MAAC Monday: Seeding scenarios, stat leaders, power rankings

The penultimate MAAC Monday of the 2021-22 season opens, as it always does in the next-to-last edition of the weekly Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference recap, with a look at all possible seeding scenarios for next week’s MAAC Men’s Basketball Championship, held at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City from March 8-12, 2022. Presently, Iona has already clinched the regular season championship and NIT autobid, while three other teams — Siena, Saint Peter’s and Monmouth — have each clinched first-round byes into the quarterfinals. In addition, six teams remain in contention for the fifth and final bye at this time. Only Canisius, with five conference wins at the moment with only two games to play and fifth-place Marist already owning nine league wins, cannot mathematically clinch a bye. Updated stat leaders and power rankings will follow the seeding scenarios, which will be listed in order of the present MAAC standings, from first to last:

Iona (16-2): Has clinched regular season Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship and automatic bid to National Invitation Tournament. The Gaels will play the #8 or #9 seed in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, March 9, at 7 p.m.

Siena (12-6): Has clinched a first-round bye and will finish as #2 or #3 seed. The Saints control their own destiny for the #2 seed, and can clinch it with wins at Niagara Thursday and Canisius Saturday, OR with one win AND a Saint Peter’s loss to Manhattan Tuesday or Fairfield Saturday.

Saint Peter’s (12-6): Has clinched a first-round bye and will finish as #2 or #3 seed. The Peacocks can clinch the #2 seed with wins at Manhattan Tuesday and vs. Fairfield Saturday, AND a Siena loss at Niagara Thursday or Canisius Saturday.

Monmouth (10-8): Has clinched a first-round bye and will finish as #4 or #5 seed. The Hawks will play in the quarterfinals on Thursday, March 10, at 9:30 p.m., and control their own destiny for the #4 seed. Monmouth can clinch the #4 seed with wins vs. Quinnipiac Thursday and at Rider Saturday, AND a Marist loss at Canisius Thursday or Niagara Saturday.

Marist (9-9): Can finish as #4, #5, #6, or #7 seed. The Red Foxes can clinch a first-round bye with a win at Canisius Thursday OR at Niagara Saturday, and can clinch the #4 seed with wins at Canisius Thursday and Niagara Saturday AND a Monmouth loss vs. Quinnipiac Thursday or at Rider Saturday, OR with a win at Canisius or Niagara AND Monmouth losses vs. Quinnipiac and at Rider.

Quinnipiac (7-11): Can finish as #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, or #11 seed. The Bobcats can clinch a first-round bye and the #5 seed with wins at Monmouth Thursday and Iona Saturday, Marist losses at Canisius Thursday and Niagara Saturday, a Niagara loss THURSDAY vs. Siena, AND a Manhattan loss Tuesday vs. Saint Peter’s OR Thursday vs. Iona.

Fairfield (7-11): Can finish as #5, #6, or #7, #8, #9, #10, or #11 seed. The Stags can clinch a first-round bye and the #5 seed with wins vs. Rider Thursday and at Saint Peter’s Saturday, Marist losses at Canisius Thursday and Niagara Saturday, a Quinnipiac loss Thursday at Monmouth OR Saturday at Iona, AND a Manhattan loss Tuesday vs. Saint Peter’s OR Thursday vs. Iona.

Rider (7-11): Can finish as #5, #6, or #7, #8, #9, #10, or #11 seed. The Broncs can clinch a first-round bye and the #5 seed with wins at Fairfield Thursday and vs. Monmouth Saturday, Marist losses at Canisius Thursday and Niagara Saturday, a Quinnipiac loss Thursday at Monmouth OR Saturday at Iona, AND a Manhattan loss Tuesday vs. Saint Peter’s OR Thursday vs. Iona.

Niagara (7-11): Can finish as #5, #6, or #7, #8, #9, or #10 seed. The Purple Eagles can clinch a first-round bye and the #5 seed with wins vs. Siena Thursday and vs. Marist Saturday, a Marist loss THURSDAY at Canisius, a Quinnipiac loss Thursday at Monmouth OR Saturday at Iona, a Manhattan loss Tuesday vs. Saint Peter’s OR Thursday vs. Iona, a Rider loss Thursday at Fairfield OR Saturday vs. Monmouth, AND a Fairfield loss Thursday vs. Rider OR Saturday at Saint Peter’s.

Manhattan (7-11): Can finish as #5, #6, or #7, #8, #9, #10, or #11 seed. The Jaspers can clinch a first-round bye and the #5 seed with wins vs. Saint Peter’s Tuesday and Iona Thursday, Marist losses at Canisius Thursday and Niagara Saturday, a Quinnipiac loss Thursday at Monmouth OR Saturday at Iona, AND a Niagara loss THURSDAY vs. Siena.

