Men's Basketball Travels to UMBC on Sunday

By Press release submission

Dec 17, 2022

William & Mary men's basketball returns to action on the road at UMBC on Sunday afternoon. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+

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).

W&M is 5-1 all-time against the America East Conference and has played three of the nine current members of the league. UMBC is the only America East program that the Tribe has traveled to in its history.

- According to KenPom.com, the Tribe's non-conference strength of schedule is among the top-100 in the country. W&M's non-conference strength of schedule ranks No. 93 nationally and fifth in the CAA.

- Graduate student guard Anders Nelson has been on a tear offensively of late, averaging 19 points per game over the last two contests, shooting 57.7% from the floor, including 6-of-10 from 3. In each of the last three games, Nelson has hit three 3-pointers. He leads the Tribe in scoring at 10.9 points per game and boasts a pair of 20-point road games at Virginia Tech (25) and at Old Dominion (21).

- In its win over Richmond, the Tribe closed strong with big plays down the stretch. W&M trailed, 55-49, with 4:22 left, but outscored the Spiders, 9-2, the rest of the way in picking up the win on Ben Wight's tip-in with 28.3 seconds left. Wight (4) and junior Noah Collier (5) scored the Tribe's final nine points. Graduate student Chris Mullins came up with a big defensive stop in the final seconds, forcing 6-7 wing Tyler Burton into a fade-away baseline jumper.

- In its last three wins, the Tribe has turned in strong defensive performances. W&M held Richmond (58) and Radford (51) to fewer than 60 points and held a top-50 scoring offense in Army to just 67 points. In its four wins this season, the Tribe is limited opponents to 53.8 points per game and a shooting % of 36.8% from the field and 27.1% from 3. W&M ranks fifth in the CAA in scoring defense (68.9).

- In short order, sophomore Gabe Dorsey has established himself as one of the top shooters in the country. He ranks 34th nationally in 3-point % (44.4) and 45th in 3's per game (2.9). He connected a career-high five in the win over Richmond. Dorsey scored a career-high 16 at American and had 14 at Virginia Tech.

- Rebounding, especially on the offensive end, has been a focus for the Tribe. In its four wins, W&M outrebounded its opponents. Overall, the Tribe ranks fourth in the CAA in rebounding margin (+1.6) and fifth in offensive rebounding. The Tribe's 11.5 offensive rebounds per game are its most since 2006 (12.1).

- Junior Ben Wight, who was named preseason All-CAA, has been a force for the Tribe this season. He enjoyed a career night at Pitt, scoring a career-best 24 points and pulling down 11 rebounds for his fifth career double-double and his third 20-point, 10-rebound double-double. He also tipped in the game-winner against Richmond with just 28.3 seconds remaining. After leading the Tribe at 11.6 points and 5.5 rebounds per game last season, he ranks 22nd in the CAA in rebounding (4.9).

- W&M leads the CAA and ranks 41st nationally in 3-point % (38.3). The Tribe is averaging 7.5 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.

- Nelson, who moved into the starting lineup at the point guard position in the win over Army, has been a catalyst for the Tribe offense. He leads the CAA in assists per game (5.3) and ranks second in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.9). He ranks 34th nationally in assists and 29th in A/T ratio. He ranks sixth in the country in assist rate (41.8), 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.

- Junior Noah Collier has made a significant impact in his first season at W&M, averaging 8.6 points and a team-high 7.6 rebounds per game. The Pitt transfer ranks fifth in the CAA in rebounding and seventh in blocked shots (1.1). After scoring a career-high 17 points in the opener against Navy, he posted his first two double-doubles with 13 points and 11 rebounds at American and 12 points and 11 rebounds at NC State.

- The Tribe is averaging just 12 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 86th nationally in fewest turnovers per game.

- 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.