By Dave Johnson
W&M Athletics
 
WILLIAMSBURG - Going into his first Colonial Athletic Association tournament, William & Mary coach Dane Fischer won't know his team's opponent until Saturday night. That will be less than 24 hours before the Tribe's quarterfinal tips in the Entertainment and Sports Arena.
 
But Fisher does know this: Neither team will the pushover you might expect for a No. 2 seed in the quarterfinals.
 
No. 7 Elon lost twice to W&M during the regular season by a combined eight points. No. 10 James Madison was in a tie game with 2½ minutes remaining against the Tribe on Feb. 22 but ended up losing by four.
 
The Phoenix (11-20, 7-11) and Dukes (9-20, 2-16) are two of four teams that did not receive first-round byes, but each knows it can compete — with each other and the No. 2 seed.
 
"The big thing for us is to get ready to play really well on Sunday," Fischer said. "It's going to be one of two teams we're going to face, and (both) we had competitive games against recently. Our focus is going to be on what we can do to get better.
 
"We're going to play a team who won a game in that building and is going to come in feeling really good and knowing we've had really close games with them. I expect a tremendous effort from whoever we play, and our guys will have to be ready to go."
 
William & Mary (21-10, 13-5) has been no stranger to close games this season. The Tribe is 6-0 in CAA games decided by five points are fewer.
 
With its 86-79 victory over Elon on Saturday, William & Mary won its 21st regular-season game for the first time since 1950. The 13 conference wins are the program's most since the 1997-98 season.
 
Senior Nathan Knight, one of three players in Division I averaging at least 20 points and 10 rebounds a game, has been the biggest reason for W&M's run. But he's the first to point out he's not doing it alone.
 
"It takes a whole unit to go out there and accomplish something like that," he said. "I'm just very thankful for the group of guys we have. We all come out with our hard hats on and do what we have to do to get better.
 
"Because that's what it's all about, improving. To win 21 games is an amazing feeling, but there's definitely more to be done."
 
Seven-footer Andy Van Vliet and guard Luke Loewe are both averaging in double figures. Guards Bryce Barnes and Tyler Hamilton, both graduate transfers, have made a difference.
 
And there's the bench, which was a big concern early. In the season's first 13 games (not including Division III Goucher), the Tribe's bench averaged 10.7 points. In 17 games since, starting with a Jan. 2 trip to Hofstra, that number has risen to 15.1. 
 
"That's been really important," Fischer said. "We've gotten some really good contributions from our bench all year long, and we're getting more production from them in terms of numbers now."
 
Quinn Blair, a 6-foot-6 sophomore, is averaging 9.5 points on 13-of-18 shooting in his last four games. Guard Thornton Scott, coming off a four-game absence with an injury, scored 10 points in his return last week against Elon.
 
Fischer also has been relying on a pair of freshman guards — Miguel Ayesa and Rainers Hermanovskis. Of Ayesa's 47 field goals this season, 40 have been 3-pointers. Hermanovskis, a point guard, averages 1.4 turnovers per 40 minutes.
 
"Our bench guys come in and give us really good minutes," Loewe said. "They've gotten in tuned with how the game flows and how things move on the floor and how physical you need to be.
 
"They're definitely contributing big-time for us, and that's good, especially coming into tournament play when we potentially are going to be playing three games in a row."
 
The Tribe comes with the CAA's longest current winning streak at five games. But March begins a new season for everyone.
 
"It's important to not get too excited, because if we lose our next game, then it's done," Van Vliet said. "Everybody is 0-0 now, and the teams at the bottom of the league have just as much of a chance as we do. It's just a matter of taking everybody serious and preparing for everybody the same way."