"We were criticized for getting in when our RPI was [26]," George Mason coach Jim Larranaga said. "How does a team that is 50 get in? These last five games are critical for a team trying to get in."

No one knows that better than Hofstra coach Tom Pecora. His Pride were left out of the NCAA tournament a year ago in favor of George Mason, despite an RPI of 30.

"It's a shame that people are not aware of how good the league is," Pecora said. "Stubbing your toe in the CAA should be treated the same way as stubbing your toe in some of the other conferences."

ACTION ARNAUD

In the minutes that followed Old Dominion's loss to James Madison on Jan. 18, Taylor, the Monarchs' coach, didn't miss words.

He wasn't happy with his team's performance, and senior Arnaud Dahi drew the brunt of his rage. Dahi was a "no-show," Taylor told reporters. "Absolutely missing in action," he added, throwing "uncompetitive" into the barrage for good measure.

It was enough to motivate even the most unresponsive player, and Dahi hasn't been hard to find since.

The 6-foot-7 forward from Ivory Coast has been the hottest player on the league's hottest team, and he was named the CAA's player of the week after averaging 17.7 points and 10.3 rebounds in three games last week.

He had 14 points and a career-high 17 rebounds in a 62-52 win over Drexel, then scored a season-high 25 points in a 66-56 overtime win against George Mason.

He hit the game-tying 3-pointer against the Patriots to force overtime, and in the six games since Taylor tapped him as MIA, Dahi has averaged 14.7 points and nine rebounds.

Old Dominion has won five-straight games.

"I think the kids on the team talked to him in their own way and told him how much they thought of him, how good they thought he was and how we needed him to shake out of whatever was bothering him," Taylor said.

AROUND THE RIM

Northeastern's Matt Janning repeated as the league's rookie of the week. Janning averaged 17.3 points, four rebounds and three assists--a lone bright spot in the Huskies' three losses last week.

Towson senior guard Gary Neal achieved a rare double-double, becoming the third player in Division I history to score 1,000 points with two teams. Neal scored 1,041 points in two seasons at LaSalle, and notched his 1,000th point against James Madison on Jan. 29. He has scored 1,043 points with the Tigers.

Hofstra senior Loren Stokes is one free throw shy of the 2,000-point mark, but the lightly-recruited guard has long been impressing his coach. "Sometimes the most highly touted players you bring in don't pan out and become great ones, and sometimes it's the sleepers that do," Pecora said.

Todd Jacobson: 540/735-
Email: 1974tjacobson@freelancestar.com