MAAC Monday: KenPom ratings, stat leaders, power rankings

With only three more editions of MAAC Monday remaining after today, a lot of ground remains to be covered as we near the time to focus on our usual strength of schedule and seeding scenarios before award predictions and tournament predictions. With that said, we return to an advanced stat lens in our first segment, looking at some of Ken Pomeroy's rankings, highlighting efficiency margins and their offensive and defensive breakdowns, as well as a refresh on adjusted tempo before the usual stat leaders and power rankings within the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Without any further ado:

Efficiency margins, from highest to lowest, followed by national rank:
1) Iona (+5.29, 113th in nation)
2) Rider (+3.95, 130th in nation)
3) Canisius (+2.47, 146th in nation)
4) Monmouth (-1.59, 180th in nation)
5) Niagara (-3.52, 203rd in nation)
6) Fairfield (-3.96, 210th in nation)
7) Saint Peter's (-4.39, 213th in nation)
8) Manhattan (-5.67, 223rd in nation)
9) Siena (-10.37, 272nd in nation)
10) Quinnipiac (-10.63, 277th in nation)
11) Marist (-14.87, 325th in nation)

Adjusted offensive efficiency, from highest to lowest, followed by national rank:
1) Iona (111.4, 67th in nation)
2) Niagara (110.3, 86th in nation)
3) Rider (109.1, 99th in nation)
4) Canisius (106.7, 151st in nation)
5) Monmouth (104.4, 184th in nation)
6) Fairfield (104.3, 185th in nation)
7) Quinnipiac (102.7, 218th in nation)
8) Marist (98.0, 291st in nation)
9) Siena (97.6, 299th in nation)
10) Manhattan (97.5, 301st in nation)
11) Saint Peter's (97.4, 302nd in nation)

Adjusted defensive efficiency, from lowest to highest, followed by national rank:
1) Saint Peter's (101.8, 108th in nation)
2) Manhattan (103.2, 134th in nation)
3) Canisius (104.2, 155th in nation)
4) Rider (105.2, 174th in nation)
5) Monmouth (106.0, 196th in nation)
6) Iona (106.1, 198th in nation)
7) Siena (108.0, 231st in nation)
8) Fairfield (108.2, 236th in nation)
9) Marist (112.9, 312th in nation)
10) Quinnipiac (113.3, 320th in nation)
11) Niagara (113.9, 323rd in nation)

Adjusted tempo, from highest to lowest, followed by national rank:
1) Rider (72.8 possessions per game, 18th in nation)
2) Niagara (72.7, 20th in nation)
3) Monmouth (70.8, 56th in nation)
4) Iona (70.4, 73rd in nation)
5) Fairfield (70.4, 76th in nation)
6) Marist (69.4, 111th in nation)
7) Canisius (68.7, 150th in nation)
8) Quinnipiac (66.9, 246th in nation)
9) Siena (65.8, 285th in nation)
10) Manhattan (65.7, 295th in nation)
11) Saint Peter's (63.0, 348th in nation)

Analysis: The old adage of defense winning championships appears to be a non-factor when reading between the offensive stat lines in the MAAC, as each of the top four offenses occupy a position among the top four of the conference standings. Upon closer inspection, however, only Canisius and Rider are in a similar standing in the league's top quartet on defense, and it is the Broncs and Golden Griffins who occupy the first and second places on the leaderboard at the present moment. Although Monmouth is navigating adversity through a three-game losing streak that has seen the Hawks backpedal from contention for a first-round bye into one of the bottom four positions, King Rice's group remains fundamentally sound in their execution, ranking within the top five in the MAAC in efficiency on both sides of the basketball while also playing to the third-fastest tempo in the league.

To say the conference as a whole does not play defense would be an indictment on some teams in the MAAC (most notably Saint Peter's and Manhattan), yet with only four teams within the top half of the NCAA in defensive efficiency and none within the Top 100, the argument can be made that the MAAC has seen general regression on that end of the floor. However, two numbers jump out. Manhattan's second-best MAAC rating and No. 134 in the nation is one of the higher Jasper marks since the program's conference championship defense in 2015. While Steve Masiello believes his defense this season is comparable to the two title-winning outfits, it; along with the style at which the Jaspers are playing, is actually more reminiscent of the 2012-13 campaign. In that year, Manhattan had to endure a season-ending high ankle sprain to George Beamon before Masiello reinvented his team's approach into more of a grinding, pressure-centric unit. The 65-plus-possession pace at which Manhattan runs the floor is more in line with the 63-possession tempo of the 2012-13 Jaspers, who caught fire in February and March in typical Masiello fashion, reaching the MAAC championship game.

Finally, Canisius has made tremendous strides on the defensive end after years of being maligned for not paying enough attention to it in recent campaigns. Through eleven MAAC games, the Griffs have given up just over 68 points per game, a change from the 78 points per contest they yielded in each of the past two seasons. And if you throw out the 82 allowed at Iona and 105 surrendered versus Niagara, the number shrinks to an even more scant 62.67 points per game, something that Reggie Witherspoon is confident in as a foundation for greater success.

