2012 CAA Tournament Championship Game, Drexel Vs. VCU Final Score: Rams Hold Off Comeback, Win NCAA Tournament Bid

For the second game in the row, the VCU Rams gave up a big halftime lead in the 2012 CAA Tournament only to hold on for the win. The Drexel Dragons were down 35-19 at intermission, but clawed their way back to pull within one point on a Chris Fouch 3-pointer with 12 seconds left in the game. Troy Daniels made both of his free throws off of a quick foul, however, forcing a long missed 3-point attempt before the buzzer to give the Rams a 59-56 win and an NCAA Tournament bid.

Drexel cut down on their turnovers in the second half to make their way back into the game, committing just five after giving the ball back 12 times in the first half. Damion Lee scored 15 of his 20 points after the break to key the Dragons' comeback. Drexel also dominated on the boards, hauling in 38 rebounds to just 21 for the Rams.

The Dragons couldn't overcome shooting just 25 percent from the floor during the first half, however. The Rams made just 1-for-6 from beyond the 3-point arc in the second half. Darius Theus led the way with 16 points on 7-for-12 shooting. Treveon Graham chipped in 13 points, six of which came from the free throw line.

For more on Drexel, visit the SB Nation Team Page. For more from the CAA Tournament, stay tuned to this StoryStream.

2012 CAA Tournament Championship Game, Drexel Vs. VCU, Halftime Score: Dragons Trail, 35-19

The Drexel Dragons trails the VCU Rams, 35-19, at halftime in the CAA Tournament Championship Game from the Richmond Coliseum in Richmond, Va.

VCU appeared to have learned from their regular season loss to Drexel in the first half of the CAA Championship Game on Monday. The Rams turned Drexel over 11 times in that meeting on Jan. 8 but the Rams' pressure has caused plenty of problems for the Dragons in this game. Tonight in the first half alone, Drexel has already committed 12 turnovers, seven of them coming on VCU steals. The extra possessions for VCU have helped the Rams build their double-digit lead. The smothering defense has also held Drexel to just 25% shooting at the half.

Frantz Massenat leads Drexel with eight points at the half. Damion Lee and Chris Fouch chipped in five and four points apiece for the Dragons in the first half. Darius Theus leads VCU at the half with 10 points on 5/6 shooting. He also has three assists and three steals. Troy Daniels scored seven points for the Rams in the first half.

For more on Drexel, visit the SB Nation Team Page. For more from the CAA Tournament, stay tuned to this StoryStream.

CAA Tournament 2012: Drexel To Face VCU In Conference Championship Game

The Drexel Dragons defeated Old Dominion on Sunday to put themselves one win away from a 2012 NCAA Tournament bid. To get to the Big Dance, they will need to get past the VCU Rams, who were 74-64 winners over George Mason during the semifinals of the CAA Tournament.

The Rams led 32-4 at one point in the first half, starting the game 7-for-7 from beyond the 3-point line and holding the Patriots without a field goal for over eight minutes. VCU cooled off after that, however, going 4-for-18 from long range the rest of the way. Bradford Burgess and Troy Daniels scored 20 and 17 points, respectively, combining to go 9-for-17 from beyond the arc.

Samme Givens could have big day on the boards against VCU. The Rams hauled in just 20 rebounds on Sunday, compared to 38 for the Patriots. Drexel won the only meeting between the two teams this season, 64-58, in January. The championship game is set to tip off at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN3 and Comcast Sportsnet.

For more on Drexel, visit the SB Nation Team Page. For more from the CAA Tournament, stay tuned to this StoryStream.

CAA Tournament 2012: Drexel Beats Old Dominion 68-51, Advances To Title Game

The Drexel Dragons amazing run continued today as they defeated Old Dominion 68-51 to advance to the CAA title game. The game extended Drexel's win streak to 19. They will now face the winner of the VCU Vs George Mason matchup, which takes place at 4:30pm today in Richmond. The final will be played Monday on ESPN at 7pm.

But as for today's game, Drexel started out cold shooting, but their stifling defense kept in control pretty much throughout the contest. ODU, who scored 88 against Delaware just a night ago, was held to just 17 in the first half. It took them five minutes to score their first points of the game.

On offense Drexel employed a balanced attack with four of their five starters in double figures. Frantz Massenat led the Dragons with 20 points, Samme Givens scored 12 and grabbed 12 boards while Chris Fouch had 16, including a dagger of a three pointer just as ODU was starting to make a run late in the second half.

The Dragons can officially punch their ticket to NCAA Tournament by winning the CAA Tournament tomorrow.

For more on the CAA men's basketball tournament 2012, check back to this SB Nation Philly StoryStream. Meanwhile, SB Nation's college basketball hub will prepare you for the month of March and the madness it brings.

CAA Tournament 2012: Semifinal Bracket Update

The Colonial Athletic Conference has reached its semifinal round, as Saturday's quarterfinal results featured all the favorites winning its respective games. On Sunday, both semifinal contest will be broadcasted on ESPN3, while Monday's Championship Game will be shown on ESPN.

