC Tournament – 0-0

2019-20 CACC Men's Basketball Tournament Schedule:

First Round (Tuesday, March 3)
N#4 Felician at S#1 Jefferson (6 p.m.)
S#3 Wilmington at N#2 Post (8 p.m.)
S#4 Georgian Court at N#1 Dominican (7:30 p.m.)
N#3 Bloomfield at S#2 Goldey-Beacom (6 p.m.)

* - Min. 30 minutes put on pre-game countdown clock prior to Post & Dominican games due to DH

Semifinals (Saturday, March 7, at USciences)
Dominican/GCU Winner vs. G-B/Bloomfield Winner (5 or 7 p.m.)
Jefferson/Felician Winner vs. Post/WilmU Winner (5 or 7 p.m.)
* - Highest remaining seed plays in the night's first game at 5 p.m.

Championship Final (Sunday, March 8, at USciences)
Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner (2:30 p.m.)