A look at each team in the CIAA men’s basketball tournament

Virginia State (13-3 in CIAA play)

Coach: Lonnie Blow Jr. (11th season)
Player to watch: Jacob Cooper. Cooper is the team’s leader in points per game by a wide margin, while also averaging around 7 assists.
Trending: The Trojans are trending up, ending on a five-game win streak. In the process, they have avenged all three of their conference losses — this team is as dangerous as they come.
Key note: Clint Wright Jr. takes about one-third of this team’s 3-pointers, making them 38% of the time. If Wright is right, all is well. If he’s not, Virginia State might lack the perimeter shooting to make big runs.

Coach: Luke D’Alessio (5th season)
Player to watch: Caleb Simmons averages 17.5 points and 9.6 rebounds per game while ranking in the top 20 in double-doubles in the country.
Trending: Up, with 12 wins in the last 13 games. Don’t count on the Broncos slowing down either — Fayetteville has reached at least the CIAA semis in each of D’Alessio’s first four seasons.
Key note: Ezekiel Cannedy spent much of the season in the top 10 in the nation in 3-point attempts and the top 15 in makes. If he’s rolling, Fayetteville is nearly unbeatable. If not, then it is on upset watch.

Coach: Brion Dunlap (3rd season)
Player to watch: John Whitehead III is the only player averaging over 11 points for an offense that relies on depth while putting up 78 per game. Whitehead shoots 39% from 3, averaging a hair under 14 points per contest.
Trending: Claflin enters the tournament on a five-game winning streak.
Key note: Claflin lives beyond the arc. Six players have 50-plus 3-point attempts, all of them shooting the triple at a 38% or better clip.

Coach: Julius Hodge (1st season)
Player to watch: Reggie Hudson is a spark on both ends, leading the team in assists and steals while ranking second in scoring. On a team that relies on defense and has no one averaging over 14 points per game, he’ll have to be the energizer.
Trending? Poorly. Lincoln lost four of five in a late-season skid but finished with a win over Bowie State.
Key note: Lincoln has a top-25 defense in the country, holding opponents under 67 points per game. However, the Lions shoot 28% from 3 and 68% from the free throw line, and they score just over 68 a game; they’re likely to be outmatched in fast-paced games.

Coach: Devin Hoehn (4th year)
Player to watch: Jordan Hinds is a 20 points-per-game scorer, and his 3-point shooting has emerged in recent weeks, knocking down 11 of 12 in a late three-game stretch.
Trending: Bluefield won its last three and five of its last six during a high-scoring end of the regular season.
Key note: It’s all about chaos. This team scores 93 per game and gives up 87. The Big Blue have five players with 30-plus steals and one of the nation’s leaders in blocks. They want high-flying, high-scoring games. If they get those, they’re a threat to make a run.

Coach: Jay Butler (8th season)
Player to watch: DJ Mitchell, a Catonsville native, is the team’s leading scorer heading into the tournament with over 13.5 points per game and a 34% 3-point shooting percentage.
Trending: Streaky squad with a seven-game and a four-game losing streak at different points. Won three of last four games.
Key note: Jonathan King may be the linchpin for Virginia Union. He’s the best rebounder for a shaky rebounding team, leads the team in steals and is second in blocks. Plus he leads the roster in minutes played by a wide margin. Can he provide his exceptional defense while contributing some offense and staying out of foul trouble?

Coach: Antwain Banks (interim)
Player to watch: Ashton Sherrell leads Johnson C. Smith in scoring (15.1 points per game) and rebounding (5.8).
Trending: Up — the Golden Bulls won five of their last seven and three of their last four in the regular season.
Key note: Sherrell has scored 10 or fewer four times in the recent hot streak. Depth is becoming a strong point for the Golden Bulls, and Javon Anderson and Christopher Ealy (both 40%-plus 3-point shooters) can spark this roster when defenses key on Sherrell.

Coach: Darrell Brooks (15th season)
Player to watch: Elijah Davis. The ultimate glue guy — Davis is among the nation’s leaders in assists and assist-to-turnover ratio. A security blanket on offense, Davis is a defensive menace notching over 2 steals per game, a mark that keeps him around the top 20 in the nation.
Trending: Bowie lost its last three regular-season games.
Key note: Bowie State has scored 62 or fewer points seven times in conference play … and 85-plus on four occasions. The defense is equally erratic in results. Which version shows up?

Coach: Bobby Collins (4th season)
Player to watch: Trent McIntyre is Shaw’s leader in scoring, assists and rebounds per game and will have to carry the load on offense.
Trending: Shaw lost its last eight of the regular season, and hopes of success in Baltimore seem slim.
Key note: Shaw can cause chaos on defense, averaging nearly 10 steals per game. Scrappy, low-scoring games are needed; it is 2-10 when giving up 70-plus points since the start of December.

Coach: James Stinson (18th season)
Player to watch: Jamal Cannady Jr., a Baltimore native, returns to his hometown as Livingstone’s leading scorer, notching 16.6 points per game.
Trending: Poorly. After starting 6-0, Livingstone has won consecutive games just one other time.
X-factor: Livingstone has averaged just 67 points per game in conference play, with Cannady shooting just 19% from 3. Can it find consistency?

Coach: John Richardson III (1st year)
Player to watch: Dericko Williams is an imposing presence inside, ranking inside the top 30 for rebounds per game in the country and averaging nearly 2 blocks, while ranking second on the team in scoring.
Trending: As bad as can be — the Vikings were 1-9 to close the season.
Key note: For all that’s been bad recently, the Vikings have been close. Seven of those nine losses came by four or fewer points — they have the talent to swing an upset in Baltimore.

Coach: Corey Thompson (1st season)
Player to watch: Abou Camara ranks in the top 15 in the country in blocks — look out for a rebuttal in the paint at CFB Bank Arena.
Trending: The Rams won their last two games for their only conference victories of the season.
Key note: Winston-Salem has eclipsed 70 points just three times in the calendar year, but they did it in both of the season-ending wins.