Here's an update on the bracket:

First Round, Friday, March 2:

Noon ET: (9) UNC-Wilmington Seahawks 70, (8) James Madison Dukes 59

2:30 p.m.: (5) Delaware Blue Hens 72, (12) Towson Tigers 65

6 p.m.: (7) Northeastern Huskies 57, (10) William & Mary Tribe 49

8:30 p.m.: (6) Georgia St. Panthers 85, (11) Hofstra Pride 50

Second Round, Saturday, March 3:

Noon: (1) Drexel Dragons 59, (9) UNC-Wilmington Seahawks 47

2:30 p.m.: (4) Old Dominion Monarchs 88, (5) Delaware Blue Hens 74

6 p.m.: (2) Va. Commonwealth Rams 75, (7) Northeastern Huskies 65

8:30 p.m.: (3) George Mason Patriots 61, (6) Georgia St. Panthers 59

Semifinals, Sunday, March 4:

2 p.m.: (1) Drexel Dragons vs. (4) Old Dominion Monarchs

4:30 p.m.: (2) Va. Commonwealth Rams vs. (3) George Mason Patriots

Finals, Monday, March 5:

7 p.m.: Semifinals winners

For more on the CAA men's basketball tournament 2012, check back to this SB Nation Philly StoryStream. Meanwhile, SB Nation's college basketball hub will prepare you for the month of March and the madness it brings.

CAA Tournament 2012: Drexel Faces Old Dominion In Semifinals

The Drexel Dragons will try to move one step closer to a Colonial Athletic Association Tournament crown and a NCAA Tournament bid Sunday, as they face the Old Dominion Monarchs in a semifinal contest (2 p.m. on ESPN3) in Richmond, VA. The winner advances to play either George Mason Patriots or Va. Commonwealth Rams in Monday's championship game (7 p.m.).

On Saturday, the Dragons extended its current winning streak to 19 games as they downed UNC-Wilmington Seahawks, 59-47, in the quarterfinals, while Old Dominion defeated the Delaware Blue Hens, 88-74.

Drexel was paced by guard Chris Fouch, who netted 14 points and was one of four other players in double figures. Frantz Massenat enters Sunday's match up as the Dragons leading scorer averaging 13.4 points per game.

Meanwhile, the Monarchs are led by senior guard Kent Bazemore, who's averaging a team-best 15.3 ppg and 3.2 assists per game.

For more on the CAA men's basketball tournament 2012, check back to this SB Nation Philly StoryStream. Meanwhile, SB Nation's college basketball hub will prepare you for the month of March and the madness it brings.

CAA Tournament 2012: Drexel Beats UNC-Wilmington, Advances To Semifinals

The Drexel Dragons won their 18th consecutive game on Saturday, defeating the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks by a final score of 59 to 47. The win took place in the second round of the 2012 Colonial Athletic Association Conference Tournament, and the Dragons now await the winner of the second Saturday game, between Delaware and Old Dominion. One of Drexel's two conference losses this season came against Delware on December 3.

Drexel was led by a balanced scoring attack, with four of their starters scoring at least 10 points. Guard, Chris Fouch, led the game in scoring with 14, but needed 14 shots to do so.

The Seahawks were held to 35 percent shooting and turned the ball over 11 times. Donte Morales led them in scoring with 13.

For more on the CAA men's basketball tournament 2012, check back to this SB Nation Philly StoryStream. Meanwhile, SB Nation's college basketball hub will prepare you for the month of March and the madness it brings.

CAA Tournament 2012: Day 2 Bracket, Schedule And More

Drexel enters the Colonial Athletic Association with the knowledge that the longest winning streak in school history by itself won't be enough for the NCAA tournament committee.

A No. 13 seed in SB Nation's latest version of Bracketology, the Dragons likely need to reach the CAA finals in order for a chance at an at-large NCAA tournament bid -- and even a spot in the conference tournament championship game might not be enough.

Drexel's quest to capture the conference's automatic bid begins Saturday. The top-seeded Dragons received a first-round bye and meet No. 9 UNC-Wilmington at noon Saturday.

Saturday's schedule follows, or the full bracket can be found here.

Schedule (ESPN3 and Comcast Sportsnet)

No. 1 Drexel vs. No. 9 UNC-Wilmington - 12:00 p.m. ET

No. 4 Old Dominion vs. No. 5 Delaware - 2:30 p.m. ET

No. 2 VCU vs. No. 7 Northeastern - 6:00 p.m. ET

No. 3 George Mason vs. No. 6 Georgia State - 8:30 p.m. ET

CAA Tournament 2012: Drexel Opens Up Against NC-Wilmington

Drexel opens CAA tournament play against UNC-Wilmington on Saturday at noon.

CAA Tournament 2012: Winner Of James Madison And UNC-Wilmington Faces Drexel

The Colonial Athletic Association Conference Tournament kicks off on Friday with a game between the eight and nine seeds, the James Madison Dukes and UNC-Wilmington Seahawks. The winner of the contest will face the number one seed, Drexel Dragons, on Saturday, March 3.

Drexel ended their regular season on a 17-game winning streak, which included two wins over James Madison and another win over the Seahawks. The margin of victory in the wins over James Madison were seven and 17, and they defeated UNC-Wilmington by 22 on January 14.

