James Madison (10-5, 5-1) vs. William & Mary (6-7, 4-4)
Kaplan Arena, Williamsburg, Virginia; Saturday, 2 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: William & Mary looks for its seventh straight win in the head-to-head series over James Madison. In its last six wins against the Dukes, William & Mary has won by an average of 7 points. James Madison’s last win in the series came on Feb. 16, 2017, a 95-92 victory.
YOUTH MOVEMENT: Both of these teams have relied heavily on their freshmen this year. Luke Loewe, Connor Kochera and Yuri Covington have combined to account for 59 percent of William & Mary’s scoring this season and 66 percent of the team’s points over its last five games. For James Madison, Matt Lewis, Justin Amadi and Terell Strickland have collectively scored 45 percent of the team’s points this season.
DEFENSIVE IMPROVEMENTS: The Dukes have allowed only 66.7 points per game to conference opponents thus far, an improvement from the 74.5 per game they gave up against non-conference competition.MIGHTY MATT: Lewis has connected on 40.2 percent of the 97 3-pointers he’s attempted and has made 6 of 17 over his last three games. He’s also converted 74.8 percent of his free throws this season.
WINLESS WHEN: William & Mary is 0-5 this year when it scores 64 points or fewer and 6-2 when it scores at least 65.
WINNING WHEN: James Madison is a perfect 7-0 when it turns the ball over 11 times or fewer. The Dukes are 3-5 when they record more than 11 turnovers. William & Mary’s forced 10 turnovers per game in conference play and 9.3 per game over its last three.
DID YOU KNOW: William & Mary is ranked second among CAA teams with an offensive rebound percentage of 29.5 percent. The Tribe have averaged 10.3 offensive boards per game.
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