Canisius (5-13): Can finish as #8, #9, #10, or #11 seed. The Golden Griffins will play in the opening round on Tuesday, March 8.

These scenarios will be updated both on this site and on Twitter (@DalyDoseOfHoops) in the days leading up to the first tournament game on Tuesday, March 8.

Scoring Leaders

1) Jose Perez, Manhattan (19.0 PPG)

2) Marcus Hammond, Niagara (17.6)

3) George Papas, Monmouth (15.4)

4) Jao Ituka, Marist (14.2)

5) Walker Miller, Monmouth (14.9)

6) Tyson Jolly, Iona (14.7)

7) Matt Balanc, Quinnipiac (14.5)

8) Colby Rogers, Siena (14.2)

9) Ricardo Wright, Marist (14.0)

10) Shavar Reynolds, Monmouth (13.9)

Rebounding Leaders

1) Kevin Marfo, Quinnipiac (10.4 RPG)

2) Supreme Cook, Fairfield (8.1)

3) Nelly Junior Joseph, Iona (8.1)

4) Dimencio Vaughn, Rider (7.9)

5) Nikkei Rutty, Monmouth (7.8)

6) Anthony Gaines, Siena (7.1)

7) Fousseyni Drame, Saint Peter’s (7.0)

8) Jackson Stormo, Siena (6.8)

9) Ajiri Ogemuno-Johnson, Rider (6.6)

10) Josh Roberts, Manhattan (6.4)

Assist Leaders

1) Dwight Murray, Jr., Rider (4.6 APG)

2) Jose Perez, Manhattan (4.5)

3) Kevin Marfo, Quinnipiac (4.1)

4) Noah Thomasson, Niagara (3.6)

5) Elijah Joiner, Iona (3.4)

6) Ahamadou Fofana, Canisius (3.3)

7) Matthew Lee, Saint Peter’s (3.0)

8) Dylan van Eyck, Iona (3.0)

9) George Papas, Monmouth (2.9)

T-10) Marcus Hammond, Niagara (2.8)

T-10) Dezi Jones, Quinnipiac (2.8)

Field Goal Percentage Leaders

1) Josh Roberts, Manhattan (.712)

2) Jordan Jones, Marist (.654)

3) Supreme Cook, Fairfield (.544)

4) Ajiri Ogemuno-Johnson, Rider (.539)

5) Nelly Junior Joseph, Iona (.538)

6) Jordan Cintron, Niagara (.534)

7) Jao Ituka, Marist (.531)

8) Jackson Stormo, Siena (.531)

9) Malek Green, Canisius (.505)

10) Walker Miller, Monmouth (.478)

Free Throw Percentage Leaders

1) Daryl Banks III, Saint Peter’s (.894)

2) Doug Edert, Saint Peter’s (.891)

3) Shavar Reynolds, Monmouth (.861)

4) George Papas, Monmouth (.852)

5) Quinn Slazinski, Iona (.843)

6) Taj Benning, Fairfield (.833)

7) Marcus Hammond, Niagara (.828)

8) Matt Balanc, Quinnipiac (.826)

9) Jose Perez, Manhattan (.805)

10) Mervin James, Rider (.795)

3-Point Field Goal Percentage Leaders

1) Doug Edert, Saint Peter’s (.425)

2) Colby Rogers, Siena (.413)

3) Tyson Jolly, Iona (.398)

4) Caleb Green, Fairfield (.397)

5) Tyrese Williams, Quinnipiac (.397)

6) Nick Hopkins, Siena (.395)

7) Ricardo Wright, Marist (.394)

8) Daryl Banks III, Saint Peter’s (.378)

9) Matthew Lee, Saint Peter’s (.373)

10) TJ Long, Fairfield (.370)

Steal Leaders

1) Dimencio Vaughn, Rider (1.9 SPG)

2) Anthony Nelson, Manhattan (1.7)

3) Nick Hopkins, Siena (1.6)

4) Jordan Cintron, Niagara (1.4)

5) George Papas, Monmouth (1.4)

Blocked Shot Leaders

1) KC Ndefo, Saint Peter’s (2.6 BPG)

2) Nelly Junior Joseph, Iona (2.0)

3) Josh Roberts, Manhattan (1.3)

4) Jackson Stormo, Siena (1.3)

5) Jordan Jones, Marist (1.2)

Power Rankings

1) Iona (24-5, 16-2 MAAC)

Last Week: 1

Last Game: Sunday 2/27 at Rider (W 67-61)

Next Game: Thursday 3/3 at Manhattan, 7 p.m.

