CHARLOTTE, NC (December 16, 2022) -- Conference basketball is finally tipping off in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA®), the nation's oldest historically black conference, and the road to the 2023 CIAA Basketball Tournament officially begins with league games taking place all this week.
Before delving fully into conference basketball, let's take a look to see how each team fared in November and early December in their non-conference games, which can be pivotal tune-ups ahead of CIAA Basketball.
Women's Basketball Non-Conference Records
- Claflin 7-2
- Elizabeth City State 6-2
- Lincoln (PA) 5-4
- Virginia Union 5-4
- Shaw 4-3
- Winston-Salem State 4-3
- Fayetteville State 4-4
- Bowie State 4-4
- Johnson C. Smith 4-4
- Livingstone 4-5
- St. Augustine's 3-4
- Virginia State 3-5
The non-conference schedule did not disappoint with exciting moments and instant classics. In fact, on the opening weekend of the regular season, Bowie State needed an overtime period to triumph over Kutztown, 63-60, on November 11.
The opening weekend also featured Elizabeth City State earning victories over Clark Atlanta and Albany State in the CIAA vs. SIAC Classic. The Vikings defeated the Golden Rams 62-53 and downed the Panthers 56-52, and their only losses were on the road to Chowan and Catawba.
A week later, Virginia Union also picked up a pair of victories over SIAC opponents, defeating Benedict, 62-60, and Edward Waters, 58-38, in the Virginia State University Conference Challenge.
Virginia Union and Shaw show why it is important to practice your free throws. In the Bears' 67-64 win over USC Aiken on November 23, Shaw's Brittney Seymour canned two free throws for a 66-64 lead with 16 seconds left. On USC Aiken's next possession, Rita James earned a steal and then made one of two free throws with 2.7 ticks remaining, and then the Pacers misfired on the game-tying three-pointer as time expired for the Shaw win.
Meanwhile, the Panthers owe two of their early season wins to the charity stripe. Virginia Union earned a November 18 win over Edward Waters when Darryn Ziegler sank two free throws with two seconds left to break a 60-60 tie with two seconds left. On December 2, Virginia Union and Bluefield State gave fans a fun preview of the future, when the Big Blue enters the CIAA, starting next season.
In that game, the Panthers were trailing 60-54 with 26 seconds remaining. Two Chris Alston free throws cut the deficit to 60-56 and she followed up with a layup to make it a 60-58 game with 15 seconds left after a Brittini Martin steal. In the next possession for Bluefield State, the Big Blue was assessed a technical foul after signaling for a timeout with none remaining. Virginia Union was granted two free throws and possession afterward and Ny Langley delivered the win for the Panthers. She made both her technical free throws to tie and then a hard Langley drive to the paint resulting in the game-winning free throw.
Elizabeth City State's 6-2 record has the Vikings ranked seventh in the D2SIDA Atlantic Region Rankings and they are the only CIAA school currently in the regional rankings. Through eight games, ECSU has the conference's top defense, surrendering just 52 points per game and allowing opponents to shoot only 32.4 percent from the field. With 47.1 rebounds per game, the Vikings are also the top rebounding team in the conference.
In its nine non-conference games, Claflin leads the CIAA with 76.8 points per game and is outscoring its opponents by 21.3 points a game. There have been five 100-point games in the CIAA this season and the Panthers have two such games, including a season-high 111 points scored against Paine. Pretty impressive considering that the Panthers were predicted to finish eighth in the conference's preseason poll.
Winston-Salem State leads the league with 14.6 assists and 13.3 steals per game. Jakaiya Mack is the top swiper with 3.1 steals a game and Jainaya Jones' nine steals against Carolina University is the top performance.
Johnson C. Smith has the top scorer and rebounder in the league so far with Shaniya Jones and India Howard, respectively. Jones is averaging 21.3 points per game, and she also leads with 3.3 three-pointers a game on 43 percent shooting from behind the arc. Howard is averaging 12.1 rebounds per game, including 5.9 offensive boards. She has two games with 15 or more rebounds, including 18 against Ft. Lauderdale and 15 versus Paine and she had four double-doubles through eight games.
The top two individual scoring performances in the CIAA have come from defending conference champions Lincoln (PA), including the season's only 30-point game in non-conference action. Kania Pollack dropped a season-high 37 on 16-of-25 shooting from the field against Holy Family. Anyssa Fields has the second-highest scoring game in the league with 29 points (12-of-15 from the field) in a win over West Chester.
Men's Basketball Non-Conference Records
- Claflin 7-0
- Virginia Union 9-1
- Winston-Salem State 8-1
- Virginia State 6-3
- Elizabeth City State 5-5
- Shaw 5-5
- Fayetteville State 5-6
- Lincoln (PA) 5-6
- Johnson C. Smith 4-5
- Livingstone 4-5
- St. Augustine's 3-6
- Bowie State 2-9
Without a doubt, Virginia Union has one of the most impressive resumes in the country right now, which is why the NABC has them ranked No. 13 right now. The Panthers demolished the then-No.2 ranked Augusta, 83-62, on December 3. On December 12, Virginia Union extended its home game winning streak to 27 after defeating Shepherd, 73-69.
