Pairings Set for 2020 Hercules Tires CAA Men's Basketball Championship
 
RICHMOND, Va. (March 1, 2020) – The Towson University men's basketball team begins its quest for the 2020 Hercules Tires CAA Men's Basketball Championship as the No. 3 seed. The Tigers will meet No. 6 seed Northeastern on Sunday, March 8 at 8:30 p.m. at the Entertainment and Sports Arena, home of the 2019 WNBA Champion Washington Mystics, in Washington, D.C.
 
Towson (19-12 overall) and Northeastern (15-15) split a pair of meetings during the 2019-20 season. The Huskies beat the Tigers 61-45 on Dec. 28 at SECU Arena. Towson got even with a 75-72 Sunday evening at Matthews Arena. This will be the third meeting in the last five years in the quarterfinals of the CAA and fourth all-time tournament meeting between these two squads.
 
Ironically, in the last two postseason matchups, Towson was the No. 3 seed and Northeastern was the No. 6 seed. Northeastern beat Towson, 70-61, in 2016 at Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore. Towson returned the favor in 2017 by claiming an 82-57 victory at the North Charleston Coliseum in Charleston, S.C. Towson beat Northeastern, 58-54, in 2009 at the Richmond Coliseum.
 
The Huskies are the defending CAA Tournament champions.
 
After an 0-3 start to conference play, Towson finished the season with victories in 13 of its final 16 games, the best among any CAA squad. Towson has won 13 games by double digit and has the 10th best win improvement from last season in the nation. Towson finished the season leading the CAA in scoring defense (66.2), field goal percentage defense (40.7) and rebounding margin (+5.5).
 
The Tigers finished with seven road conference wins for the first time in program history. This was the fourth time under head coach Pat Skerry that Towson has finished with at least 19 victories and the third time it had at least 12 conference wins.
 
First-round action opens on Saturday as eighth-seeded Drexel (13-18, 6-12 CAA) faces No. 9 UNCW (10-21, 5-13 CAA) at 4 p.m., followed by No. 7 Elon (11-20, 7-11 in CAA) against No. 10 James Madison (9-20, 2-16 in CAA) at 6:30 p.m.
 
The CAA quarterfinals tip off at Noon on Sunday with the Drexel/UNCW winner meeting regular-season champion and top-seeded Hofstra (23-8, 14-4 CAA). At 2:30 p.m., No. 4 Charleston (17-13, 11-7 CAA) takes on No. 5 Delaware (21-10, 11-7 CAA). The evening session features second-seeded William & Mary (21-10, 13-5 CAA) facing the Elon/JMU winner at 6 p.m. Towson-Northeastern follows that game.
 
All games in the first round and quarterfinals can be seen on FloHoops.
 
The semifinal games of the CAA Men's Basketball Championship are set for 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. on Monday, with the two winners facing off for the conference title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 10. The semifinal games and championship game will air nationally on CBS Sports Network.
 
Tickets are available via Ticketmaster and the Entertainment and Sports Arena box office (202-437-4591).
 
For more information on the 2020 CAA Basketball Championship, visit our official championship page at CAASports.com/MBB. Fans can join the social media conversation by using the official CAA Basketball hashtag, #CAAHoops, on both Instagram and Twitter.
 
2020 Hercules Tires CAA Men's Basketball Championship
Entertainment and Sports Arena – Washington, D.C.
 
Opening Round – Saturday, March 7 (all times Eastern)
Game 1: #8 Drexel vs. #9 UNCW – 4 p.m. (FloHoops)
Game 2: #7 Elon vs. #10 James Madison – 6:30 p.m. (FloHoops)
 
Quarterfinals – Sunday, March 8
Game 3: # 1 Hofstra vs. Game 1 winner – Noon (FloHoops)
Game 4: #4 Charleston vs. #5 Delaware – 2:30 p.m. (FloHoops)
Game 5: #2 William & Mary vs. Game 2 winner – 6 p.m. (FloHoops)
Game 6: #3 Towson vs. #6 Northeastern – 8:30 p.m. (FloHoops)
 
Semifinals – Monday, March 9
Game 7: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner – 6 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)
Game 8: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner – 8:30 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)
 
Championship – Tuesday, March 10
Game 9: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner – 7 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)