2) Siena (15-11, 12-6 MAAC)

Last Week: 2

Last Game: Sunday 2/27 vs. Monmouth (W 70-59)

Next Game: Thursday 3/3 at Niagara, 7 p.m.

3) Saint Peter’s (14-11, 12-6 MAAC)

Last Week: 3

Last Game: Sunday 2/27 vs. Niagara (W 63-36)

Next Game: Tuesday 3/1 at Manhattan, 7 p.m.

4) Marist (14-13, 9-9 MAAC)

Last Week: 5

Last Game: Friday 2/25 vs. Manhattan (W 74-56)

Next Game: Thursday 3/3 at Canisius, 7 p.m.

5) Monmouth (18-11, 10-8 MAAC)

Last Week: 4

Last Game: Sunday 2/27 at Siena (L 70-59)

Next Game: Thursday 3/3 vs. Quinnipiac, 7 p.m.

6) Rider (11-17, 7-11 MAAC)

Last Week: 9

Last Game: Sunday 2/27 vs. Iona (L 67-61)

Next Game: Thursday 3/3 at Fairfield, 7:30 p.m.

7) Fairfield (13-16, 7-11 MAAC)

Last Week: 10

Last Game: Sunday 2/27 at Manhattan (W 66-62)

Next Game: Thursday 3/3 vs. Rider, 7:30 p.m.

8) Manhattan (14-13, 7-11 MAAC)

Last Week: 6

Last Game: Sunday 2/27 vs. Fairfield (L 66-62)

Next Game: Tuesday 3/1 vs. Saint Peter’s, 7 p.m.

9) Quinnipiac (12-14, 7-11 MAAC)

Last Week: 7

Last Game: Sunday 2/27 vs. Canisius (L 72-67)

Next Game: Thursday 3/3 vs. Monmouth, 7 p.m.

10) Niagara (12-15, 7-11 MAAC)

Last Week: 8

Last Game: Sunday 2/27 at Saint Peter’s (L 63-36)

Next Game: Thursday 3/3 vs. Siena, 7 p.m.

11) Canisius (9-20, 5-13 MAAC)

Last Week: 11

Last Game: Sunday 2/27 vs. Quinnipiac (W 72-67)

Next Game: Thursday 3/3 vs. Marist, 7 p.m.

Rutgers looks to bounce off mat one more time in familiar situation at Indiana

Geo Baker and Rutgers look to shoot themselves back onto good side of bubble Wednesday at Indiana. (Photo by Rutgers Athletics)

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — It may as well be kismet that it comes down to this for Rutgers to keep its NCAA Tournament hopes alive.

In each of the past two seasons, the Scarlet Knights have entered their final road game of the regular season in a do-or-die situation, and have twice emerged victorious after Geo Baker pulled Rutgers out of the fire against Purdue and Jacob Young orchestrated similar magic at Minnesota's expense. After being unable to get over the hump Saturday at home against Big Ten leader Wisconsin, Steve Pikiell’s hardwood pugilists now go to Indiana Wednesday in search of a third straight lightning strike. Is such a script fitting for a group who seems to thrive with its collective back against the proverbial wall?

“Unfortunately, it is fitting,” Ron Harper, Jr. conceded. “Life in the Big Ten is tough, and the last two years, back against the wall, we kind of have a funny way of getting it done when it matters.”

“We’ve struggled on the road mightily those two years, last year and the year prior, but when it matters, we seem to get it done, so it definitely gives you confidence going into the game. I think these guys know what we’re going to have to bring to the table to beat Indiana at Indiana, but we’ve been there before.”

National pundits, and even those in the local media, were quick to eulogize Rutgers after non-conference losses to DePaul, Lafayette and UMass in November, and the burial was expedited after a 35-point loss at Illinois to open league play. But as has always been the case, the Scarlet Knights have gone about their business with their usual lunchpail flair, simply looking for a daily 1-0 record and surveying the landscape from there. Needless to say, the results have paid off.

“It’s tough,” a candid Pikiell said. “This league is tough, it’s as good it’s been. And this stretch for us is epic. Six out of seven (ranked teams) in league play is unheard of, but these guys are always ready and I love it. I said I wouldn’t want it any other way. At Rutgers, we grind and we embrace the challenges, and that’s what you’ve got in this league.”

“If we looked at everything the media said about us, we’d be dead in the water,” Harper opined, offering a refreshing look into a player’s perspective wherein he dismissed bracketology as “one of the greatest hoaxes in basketball.” “We just have to take it with a grain of salt and keep pushing. Nobody expected us to be at this point in November, and if you told me after the loss to Lafayette that we’d be here today, I’d be very happy. Me looking at brackets every time we win a game doesn’t make any sense, and me looking at a bracket every time we lose a game doesn’t make any sense. There’s only one Selection Sunday.”

