Delaware men's basketball team attempts to cap historic run with CAA title
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Delaware men's basketball looks to cap off a historic run with its fifth win in five days in the CAA tournament championship on Tuesday night.
The Blue Hens (16-19) are the first double-digit seed to ever reach the conference final of the CAA tournament, as Delaware has won four games in four days, including an upset of No. 1 seed Towson in the semifinals Monday. They're looking to secure an NCAA Tournament bid with a losing record.
Awaiting Delaware is UNC-Wilmington (26-7), the No. 2 seed of the CAA tournament.
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The first team to ever win four games in a single CAA tournament, Delaware is hot at the right time. The Blue Hens have scored 80, 79, 100 and 82 in wins against Stony Brook, Campbell, William & Mary and Towson. Delaware shot 62.1% from 3-point range against William & Mary, breaking a program record with 18 3-pointers. It shot 55.1% from the field and 45% from 3-point range on Monday night.
Perhaps the wildest part of Delaware's run is its streak prior to the conference championship.
Here's a look at the Blue Hens' record, including how they fared prior to getting hot with an NCAA Tournament bid on the line:
Delaware basketball record
Delaware didn't have the resume of most teams looking to play its way into the NCAA Tournament.
In fact, the Blue Hens ended the regular season with a 1-11 record heading into the CAA tournament and only a 5-13 conference record. Delaware finished third-to-last in the final CAA standings, but that didn't stop it from this historic run.
The Blue Hens have CAA tournament experience, winning the conference championship in 2022 and earning a No. 15 seed in the NCAA Tournament, where it lost to Villanova in the first round. That year, coach Martin Ingelsby and Delaware made a run in the CAA tournament as a No. 6 seed, also defeating UNC-Wilmington in the championship game.
Can the Blue Hens do it again? Only two teams have won five games in five days to reach the NCAA Tournament before, according to The Field of 68's Jeff Goodman: UConn (2011) and NC State (2024) won the national championship and went to the Final Four, respectively. Those are quite the expectations if Delaware can win Tuesday.
Here's a look at Delaware's record heading into the CAA Tournament:
Season record: 16-19, 5-13 CAA
16-19, 5-13 CAA Final 12 regular-season games: 1-11
Here's a look at Delaware's final scores in each of its past 12 games:
March 1: UNC-Wilmington 88, Delaware 58
UNC-Wilmington 88, Delaware 58 Feb. 27: Charleston 94, Delaware 84
Charleston 94, Delaware 84 Feb. 22: Hofstra 78, Delaware 65
Hofstra 78, Delaware 65 Feb. 20: Drexel 78, Delaware 74
Drexel 78, Delaware 74 Feb. 15: Campbell 96, Delaware 91
Campbell 96, Delaware 91 Feb. 13: Towson 75, Delaware 70
Towson 75, Delaware 70 Feb. 8: Delaware 74, William & Mary 64
Delaware 74, William & Mary 64 Feb. 6: UNC-Wilmington 77, Delaware 67
UNC-Wilmington 77, Delaware 67 Feb. 1: Monmouth 92, Delaware 83
Monmouth 92, Delaware 83 Jan. 30: Towson 76, Delaware 66
Towson 76, Delaware 66 Jan. 25: Drexel 67, Delaware 54
Drexel 67, Delaware 54 Jan. 23: Hofstra 93, Delaware 68
Worst records to make NCAA Tournament
Delaware would be among the teams with the worst records to ever make the NCAA Tournament should it win on Tuesday night and finish the season 17-19 with five consecutive wins heading into the Big Dance.
Should the Blue Hens defeat UNC-Wilmington they'd have a 47.2% winning percentage on the year, which would rank as the 16th-worst winning percentage to reach the NCAA Tournament, according to the NCAA.
However, only one No. 15 seed in the NCAA Tournament (Penn in 1985) was listed by the NCAA, as the rest of the teams earned No. 16 seeds in March Madness.
Penn finished 15-15 that season. If Delaware avoids being a No. 16 seed in the tournament, the Blue Hens will become the first non-No. 16 seed to ever finish the regular season with a losing record. Navy (15-18) also has a chance to make the NCAA Tournament with a losing record this season, as it takes on American in the Patriot League final on Wednesday.
(This story was updated to add information.)
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