MAAC Monday: Connecticut spotlight, stat leaders, power rankings

By Jaden Daly (@jadendaly) and Vincent Simone (@VTSimone)

MAAC Monday returns today with a dual team spotlight, driving over the Connecticut state line to highlight the Nutmeg State’s Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference representatives after Jaden was on hand to watch Quinnipiac against Manhattan last Thursday, then having the chance to see Fairfield against Iona 24 hours later. As always, an updated set of stat leaders and power rankings will follow. Without any further ado, let’s raise the curtain:

Quinnipiac made strides in each of Baker Dunleavy’s first two seasons since leaving Jay Wright’s staff at Villanova for Hamden, first reaching the semifinals of the MAAC tournament despite a last-place projection at the start of the year, then holding a share of the conference lead late in the season before finishing tied for second and bowing out in the quarterfinals last year.

Even without reigning MAAC Player of the Year Cameron Young, the Bobcats have not missed a beat this season, winning their first four league games since the calendar turned to 2020. And although Quinnipiac has suffered losses to Manhattan and Saint Peter’s in its last two contests, the general consistency has resulted in maintaining a perch at the top of the leaderboard.

“I think we’ve played well,” Dunleavy concurred when surmising the Bobcats’ performance to this point, boasting both the conference’s leading scorer and rebounder in Rich Kelly and Kevin Marfo, respectively, the latter leading the nation in rebounding. “I think we’ve come together, I think we’ve had young guys probably grow faster than I would have expected, especially when we started the season, so I’m happy with that.”

“I’ll be completely honest with you: I would have predicted that he’d be top five in the country in rebounding,” Dunleavy said of Marfo. “The thing that I’m really proud of his growth is playmaking ability, he’s shooting the ball well from the foul line — that’s something he’s developed — defensively, he’s our backbone. He’s improved in a lot of other areas, but we’d be lying if we didn’t take any credit for his rebounding. It’s a God-given talent that he brings to the table.”

When Jay Young earned a long-overdue first head coaching opportunity in the Division I ranks this past spring when Fairfield athletic director Paul Schlickmann hired the longtime Steve Pikiell assistant to replace Sydney Johnson at the helm of the Stags, he was fortunate to inherit a young core whose experience going through the rigors of the MAAC season would serve it well this year in a league beset with more parity than in any year prior. The conference's coaches saw differently, however, selecting Fairfield last of the 11-team congregation in October’s preseason poll.

Fairfield has made short work of correcting the preseason slight, having split its first six games in MAAC play to sit one game off the conference lead, and if the regular season ended today, the Stags would get a first-round bye into the tournament quarterfinals. A non-conference victory over Texas A&M in the Orlando Invitational proved to be the launch pad for a program still just 22 months removed from playing for a MAAC championship, and its new leader admitted such when discussing his team’s progress, which although incremental, has not been lacking in year one of a new regime.

“We’ve had some good moments and some not-so-good moments,” a candid Young assessed following Fairfield’s 64-57 loss at Iona this past Friday. “We’ve got to get better on offense, we’re preaching that all the time, but I’m happy with the effort that they give us and I’ve got a good bunch of guys. I was very fortunate that I was left a really good group of guys who come to work every day.”

Scoring Leaders
1) Rich Kelly, Quinnipiac (17.1 PPG)
2) E.J. Crawford, Iona (16.9)
3) Jalen Pickett, Siena (15.7)
4) Deion Hammond, Monmouth (15.5)
5) Ray Salnave, Monmouth (14.5)
6) Elijah Burns, Siena (14.2)
T-7) Tyere Marshall, Rider (14.0)
T-7) Dimencio Vaughn, Rider (14.0)
9) Malik Johnson, Canisius (13.6)
10) Landon Taliaferro, Fairfield (13.4)

Rebounding Leaders
1) Kevin Marfo, Quinnipiac (13.8 RPG)
2) Manny Camper, Siena (10.8)
3) Tyere Marshall, Rider (8.3)
4) Tajuan Agee, Iona (7.8)
5) Dimencio Vaughn, Rider (6.7)
6) Frederick Scott, Rider (6.2)
7) Elijah Burns, Siena (6.1)
8) Malik Johnson, Canisius (5.9)
9) Tykei Greene, Manhattan (5.9)
10) Pauly Paulicap, Manhattan (5.9)

Assist Leaders
1) Malik Johnson, Canisius (5.9 APG)
2) Jalen Pickett, Siena (4.4)
3) Rich Kelly, Quinnipiac (4.3)
4) Stevie Jordan, Rider (4.0)
5) Samuel Chaput, Monmouth (3.4)
6) Marcus Hammond, Niagara (3.4)
7) Ray Salnave, Monmouth (3.1)
T-8) Brendan McGuire, Quinnipiac (3.0)
T-8) Samir Stewart, Manhattan (3.0)
10) Isaiah Washington, Iona (2.9)