The Panthers opened their season by going 2-0 with wins over Millersville and Shippensburg in the PSAC/CIAA Challenge. Virginia Union was named champions in the Chris Paul HBCU Tip-Off Classic after victories against Clark Atlanta and Xavier University of Louisiana. Virginia Union's only blemish in their non-conference slate is a four-point loss to Le Moyne-Owen. Defensively, the Panthers are holding teams to a conference-best 38.9 percent shooting from the field.
Winston-Salem State is ranked sixth in the D2SIDA Atlantic Region Poll after winning eight of its nine non-conference contests to start the season. The Rams won the Gary Miller Classic Tournament by defeating Lake Erie and Le Moyne. Winston-Salem State extended its winning streak at home to 20 games with a December 10 win over Clark Atlanta. The Rams have outscored their non-conference opponents by 15.6 points per game, thanks to the league's best defense which is allowing just 60.3 points per game.
Claflin was predicted to finish 11th in the CIAA but instead, the Panthers finished their non-conference gauntlet undefeated at 7-0 and are ranked seventh in the regional poll, its highest ranking in history. Claflin scored an average of 83.5 points in those contests, second in the league.
The Panthers have also delivered the most exciting game of the season so far. With under 11 minutes left to play, Claflin rallied from a 25-point, 70-45 deficit to force overtime and get the 86-84 win over Paine on December 5. The Panthers went on a 17-0 run to make it an eight-point game with seven minutes remaining and with 1:04 on the clock, Shyim Cunningham tied the game at 76 with free throws. Before Paine sent the game to overtime, Jailen Williams gave Claflin its first lead since the opening basket with a steal and a layup.
Fayetteville State, the defending conference champions, have recovered after a very tough 1-6 start to their season. The Broncos won four consecutive non-conference games, including a trio of wins on the road and a matchup against Virginia State that is not considered part of the CIAA schedule. In that December 7 contest versus the Trojans, Cress Worthy provided the heroics with a spin and a turn-around three-pointer for the game-winner with 1.1 seconds left in regulation.
Livingstone's Pharoah Lassiter also turned in a game-winning three-pointer already this season. In the 104-103 win over Anderson (SC) on December 10, the freshman Lassiter scored his only basket of the game on an assist from Teon Tiller.
Johnson C. Smith, Lincoln (PA), Livingstone, and Virginia State each had success in various tournaments. The Trojans opened their season with wins over Millersville and Shippensburg in their tip-off classic. Thanksgiving Weekend, the Lions went 2-0 in the HBCU Gameday Classic, defeating the District of Columbia and Cheyney. The Golden Bulls and Blue Bears both went 2-0 in JCSU's Tip-Off Classic, earning wins over Morris and Johnson & Wales.
Individually, Virginia Union's Raemaad Wright's performance against Augusta needs to be studied and broken down for all to see. Wright turned in a 34-point, 16-rebound game on 12-of-16 shooting against the then-No. 2 team in the country. That was the top rebounding performance in the league and one of three 30-point games in the CIAA. Lincoln's Bakir Cleveland scored a conference-high 36 points versus St. Thomas Aquinas and Winston-Salem State's Jaylon Gibson scored 30 against Le Moyne. However, it is Lincoln's Korey Williams that is leading the conference with 19.4 points per game in non-conference action.
Livingstone leads the CIAA averaging 84.4 points in its nine non-conference contests. There were nine 100-point games in the CIAA and the Blue Bears own three of those performances. The Blue Bears are also the top rebounding team in the league with 40.1 boards per game. It is Virginia Union that has the top two rebounders in the conference, though. Robert Osborne and Wright are 1-2 with 9.3 rebounds and 9.2 rebounds a game, respectively.
Virginia State is the top passing team in the conference so far with 17.7 assists per game and Zach Newkirk is the only player averaging over four assists with 5.1 per game. The Trojans also have the leader in steals per game (Terrence Hunter-Whitfield with 2.8) and Francis Fitzgerald, who owns one of the two performances of six made threes in the league.
Elizabeth City State's Amadou Faye is throwing a block party and all have been invited to the swats. Faye averages 3.8 blocks per game and he has a seven-block and a 10-block game. Lincoln's Gabe Harris is the only other CIAA player with more than five blocks in a game this season. Harris had eight against Cheyney.
Conference play has now started and the jockeying in the standings has just begun. We're a little over two months away from the 2023 CIAA Men's & Women's Basketball Tournament, which is from February 21 to February 25 and ends with a conference champion begin crowned in Baltimore, Maryland at the newly renovated CFG Bank Arena. Tickets are now only available on Ticketmaster here and hotel reservations can be made here.
About the CIAA
Founded in 1912, the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) is the first and longest running, African American athletic conference in the U.S. and one of the most recognized conferences in Division II. The CIAA conducts 14 championships attended by more than 150,000 fans from around the country. In 2020, the conference celebrated the special 75th anniversary of its Championship Basketball Tournament - an event that has become a must-see in the African American community. The Basketball Tournament has been honored as a Champion of Economic Impact in Sports Tourism by Sports Destination Management, the leading publication with the largest circulation of sports event planners and tournament directors in the sports tourism market, for both 2018 and 2019. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., the CIAA is governed by the Presidents and Chancellors of its 12 member-institutions: Bowie State University, Claflin University, Elizabeth City State University, Fayetteville State University, Johnson C. Smith University, Lincoln University of Pennsylvania, Livingstone College, Saint Augustine's University, Shaw University, Virginia State University, Virginia Union University, and Winston-Salem State University. For more information on the CIAA, visit theciaa.com, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and Instagram.