Let us all not forget that at this point four years ago, very few people thought this even possible for Rutgers, still shedding the image of national laughingstock at the time. Pikiell was quick to reference the rebuild that his players — not him or his staff — saw through to its completion, and made no bones about that process being a driving factor in leading the program to where it is today.

“Their experience has put us in this place,” he proclaimed. “I think back to last year, every kid had an opportunity to go somewhere else and transfer. These guys have stayed, and look at what they’ve helped build. We’re looking forward to the last two games, and these guys know it’s never been easy. It’s always hard, and it’s always hard when you play in a great league. You’ve gotta fight and you gotta be ready, but they’ve been there before. I like the way this team’s been all year.”

And will the sense of déjà vu help Rutgers in its next conquest?

“Most definitely,” Caleb McConnell projected. “Just like Pike said, we wouldn’t want it any other way. Ever since me and Ron have been here, our backs have always been on the wall and we know how to get up off the wall. We know how to bounce back, and that’s what we’re going to do. It’s really about just focusing about now and thinking about what we’re going to do now. We’re gonna go in with that mindset of we have to get this game, and that’s going to give us an extra boost.”

Canisius goes into last three of regular season hoping to find momentum entering MAAC tourney

Reggie Witherspoon has been frustrated with Canisius’ inconsistency, but believes Golden Griffins can carry momentum into MAAC tournament. (Photo by The Buffalo News)

This time of year, luck tends to play its way into conversations surrounding teams and their postseason chances, and with good reason.

As the calendar flips to March, good fortune is just as essential to success as wins and losses, with one bounce of the basketball making a bigger difference than any other factor. And while some schools have reaped the benefits of positive breaks, perhaps no team has been more snakebitten this season than Canisius.

At 4-13 in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play, the Golden Griffins are assured of playing in the opening round of the MAAC tournament one week from Tuesday in Atlantic City, but that does not necessarily mean the Griffs are a pushover. In fact, Canisius has competed in every game, with 10 of the 13 defeats coming within single digits. While that may be a hard pill to swallow, it comes with the added side of knowing the team has been able to play its way into victory if it executes fit a full 40 minutes.

“It’s frustrating, but we just try to look at these areas of the game and see where we can get better,” head coach Reggie Witherspoon reflected. “We knew that we weren’t going to be able to come in and just dominate teams every day. We’ve got to approach it like, ‘okay, we’ve gotta find a way to get better.’”

“What I told the team was we did some good things, but until we can learn from those good things and the things that we need to improve at, then you don’t accomplish anything. And if we can learn from them and get better, then we’ve made some headway.”

Canisius’ frontcourt, thought of as a potential strength this season, has been ravaged by health and injury concerns as of late, forcing Jacco Fritz and Malek Green to carry a larger share of the load than initially intended, along with freshman Xzavier Long. The three, with Scott Hitchon and Siem Uijtendaal unavailable Friday against Iona, were forced into greater playing time, but Witherspoon has seen the optimism behind that circumstance as a way to get his big men more seasoned heading into March.

“We have five bigs that we play, and it seems like of late, every day, someone’s sick or hurt,” he said. “Those two guys played a lot of minutes (Friday), probably more than normal, and gave us some really good minutes…Jacco with 12 points and 10 rebounds, he made some mistakes defensively, but 34 minutes is a lot. I don’t know that he’s played more than 34 minutes in a game this year.”

Three games remain for the Griffs before the MAAC tournament, a road trip to Quinnipiac on Sunday before closing the regular season at home later this week against Marist and Siena. And while time may have run out to move into the top half of the standings, the clock remains very much on Canisius’ side in terms of making a late run and potentially playing spoiler at Boardwalk Hall to an unsuspecting foe looking past the scrappy bunch from Buffalo. 

“We’ve got to get ourselves in a mindset of seeing where it is,” Witherspoon cautioned. “We’ve really got to play with a better purpose and consistency so that it doesn’t much matter where we’re playing. That’s got to be what we’ve got to get to, and that’s a hard place to get to. But we can, because most of these games have been really close games that we’ve had some really good minutes. In order for us to sustain a high quality of play, we’ve got to be more consistent.”

Iona downs Canisius, clinches MAAC regular season

Elijah Joiner led Iona as Gaels defeated Canisius to clinch MAAC regular season championship. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. — The accolades have started to roll in for Iona. The next order of business is now backing them up.

The Gaels, having already clinched the automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament on Tuesday when Monmouth defeated Siena to assure Iona the No. 1 seed in next month’s Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament, added to their haul Friday by clinching the regular season MAAC championship — the program’s first since 2019 — outright with a 72-63 victory over Canisius inside the Hynes Athletics Center.