Field Goal Percentage Leaders
1) Elijah Burns, Siena (.600)
2) Tyere Marshall, Rider (.585)
3) Greg Kuakumensah, Niagara (.548)
4) Warren Williams, Manhattan (.547)
5) Vincent Eze, Fairfield (.530)
6) Tajuan Agee, Iona (.523)
7) Scott Hitchon, Canisius (.481)
8) Manny Camper, Siena (.474)
9) Frederick Scott, Rider (.465)
10) Dimencio Vaughn, Rider (.459)

Free Throw Percentage Leaders
1) Rich Kelly, Quinnipiac (.855)
2) Ray Salnave, Monmouth (.848)
3) Donald Carey, Siena (.848)
4) James Towns, Niagara (.831)
5) E.J. Crawford, Iona (.811)
6) Elijah Burns, Siena (.809)
7) Taj Benning, Fairfield (.794)
8) Scott Hitchon, Canisius (.776)
9) Kevin Marfo, Quinnipiac (.758)
10) Stevie Jordan, Rider (.753)

3-Point Field Goal Percentage Leaders
1) Ray Salnave, Monmouth (.508)
2) Doug Edert, Saint Peter’s (.493)
3) Matthew Lee, Saint Peter’s (.441)
4) Dimencio Vaughn, Rider (.429)
5) Matt Herasme, Marist (.418)
6) Jacob Rigoni, Quinnipiac (.418)
7) Rich Kelly, Quinnipiac (.415)
8) Raheem Solomon, Niagara (.414)
9) Mo Thiam, Iona (.400)
10) Justin Roberts, Niagara (.395)

Steal Leaders
1) Malik Johnson, Canisius (2.4 SPG)
2) Isaiah Washington, Iona (1.7)
3) Stevie Jordan, Rider (1.6)
4) Christian Hinckson, Manhattan (1.6)
5) Ray Salnave, Monmouth (1.6)

Blocked Shot Leaders
1) KC Ndefo, Saint Peter’s (2.9 BPG)
2) Tajuan Agee, Iona (1.6)
3) Seth Pinkney, Quinnipiac (1.4)
T-4) Pauly Paulicap, Manhattan (1.3)
T-4) Jalen Pickett, Siena (1.3)

Power Rankings
1) Manhattan (8-7, 4-2 MAAC)
Last Week: 2
Last Game: Saturday 1/18 vs. Monmouth (L 65-58)
Next Game: Wednesday 1/22 at Marist, 7 p.m.

T-2) Monmouth (10-7, 4-2 MAAC)
Last Week: T-5
Last Game: Saturday 1/18 at Manhattan (W 65-58)
Next Game: Friday 1/24 vs. Niagara, 7 p.m.

T-2) Quinnipiac (9-7, 4-2 MAAC)
Last Week: 1
Last Game: Saturday 1/18 vs. Saint Peter’s (L 71-51)
Next Game: Friday 1/24 vs. Fairfield, 7 p.m.

4) Niagara (6-11, 4-2 MAAC)
Last Week: T-5
Last Game: Sunday 1/19 vs. Siena (W 72-71)
Next Game: Friday 1/24 at Monmouth, 7 p.m.

5) Fairfield (7-10, 3-3 MAAC)
Last Week: 8
Last Game: Friday 1/17 at Iona (L 64-57)
Next Game: Friday 1/24 at Quinnipiac, 7 p.m.

6) Rider (9-8, 3-4 MAAC)
Last Week: 4
Last Game: Sunday 1/19 at Canisius (L 95-86)
Next Game: Friday 1/24 vs. Saint Peter’s, 7 p.m.

T-7) Canisius (8-10, 3-4 MAAC)
Last Week: T-10
Last Game: Sunday 1/19 vs. Rider (W 95-86)
Next Game: Friday 1/24 at Iona, 7 p.m.

T-7) Siena (7-9, 3-4 MAAC)
Last Week: 3
Last Game: Sunday 1/19 at Niagara (L 72-71)
Next Game: Friday 1/24 vs. Marist, 7 p.m.

9) Saint Peter’s (6-9, 3-3 MAAC)
Last Week: 7
Last Game: Saturday 1/18 at Quinnipiac (W 71-51)
Next Game: Friday 1/24 at Rider, 7 p.m.

10) Iona (4-9, 2-4 MAAC)
Last Week: 9
Last Game: Sunday 1/19 at Marist (L 83-73)
Next Game: Friday 1/24 vs. Canisius, 7 p.m.

11) Marist (3-13, 2-5 MAAC)
Last Week: T-10
Last Game: Sunday 1/19 vs. Iona (W 83-73)
Next Game: Wednesday 1/22 vs. Manhattan, 7 p.m.