Scoring Leaders
1) Tyler Nelson, Fairfield (21.5 PPG)
2) Kahlil Dukes, Niagara (21.3)
3) Matt Scott, Niagara (20.3)
4) Brian Parker, Marist (18.1)
5) Cameron Young, Quinnipiac (18.0)
6) Jermaine Crumpton, Canisius (16.6)
7) Isaiah Reese, Canisius (16.5)
8) Dimencio Vaughn, Rider (14.4)
9) Rickey McGill, Iona (14.2)
10) Nick Griffin, Saint Peter's (13.6)

Rebounding Leaders
1) Marvin Prochet, Niagara (7.7 RPG)
2) TK Edogi, Iona (7.6)
3) Matt Scott, Niagara (7.5)
4) Frederick Scott, Rider (6.9)
5) Tyere Marshall, Rider (6.5)
T-6) Pauly Paulicap, Manhattan (6.4)
T-6) Zane Waterman, Manhattan (6.4)
8) Austin Tilghman, Monmouth (6.3)
9) Cameron Young, Quinnipiac (6.3)
10) Dimencio Vaughn, Rider (6.2)

Assist Leaders
1) Stevie Jordan, Rider (6.2 APG)
2) Austin Tilghman, Monmouth (5.7)
3) Rickey McGill, Iona (5.5)
4) Rich Kelly, Quinnipiac (5.1)
5) Malik Johnson, Canisius (4.9)
6) Isaiah Reese, Canisius (4.8)
7) Zavier Turner, Manhattan (3.8)
8) Kahlil Dukes, Niagara (3.3)
9) Tyler Nelson, Fairfield (3.3)
10) Zach Lewis, Iona (3.1)

Field Goal Percentage Leaders
1) Pauly Paulicap, Manhattan (.577)
2) TK Edogi, Iona (.571)
3) Roland Griffin, Iona (.528)
4) Chaise Daniels, Quinnipiac (.526)
5) Tyere Marshall, Rider (.522)
6) Frederick Scott, Rider (.513)
7) Dimencio Vaughn, Rider (.502)
8) Brian Parker, Marist (.484)
9) Prince Oduro, Siena (.483)
10) Jacob Rigoni, Quinnipiac (.477)

Free Throw Percentage Leaders
1) Kahlil Dukes, Niagara (.913)
2) Isaiah Reese, Canisius (.898)
3) Tyler Nelson, Fairfield (.876)
4) Roman Penn, Siena (.833)
5) Jermaine Crumpton, Canisius (.810)
6) Zavier Turner, Manhattan (.806)
7) Sam Idowu, Saint Peter's (.797)
T-8) E.J. Crawford, Iona (.793)
T-8) James Towns, Niagara (.793)
10) Rich Kelly, Quinnipiac (.786)

Three-Point Field Goal Percentage Leaders
1) Jacob Rigoni, Quinnipiac (.500)
2) Louie Pillari, Monmouth (.479)
3) Schadrac Casimir, Iona (.472)
4) Jan Svandrlik, Iona (.458)
5) Khalil Richard, Siena (.451)
6) Kahlil Dukes, Niagara (.451)
7) Dimencio Vaughn, Rider (.440)
8) Deyshonee Much, Iona (.431)
9) Rich Williams, Manhattan (.422)
10) Zavier Turner, Manhattan (.414)

Steal Leaders
1) Isaiah Reese, Canisius (2.3 SPG)
2) Stevie Jordan, Rider (1.7)
3) Jesus Cruz, Fairfield (1.6)
4) Dimencio Vaughn, Rider (1.6)
5) Elijah Gonzales, Saint Peter's (1.6)

Blocked Shot Leaders
1) Pauly Paulicap, Manhattan (2.5 BPG)
2) Dominic Robb, Niagara (1.4)
3) Sam Idowu, Saint Peter's (1.1)
4) Chaise Daniels, Quinnipiac (1.1)
5) TK Edogi, Iona (1.1)

Power Rankings
1) Rider (17-7, 10-2 MAAC)
Last Week: 2
Last Game: Sunday 2/4 at Quinnipiac (W 74-59)
Next Game: Thursday 2/8 vs. Manhattan, 7 p.m.

2) Canisius (15-9, 9-2 MAAC)
Last Week: 3
Last Game: Sunday 2/4 at Saint Peter's (W 73-58)
Next Game: Thursday 2/8 vs. Siena, 7 p.m.

3) Iona (15-9, 9-3 MAAC)
Last Week: 1
Last Game: Sunday 2/4 at Marist (W 98-64)
Next Game: Thursday 2/8 vs. Monmouth, 7 p.m.

4) Niagara (15-10, 8-4 MAAC)
Last Week: 4
Last Game: Sunday 2/4 at Monmouth (W 96-91)
Next Game: Thursday 2/8 vs. Quinnipiac, 7 p.m.

5) Quinnipiac (9-15, 6-6 MAAC)
Last Week: 5
Last Game: Sunday 2/4 vs. Rider (L 74-59)
Next Game: Thursday 2/8 at Niagara, 7 p.m.

6) Manhattan (11-13, 6-6 MAAC)
Last Week: 8
Last Game: Friday 2/2 at Siena (W 51-47)
Next Game: Thursday 2/8 at Rider, 7 p.m.

7) Fairfield (9-13, 4-7 MAAC)
Last Week: 8
Last Game: Friday 2/2 at Monmouth (W 79-78)
Next Game: Monday 2/5 vs. Siena, 7 p.m.

8) Saint Peter's (9-14, 3-9 MAAC)
Last Week: 9
Last Game: Sunday 2/4 vs. Canisius (L 73-58)
Next Game: Thursday 2/8 vs. Marist, 7 p.m.

9) Monmouth (7-16, 3-8 MAAC)
Last Week: 6
Last Game: Sunday 2/4 vs. Niagara (L 96-91)
Next Game: Thursday 2/8 at Iona, 7 p.m.

10) Marist (5-19, 3-9 MAAC)
Last Week: 11
Last Game: Sunday 2/4 at Iona (L 98-64)
Next Game: Thursday 2/8 at Saint Peter's, 7 p.m.

11) Siena (7-17, 3-8 MAAC)
Last Week: 10
Last Game: Friday 2/2 vs. Manhattan (L 51-47)
Next Game: Monday 2/5 at Fairfield, 7 p.m.