“I think we played pretty well in spurts,” Elijah Joiner, who recorded 16 points and seven assists, remarked. “They’re last in our conference, but they could have beat us if this was a game on the road or if we didn’t make plays late in the game. This is a lesson for us that we’ve got to get better, mature as a team on the court and just play hard, no matter what the situation is.”

“We were up 15 and we let them back in the game. Coach talks about teams like Gonzaga, Gonzaga runs their conference and when they get up 15, they go up 20-25 points. I think that’s the point that we’ve got to get to. When we’re up 15, we can’t let teams back into the game. We’ve got to step on their necks and keep on them.”

Iona (23-5, 15-2 MAAC) did indeed hold a 30-15 cushion late in the first half after emerging from a grind-it-out style in the opening minutes, where it struggled to control the basketball in tallying 11 of its 15 turnovers before halftime against the visiting Golden Griffins, who used a 20-4 run bridging the end of the initial stanza with the beginning of the second act to briefly forge a 35-34 lead after consecutive 3-pointers from Ahamadou Fofana and Jacco Fritz poked the Griffs’ head in front.

The lead was short-lived, though, as the Gaels counterpunched with a 16-4 spurt by forcing Canisius into miscues and turning their takeaways into points to hold the lead for the remainder of the evening while the visitors tried to stay within earshot.

“This is their style,” Canisius head coach Reggie Witherspoon said of Iona. “It’s not by accident. They’re going to try and force you in situations like that, where you’re turning it over for touchdowns. It goes the other way, and those are shots they almost can’t miss. And then when you do that, the pressure seems to mount because instead of being aggressive offensively, you’re trying not to turn it over. I think that was the biggest part for us in terms of what went wrong.”

With the top seed in Atlantic City locked up, Iona can afford to look at its three remaining contests — road games at Rider and Manhattan before hosting Quinnipiac in the regular season finale a week from Saturday — with a modicum of comfort knowing most scenarios have already been determined. However, the man responsible for overseeing the potentially historic campaign says maintaining focus is not a major concern.

“I think we practice so hard that it’s not a problem,” Rick Pitino admitted. “I think when you look at this game tonight, it’s a matter of missed free throws, it’s a matter of turnovers. We had 15 turnovers against a team that doesn’t turn you over, but you turn it around defensively and they shoot 38 percent for the game and 18 percent from three, so that’s what wins it on a given night. I don’t think it’s a problem with focus for us.”

Latest Groundhog Day moment for Johnnies an indictment on Anderson

As Mike Anderson insists potential is still there for St. John’s, Red Storm’s underachieving ways largely fall on his shoulders. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

NEW YORK — It’s all the same, only the names will change

Every day, it seems we’re wasting away

— Bon Jovi, “Wanted Dead Or Alive”

St. John’s fans have gone into their third decade of hoping against hope, forces of nature and acts of God for their beloved Red Storm to return to the promised land of college basketball. 

From Jarvis to Roberts, Lavin to Mullin, glimmers of bright futures have appeared on the corner of Union and Utopia, only to be washed away in a deluge of here-we-go-again moments where the program, for some strange reason, can seemingly never get out of its own way. And after two uptick years under the current caretaker, year three has become more of the same as incoming talent and star incumbents have never found the same synergy for 40 minutes at a time.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

So it was again Wednesday for the Johnnies, who spent between 25 and 30 minutes controlling Creighton and flustering the Bluejays all over Carnesecca Arena before and after point guard Ryan Nembhard went down with a season-ending broken wrist midway through the second half. But a confluence of missed shots and questionable substitutions left St. John’s with yet another plate of cookie crumbs when searching for a filet mignon, seeing another resume opportunity fly by the wayside in a deflating 81-78 loss.

“We didn’t deliver on our part, and I think a big part of it was just executing going down the stretch,” Mike Anderson said as he mumbled through an explanation for the latest in a litany of woulda-coulda-shoulda finishes for the star-crossed Red Storm. “We didn’t do a good job. We’ve seen this over the course of the year, where we don’t make proper plays going down the stretch. If you look at the last five possessions, we didn’t execute the things we wanted to do. We just came up a little short.”

Coming up short has been, in essence, a microcosm of the season in Queens, especially on an evening where Julian Champagnie and Aaron Wheeler shot a combined 4-for-26, forcing Posh Alexander to carry a heavier offensive load among St. John’s triumvirate of leaders. Only this time, compared to other past games, the supporting cast stepped up despite being handcuffed by its coach’s rotations.

