TOWSON, Md. – Before the ball drops in Times Square, the 2016-17 Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) conference schedule opens with a New Year's Eve heavyweight showdown between preseason favorites UNCW and Towson Saturday afternoon.
 
Reigning CAA Tournament champion UNCW was picked to finish first in the conference preseason poll released in October. Towson, which received three first-place votes, was picked to finish second. This game features three of the CAA's top scorers in UNCW's C.J. Bryce (18.1 points per game, 2nd in the CAA), Towson's Mike Morsell (17.6, 3rd) and Chris Flemmings (16.8, 5th).
 
So if you're not doing anything Saturday afternoon, make your way out to SECU Arena for what promises to be a delicious basketball game between a pair of strong teams expected to play deep into March.
 

When:	Saturday, December 31, 2016
Where	SECU Arena -- Towson, Md,
Time:	12 p.m.
Records:	Towson (8-5); UNCW (11-2)
Radio:	CBS Sports Radio 1300 AM
Series History:	UNCW leads 20-14
Last Meeting:	UNCW won 74-68 on Feb. 27, 2016 at Trask Coliseum
Social Media Updates:	@Towson_MBB

Starting Five
4 wins in its last five games for the Towson men's basketball, which has a 95 RPI, its highest of the season.
22 steals by Deshaun Morman, which is 83rd nationally.
75 percent from the free throw line (41-for-54) in two games in Las Vegas.
363 free throws attempted by Towson, which is fourth in the nation.
599 career rebounds by John Davis, which is 10th all-time in Towson history.
 
Abbreviation Saturday
The game against UNCW concludes an odd December in which all four of its Saturday opponents prefer using abbreviations as their primary identifier. ODU (Dec. 3), FDU (Dec. 10), UMBC (Dec. 17) and UNCW (Dec. 31)
 
CAA Openers Under Skerry
Towson is 3-2 in CAA openers under coach Skerry. However, the Tigers have won three of their last four CAA openers including last year's 76-69 road win at William & Mary.
 
A Look At UNCW
UNCW is receiving votes in this week's Associated Press and USA Today Caoches poll. The Seahawks are off to their best start in school history. UNCW is ranked 3rd in the latest College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 poll. The Seahawks had their eight-game winning streak halted with an 87-73 road loss to Clemson on Wednesday night. Denzel Ingram led the Seahawks with 20 points and C.J. Bryce added 18 points. Devontae Cacok made 7-of-8 shots to finish with 14 points.UNCW leads the CAA in steals (7.7), field goal percentage (49.5), scoring offense (87.7) and scoring margin (+12.2). Averaging 9.0 rebounds per game, Cacok is second in the CAA.

Last Meeting Against UNCW
John Davis led Towson with 16 points and 11 rebounds for his third double-double of the season during a 74-68 setback on Feb. 27, 2016 at Trask Coliseum. Jordan McNeil finished with 12 points for the Tigers.
 
Late December Tests
Towson's final three December opponents entered the game with RPIs under 100: UNCW (11), Nevada (29) and Iona (96).Counting UMBC on Dec. 17, the Tigers last four December opponents have a combined record of 39-12 (76.4 percent) as of Tuesday, Dec. 27.
 
Skerry on the Radio
Head Coach Pat Skerry can be heard on 105.7 the Fan every Wednesday morning around 9 a.m. during the 2016-17 season.  Skerry will talk with Rob Long and everything Towson basketball.
 
Comeback Tigers
Towson rallied from double-digit halftime deficits in consecutive games during December. Towson overcame a 10-point halftime deficit (43-33) to beat FDU 90-87 on Dec. 10 and a 13-point halftime deficit (40-27) to edge UMBC 73-72 on Dec. 17.
 
Sensational Second Halves
The Tigers made 19 of 29 shots (65.5 percent) in the second half against UMBC. It was their highest shooting second half of the season. Towson made 63 percent of its shots (17-for-27) against Morgan State. Towson has shot at least 50 percent in the second half five times this season.
 
Vegas Recap
Towson split a pair of games last week at the South Point Holiday Classic falling to Nevada (81-72) and beating Iona (76-69). Mike Morsell led Towson in scoring with a 17.5 point per game average to earn All-Tournament honors. He scored 19 points against Iona. Deshaun Morman tied his career high with 18 points against Nevada. He averaged 13.0 points and 2.5 steals. Brian Starr contributed 11.5 points per game and Arnaud William Adala Moto chipped in 10.5 points per game. Alex Thomas led the Tigers in rebounding at 6.5 per game.
 
CAA Wins Since 2012-13 Season
Since the start of the 2012-13 season, Towson and Northeastern have the most regular season Colonial Athletic Association victories.  The Tigers are 42-25 over that span. Here's the number of wins for each school since the start of the 2012-13 season.
 

TOWSON	42
Northeastern	42
William & Mary	41
James Madison	40
Delaware	38
UNCW	34
Hofstra	33
Drexel	29
Charleston	17
Elon	13

SECU Success
Towson is 37-15 all-time at SECU Arena.
 
800 Ways To Score...Choose One
Towson has three players that have scored at least 800 points: Arnuad William Adala Moto (1,027), John Davis (937) and Mike Morsell (861).
 
Autism Awareness Game
Towson will host William & Mary in its third annual Autism Awareness Game on Saturday, Feb. 4.
 
The Last Shall Be First
This will be Towson's first home game in program history on New Year's Eve.
 
Up Next
Towson starts a three-game road trip beginning with a visit to James Madison Monday, Jan. 2 at 7 p.m.