Noon ET: (8) James Madison Dukes vs. (9) UNC-Wilmington Seahawks

2:30 p.m.: (5) Delaware Blue Hens vs. (12) Towson Tigers

6 p.m.: (7) Northeastern Huskies vs. (10) William & Mary Tribe

8:30 p.m.: (6) Georgia St. Panthers vs. (11) Hofstra Pride

For more on the CAA men's basketball tournament 2012, check back to this SB Nation Philly StoryStream. Meanwhile, SB Nation's college basketball hub will prepare you for the month of March and the madness it brings.

Can Drexel Be The Next NCAA Tournament Surprise Out Of The CAA?

ESPN has worked on a project since 2006 in which they've been trying to identify what makes a "giant killer" in the NCAA tournament. Every year it seems that we see a small school from a small league go on a Cinderella run much bigger and more talented schools in the tourney. But what do these teams have in common that could be identified ahead of time?

One of those common threads in recent years has been their membership in the Colonial Athletic Conference. Since 2006, the only conferences to send more teams to the Final Four are the Big East, Big 10 and ACC, all traditional college basketball mega powers. The CAA has sent more teams than the Pac-12 or Big-12.

You know the names. George Mason, VCU... These are some of the great Cinderellas in tournament history. This year, Drexel has won the regular season CAA crown and ESPN explains why they could be the next CAA giant killer.

Drexel is super-stingy on defense, minimizing opponents' possessions in two key areas. The Dragons allow offensive rebounds on just 26 percent of possessions per KenPom.com (sixth in the country) and hold teams to just 28.2 percent 3-point shooting (seventh), which means only 23.1 percent of foes' points come from beyond the arc. Though the Dragons play at a slow pace and don't force many turnovers, they add accurate 3-point shooting to the mix on offense (38.3 percent), which we like. If they were to shoot 3's more often (only 32 percent of their total attempts), we'd like them even more. But even without the model's full analysis, Drexel looks like a dangerous first-round foe.

CAA Tournament 2012: Drexel Basketball Earns No. 1 Seed

The Colonial Athletic Association wrapped up its men's basketball regular season Saturday night, as a handful of games were played and the results helped finalize the league's conference tournament bracket.

A few days ago, the Drexel Dragons (25-5, 16-2 CAA) locked up the CAA Tournament's No. 1-overall seed and a first-round bye. The Dragons will face the winner of No. 8 James Madison Dukes and No. 9 UNC-Wilmington Seahawks in the second round, which will be played at the Richmond Coliseum in Richmond, VA.

James Madison and UNC-Wilmington will match up in one of four first-round contests, which will be played Friday, March 2.

The semifinals will be played Sunday, March 4, with the finals being played Monday, March 5.

For a complete look at the CAA Tournament bracket and schedule, well, here it is:

First Round, Friday, March 2:

Noon ET: (8) James Madison Dukes vs. (9) UNC-Wilmington Seahawks

2:30 p.m.: (5) Delaware Blue Hens vs. (12) Towson Tigers

6 p.m.: (7) Northeastern Huskies vs. (10) William & Mary Tribe

8:30 p.m.: (6) Georgia St. Panthers vs. (11) Hofstra Pride

Second Round, Saturday, March 3:

Noon: (Winner James Madison/UNC-Wilmington) vs. (1) Drexel Dragons

2:30 p.m.: (Winner Delaware/Towson) vs. (4) Old Dominion Monarchs

6 p.m.: (Winner Northeastern/William & Mary) vs. (2) Va. Commonwealth Rams

8:30 p.m.: (Winner Georgia St./Hofstra) vs. George Mason Patriots

Semifinals, Sunday, March 4:

2 p.m.: Winner of Sat.'s early games

4:30 p.m.: Winner of Sat.'s late games

Finals, Monday, March 5:

7 p.m.: Semifinals winners

For more on the CAA men's basketball tournament 2012, check back to this SB Nation Philly StoryStream. Meanwhile, SB Nation's college basketball hub will prepare you for the month of March and the madness it brings.

Drexel Vs. Old Dominion Recap: Drexel Ends Season With 17th Straight Win

The Drexel Dragons ended their regular season on Saturday with their 17th consecutive victory, a one-point win over the Old Dominion Monarchs. The 19-12 Monarchs put up a fight on their home court and kept the game close throughout the second half, although they never led after being up 19-17 in the first half.

Led by Damion Lee, who had 24 points on 17 shots, four of Drexel's five starters scored in double figures, but the star of the game was Old Dominion's Kent Bazemore. Bazemore scored a game-high 37 points on 23 shots. He also added 12 rebounds (five offensive), three assists and two steals. Unfortunately Bazemore didn't get much help – his teammates scored 35 points combined, on 27 percent shooting.

Despite their impressive regular season credentials, including a CAA title, the Dragons will probably have to win the CAA post-season tourney, where they'll be the one seed, to get an NCAA tournament bid.

For more Drexel coverage, visit our team page.

CAA Standings 2012: Drexel Clinches Top Seed In Conference Tournament

Drexel has earned the top seed in the upcoming CAA tournament.