O’Mar Stanley authored the best game of his young career with 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting, but did not play the final 8:45 of regulation. Stef Smith added 13 points off the bench, too, but was used sparingly even as a Ryan Hawkins-led Creighton team found the weak spots in the Johnnies’ sets and exploited them at will. Esahia Nyiwe (seven points, five rebounds) chipped in admirably as well, yet in crunch time, neither of the three were to be found.

“I don’t think we went away from them,” a defiant and evasive Anderson said as he defended his play call on the third-to-last offensive possession, where he looked to draw a foul or get an open shot down one with 17 seconds remaining in regulation, yet watched as Montez Mathis’ driving layup was snuffed out. “They got back in there and they tried to make a difference. We had other guys out there that were playing. I guess Tez is not a scorer, huh?”

“I thought tonight, we showed the potential, because other guys came in and played well. Stef played well. O’Mar came in and gave us good minutes. Esahia got in and gave us some quality minutes, so we got scoring from other guys, and that’s what I talked about. So from that standpoint, we had other guys that I thought stepped up, and are capable of doing it. But you’ve got to be able to make plays. That’s the bottom line.”

St. John’s has made plays, albeit not consistently. And with essentially six months — counting the offseason — to develop a roster with nine new players, it should not fall on Champagnie and Alexander to constantly pull a team with the documented upside the Red Storm has out of the fire. Instead, Wednesday’s failure to execute is an indictment on Anderson either not trusting his roster enough or being too stubborn to adapt a system that, at times, comes off as antiquated in contrast to more athletic opposition, to his players’ strengths.

“We just had some misfortunes that we didn’t execute on the other end,” he reflected. “Your players gotta step up and make plays. We didn’t. Defensively, I thought we were good at times, but at the same time, you’ve got to score, you’ve got to get to the free throw line. That’s something we’re trying to do going down the stretch.”

“I thought our bigs played really well, but then you look at your scoring forwards — your leading scorer and your third-leading scorer — they go 4-for-26. That’s hard to overcome.”

With the right adjustments, it is not. A look within the Big East over the past week alone saw Ed Cooley put his Providence players in position to come back from a 19-point hole to defeat Butler, and just Wednesday night, erase a late-game deficit to upend Xavier in triple overtime. St. John’s has the horses to win heavyweight fights, that is not up for debate. The circumstances that counteract talent, though, may be.

“I don’t think it’s one particular thing,” Stef Smith said as he searched for an answer for the latest maladies within the St. John’s program. “I think the positive to this is we know we can play with these teams if the game is this close, so going down the stretch moving forward, we’re just going to have to figure out a way to win. That’s what it comes down to.”

And with three regular season games remaining in an underwhelming campaign where any shot of an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament has vanished, winning is what the Red Storm needs to do. It just becomes harder for a program and fan base preconditioned to disappointment. But after all, everyone associated with the Johnnies would drive all night just to get back home to the place in the sun that St. John’s still holds.

A-10 Tempo Thursday: February 24, 2022

By Ray Floriani (@rfloriani)

Heading for the homestretch, Davidson maintains a narrow lead over Dayton and VCU. St. Bonaventure and Saint Louis are not far behind. Richmond, outside of a one-sided loss at VCU, has played better of late. George Mason has come down to earth with losses in five of its last seven. The Patriots can be a major factor when the Atlantic 10 tournament convenes in Washington, D.C.

Two teams you may not want to match up with are Fordham and George Washington. The Rams can defend and are playing with a lot more confidence. George Washington has improved a great deal as of late. Neither of the two will likely run the table in our nation’s capital, but both have the ability to send a higher seed on a premature trip home.

Efficiency and Records

1) Dayton (+19, 12-3)

2) Saint Louis (+12, 10-5)

3) Davidson (+11, 13-2)

4) St. Bonaventure (+10, 10-4)

5) VCU (+7, 12-3)

6) Richmond (+4, 9-6)

7) George Mason (0, 6-7)

8) Rhode Island (-4, 7-7)

9) Fordham (-5, 6-8)

10) Saint Joseph’s (-6, 4-11)

11) George Washington (-7, 7-7)

12) UMass (-9, 5-9)

13) La Salle (-11, 2-13)

14) Duquesne (-21, 1-13)

George Washington, on first glance, appears to be a mystery with its .500 A-10 record and a negative efficiency margin. On closer look, one must study how Jamion Christian’s team has played as of late. Beginning with a win at UMass on February 9, the Colonials have won three of five. Victories also came against Duquesne and Rhode Island, while losses were to Dayton and Richmond. Over that stretch, the Colonials posted a plus-1 efficiency margin (101 vs. 100, compared to 99 vs. 106 on the year).

