Mo Cassara and Bill Coen were both assistants at Boston College, and both now run CAA programs.

The two teams also played last year’s memorable CAA tourney game, a quarterfinals thriller won by Northeastern 74-71 in double OT. Charles Jenkins had 24 points, 8 rebounds, three assists and two steals in the game, playing 49 of 50 minutes. For Coen, Matt Janning had 26 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and two steals (in 46 minutes).

Superstars, playing super.

However their most striking shared trait resides in the fact that each coach is looking at a 2010-11 CAA season from exactly the same lens. Both will rely on a returning first team All CAA performer and a bunch of question marks.

Cassara’s Pride (side note: wouldn’t that be a great name for a racehorse?) returns the conference player of the year and seven new players. Outside of Charles Jenkins, Hofstra must replace its next three top scorers and needs points from unknown or unproven sources.

Coen has Chase Allen but lost a senior class that means far more than a  boxscore could depict. Matt Janning, Nkem Ojougboh, and the rest of those seniors were faces of the program. Outside of Chase Allen, the other seven returning Huskies combined to average 10.7 ppg.

What’s more, Hofstra was 10-8 in the CAA and has won 10 or more CAA games in six of the last seven years. NU finished second last year and has never ended a season worse than 9-9 in its five CAA campaigns.

Those impressive marks are in question this year, and we can find two games from last year that shows us why.

Let’s start with this game, the February 23 matchup between–get this–Northeastern and Hofstra. It shows us that a star is needed to carry you, even at home. Hofstra won in Matthews and it was a key road win that carries significance.

Here’s what I mean: Not surprisingly Jenkins played all 40 minutes and scored 20 points. Sure, Jenkins had a whopping nine turnovers, but he posted eight rebounds and seven assists. That’s your superstar doing his thing.

For NU, Matt Janning had an off night, or was forced into and off night. Janning missed 10 of 13 shots and all five of his threes.

It is important to note, and you need to keep in the front of your mind, that Halil Kanecevic had a 16/11 double-double and Corny Vines had five steals and hit three threes for Hofstra. Also, Nkem Ojougboh had 15/7 for NU.

Let’s move back in time to February 6 for NU at Hofstra, won convincingly by the Huskies.

This time Janning played well, scoring 17 and grabbing five rebounds. He took just nine shots. Jenkins missed 11 of 14 shots, grabbed only three rebounds and had three assists.

Worth noting: NUs Baptiste Bataille scored 11 points and had six steals. Chase Allen had 16 points, six rebounds, four assists and only one turnover. Hofstra’s Vines missed four of five threes and Kanecevic had six points.

What in the world does all that mess tell us?

1. Your star needs that second banana, if only to make life easier on him. You won’t win many CAA games with your best player going 7-24 from the field. Jenkins needed Vines and Kanecevic. Janning needed Ojougboh and Allen. You have to make a defense at least pay attention to someone else. More proof? I give you Jawan Carter and the Delaware Blue Hens.
2. Northeastern and Hofstra have an eerily similar makeup this season: a superstar and a collection of question marks. “That second guy” emerging could be the difference in a Friday bye and wearing a road uniform on Friday night. And I mean that.

By the way, the difference in that memorable CAA tournament game? NUs Kauri Black scored nine points and had eight rebounds. Black had scored eight TOTAL points in the month leading up to that game.