Men's Basketball Heads to NC State on Tuesday Night

By Press release submission

Dec 5, 2022

William & Mary men's basketball travels to take on its second-straight ACC opponent when it heads to NC State on Tuesday night. The game is set for a 7 p.m. tip and will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra.

Tribe fans can catch the action on the Tribe Sports Network with Jay Colley on the call. Locally in Williamsburg, fans can listen in on The Tide 92.3 FM.

Catch up with the Tribe through social media. Fans can keep up with W&M men's basketball by following the program on social media as well. Be sure to check out the Tribe on Twitter (@WMTribeMBB), Facebook (WMTribeMBB), and Instagram (WMTribeMBB).

- Tuesday's game is the third road contest against the ACC for the Tribe this month. W&M fell at Virginia Tech, 94-77, on Nov. 13 and at Pitt, 80-64, on Friday. It marks the first time it has played three ACC road games in a regular season since 1983-84 (Virginia, Maryland and Wake Forest). The Tribe played three road games against the ACC in 2009-10 with wins over an NCAA Tournament team in Wake Forest and eventual regular-season champion Maryland, before falling at North Carolina in the opening round of the NIT.

- The Green and Gold is 16-102 all-time against the ACC. The Tribe's last win against the ACC was an 85-68 upset of NC State to open the 2015-16 season.

- In short order, sophomore Gabe Dorsey has established himself as one of the top shooters in the country. He ranks 24th nationally in 3-point % (51.2) and 43rd in 3-pointers made per game (3.0). He has connected on at least two 3-pointers in each game and over the last five games is shooting 56.7% (17-of-30) from 3. Dorsey scored 14 points at Virginia Tech, before tallying a career-high 16 at American.

- In the win over Radford, the Tribe turned in its best defensive performance of the season, limiting the Highlanders to just 51 points, 40% from the floor and 3-of-17 from 3 (17.6%). The 51 points marks the best scoring defensive performance for the Tribe against a Division I opponent since 2020. This season, W&M ranks fourth in the CAA in scoring defense (68.1) and defensive field goal % (43.7).

- Junior Ben Wight enjoyed a career night at Pitt on Friday, scoring a career-best 24 points on 11-of-16 shooting. He added 11 rebounds for his fifth career double-double and his third 20-point, 10-rebound double-double. He has a pair of 20-point games this season adding his 21-point effort in a win over Army. Prior to the season, Wight was recognized by the CAA as a preseason all-league honorable mention selection. After leading the Tribe at 11.6 points and 5.5 rebounds per game last season, he ranks 12th in the CAA in scoring and rebounding.

- W&M has enjoyed a strong start from 3-point range, leading the CAA and ranking 18th nationally in 3-point % (40.0). The Tribe is averaging 7.7 triples made per game. The Tribe's numbers this season are a substantial improvement from the last two seasons, when W&M shot just 30.1% from distance and made 6.4 per game.

- Graduate student Anders Nelson moved into the starting lineup at the point guard position in the win over Army and has been a catalyst for the Tribe offense. He leads the CAA in both assists per game (5.7) and assist-to-turnover ratio (4.0). He ranks 26th nationally in assists and 16th in A/T ratio. Nelson enjoyed his best game with the Tribe at Virginia Tech, scoring 25 points and dishing out six assists. He ranks fourth in the country in assist rate (47.1), according to KenPom.com. Assist rate divides the number of assists by the field goals made by the player's teammates while he is on the court.

- Rebounding, especially on the offensive end, has been a focus for the Tribe. In its three wins, W&M outrebounded its opponents. Overall, the Tribe ranks second in the CAA in rebounding margin (+5.4) and offensive rebounds per game (12.4), while coming in third in rebounds overall at 36.7. The Tribe's 12.4 offensive rebounds per game are the most since 2004 (12.8).

- Junior Noah Collier has made a significant impact in his first season at W&M, averaging 8.9 points and a team-high 7.1 rebounds per game. The Pitt transfer is shooting 52.1% from the field and ranks fifth in the CAA in rebounding and sixth in blocked shots (1.1). After scoring a career-high 17 points in the opener against Navy, he posted his first career double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds at American.

- The Tribe is averaging just 10.9 turnovers per game in 2022-23, which is a significant improvement from a season ago. W&M averaged 16.2 turnovers per game in 2021-22, the sixth-worst mark in the country. The Tribe ranks 36th nationally in fewest turnovers per game and 76th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.25).

- In its win over Army, the Tribe got the free throw line, hitting 28-of-39 at the charity stripe, including 20-of-29 in the second half. It marked the most made free throws and attempts since 2020. On the year, the Tribe ranks 63rd nationally, making 14.9 free throws per game. Individually, graduate student Chris Mullins ranks 61st nationally in free throws made (40). According to KenPom.com, he leads the country in free throw rate (146.2), which measures a player's ability to get the line relative to how often he attempts to score.

- While the Tribe was picked eighth in the preseason CAA poll, national basketball analyst Jeff Goodman of Stadium and the Field of 68 noted W&M as the CAA's sleeper team according to a poll of the CAA coaches. The Tribe had an influx of 10 new players for 2022-23 in the form of five transfers and five freshmen.

- Four former Tribe standouts are in the NBA as either a player or a coach. 2020 graduate Nathan Knight, who was the National Mid-Major Player of the Year in 2020, signed a two-year deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves in the offseason. He spent last season with the Timberwolves after playing his rookie season with the Atlanta Hawks. Jim Moran '01 is in his second season as an assistant coach with the Detroit Pistons, while Sean Sheldon '16 joined the Utah Jazz as an assistant coach this offseason. Daniel Dixon '17 is an assistant coach with the Oklahoma City Blue, the NBA G-League program of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Another nine former Tribe players are currently playing professionally in Europe.