As of late with everyone starting to come together as a unit, the offense shows a slight improvement. The defense during that five-game stretch, even with a 119 factored in against powerful Dayton, shows the most improvement. Despite an 84-71 loss to Richmond last night, the Colonials did have a bright spot. Joe Bamisile led the way with 29 points. Brayon Freeman added 19 points and James Bishop 13. Bamisile and Bishop account in total for 61 percent of George Washington’s shots. Having a third consistent option like Freeman can only help taking defensive pressure off the aforementioned duo.

A look at the A-10 leaders in percentage of team shots:

1) James Bishop, George Washington 30.5 

2) Joe Bamisile, George Washington 30.2 

3) Josh Oduro, George Mason 29.7 

4) Grant Golden, Richmond 28.9 

5) Nick Sherod, Richmond 28.9 

6) Darius Quisenberry, Fordham 28.4 

7) Josh Nickelberry, La Salle 26.9

Offensive Efficiency:

Davidson 114

Saint Louis 110

St. Bonaventure and Dayton 109 

Richmond 106

Defensive Efficiency:

Dayton 90 

VCU 94 

Rhode Island and Fordham 97 

Saint Louis 98

Dayton and Saint Louis are extremely dangerous teams. When you put together offensive and defensive numbers as these two are doing, you struggle to find a weakness to attack.

Deserving of mention in this conversation is St. Bonaventure. The Bonnies’ offense has come alive during their six-game win streak. Defensively they are just behind Saint Louis with a 99 efficiency.

Rhode Island is an enigma. One of the better defensive teams in the conference, the Rams have now dropped nine of their last ten. David Cox’s group is above average at forcing turnovers (fifth, at 20 percent). Their defensive calling card is contesting shooters inside and beyond the arc. Rhode Island has a 2-point percentage on defense of 46 and a 3-point percentage of 33. Both marks are good for third-best in the conference.

The struggles in Kingston are on offense. The efficiency is 93. They are at the bottom of the league in turnover rate and free throw shooting. In that string of nine of ten losses, six were decided by three possessions or less. The lone win was against Davidson. Obviously better offense, especially from the charity stripe, could have made a difference.

Tempo:

Fastest: UMass, George Washington and Rhode Island 69 possessions per game

Saint Joseph’s, VCU and La Salle 68

Deliberate: Dayton 63

George Mason and Davidson 65

St. Bonaventure and Duquesne 66

To take a deeper look into tempo, we will examine the average length of possession by each team:

1) Rhode Island 16.9 seconds

2) UMass 17.0 

3) VCU 17.1 

4) Saint Louis 17.5 

5) Richmond 17.6 

6) St. Bonaventure 17.7 

7) Duquesne 17.8 

8) Saint Joseph’s 17.9

9) George Mason 18.0

10) La Salle 18.0

11) George Washington 18.0

12) Fordham 18.4

13) Davidson 18.7

14) Dayton 19.1

Quick Hitters:

On Tuesday, St. Bonaventure defeated Rhode Island, 73-55, at Reilly Center. It marked the tenth A-10 victory for the Bonnies. That’s eight consecutive years with ten or more conference wins, a streak not matched by any other team. In that game, Osun Osunniyi, trying to avoid a shot clock violation, hit his first career 3-point shot.

Saint Louis’ 72-61 decision over Saint Joseph’s on Tuesday saw both teams commit just seven turnovers for an outstanding 11 percent turnover rate.

George Washington’s 84-71 loss to Richmond was not due to turnovers. The Colonials were guilty of just four.

Davidson romped over Duquesne 74-50 on Wednesday. The Wildcats were lights out from 3-point range, shooting 48 percent on the night. Hyunjung Lee led the way for Davidson with a game-high 27 points on 6-of-9 shooting from downtown. Lee shot better from three than 2-point range on the night.

In Sunday’s loss at Fordham, Josh Oduro had a solid 9-point, 10-rebound, 4-block outing for George Mason. The column on his stat sheet Oduro may not want to remember was the game-high eight turnovers. 

In that 50-47 victory, Chuba Ohams of Fordham posted a solid 17 -point, 12-rebound double-double. Ohams was also turnover-prone, with six miscues on the afternoon. Wednesday’s 60-54 win over La Salle saw Ohams register another double-double. The line read 20 points and 13 rebounds, both game-highs.

A 72-66 victory over George Mason made it nine of their last ten for a white-hot VCU team who forced the Patriots into 18 turnovers and a 26 percent rate.

Speaking of hot streaks, Dayton won its eighth of nine, defeating UMass on Wednesday, 82-61. Balance was the key for the Flyers, with five players in double figures. Koby Brea and Mustapha Amzil came off the bench to post 16 points each.

Upcoming Schedule:

February 25: Saint Louis at Richmond

February 26: Duquesne at Rhode Island 

Dayton at La Salle

Fordham at Davidson

VCU at UMass

St. Bonaventure at Saint Joseph’s

February 27: George Washington at George Mason

February 28: UMass at Fordham

March 1: Dayton at Richmond 

St. Bonaventure at VCU

March 2: George Mason at Davidson 

Saint Joseph’s at La Salle

Saint Louis at Rhode Island 

Fordham at UMass

Duquesne at George Washington

All-KenPom

Josh Oduro, George Mason 

Luka Brajkovic, Davidson

Vince Williams, VCU 

Hyunjung Lee, Davidson 

Grant Golden, Richmond

A-10 Aggregates:

Efficiency: 102 

Tempo: 67 

Effective field goal percentage: 50 

Turnover percentage: 18

3-point field goal percentage: 35

2-point field goal percentage: 49

Home court winning percentage: 59

Close game percentage: 22 

Blowout percentage: 18

Tempo is an interesting metric. There is only a range of six possessions from lowest (Dayton at 63) to fastest (three at 69). In a 14-team circuit, it’s rare to see a cluster as tight as this. And not one team is pushing the ball at the NASCAR pace of 70 or more possessions.

Home court is now more of a factor. Early in the campaign, home teams were barely winning at a 50 percent clip. That has changed significantly. Chalk it up to travel, tough home crowds and just plain talent, as it’s becoming more difficult to defeat upper-echelon teams on their home floors.

5 Thoughts: Seton Hall outlasts Butler to reach .500 in Big East play

Tyrese Samuel ignited Seton Hall’s second-half run to push Pirates past Butler. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

By Jason Guerette (@JPGuerette)

NEWARK, N.J. — Another day, another tough game in the Big East Conference. 

Needing to once again hold serve at the Rock, the Seton Hall Pirates used a 20-2 run in the second half to vault in front, and then held off a late comeback by Butler to win, 66-60, and get back to .500 in conference play.

Here are the thoughts from a late night in Newark:

- Hard Hats

Seton Hall and Butler have both been programs that pride themselves on toughness. It really is an ingrained part of the culture of both teams, and after a quick 7-0 Seton Hall run to begin the game, Butler answered with an 8-0 run of its own by upping the toughness on both ends.

Down the stretch in the first half, and certainly at the start of the second half, neither team could get a real good run going as both teams dug their heels in. Seton Hall then followed, however, by tightening the screws even further on defense, and finally getting some shots to go down on offense, leading to a 20-2 run that put the Pirates ahead for good. 

"We had a good defensive unit out there with Jamir, Jared and Myles," head coach Kevin Willard said. "But I thought Lex and Tyrese did a really good job. We got lost in the first half, we lost (Bo) Hodges twice and they made some threes, and I thought we did a really good job of just staying home. We just kind of made everything difficult for them, and then capitalized on the break."

- Get To The Point

Seton Hall again was shorthanded at the point guard position tonight. So much so that, even though Kadary Richmond started the game, he only played 16 minutes due to still not having recovered from a triple-digit fever he had been dealing with for the last few days. 

Enter Jamir Harris, the 3-point sniper who was forced to expand his game tonight and held his own well, finishing with 10 points, but also four assists and some tough defense. Only Jared Rhoden (39) and Myles Cale (36) played more minutes than the graduate transfer from American (29).

"He was phenomenal," Willard said. "We worked two days with Jamir running the show, and I thought he did a great job of getting us to that 16-point lead. The next evolution for him will be to manage that 16-point lead a little better, but I was proud of him not only the way he played offensively, but the way he played defensively."

Willard went on to say that Richmond feels better now, but because he hadn't practiced in four days that he wasn't back to being his normal self on the floor, hence the need for Harris to step up, which he did.

- Tyrese Throwdown

The other player who stood out tonight was Tyrese Samuel, who was outstanding on both ends of the floor. He had two memorable baskets in the second half after scoring eight points in the first half: A posterizing, full-extension slam dunk on the baseline that ignited the aforementioned 20-2 run, and a 3-pointer in that same run. 

"The prior games I wasn't in my zone," Samuel said. "Today was one of those days that I felt like I was back to where I was pre-COVID. I'm just going to take it one game at a time and see how I progress forward from here."

But he also played fantastic defense, staying with smaller players and staying tough against bigger ones. Before the dunk, he had two rebounds and a blocked shot, adding a steal later in the big offensive wave for the Hall.

"He looks like he's back to what he was in December," Willard said. "It's taken big guys a little bit longer to come back (from COVID), but he looks like he's got great bounce. Defensively, he's playing much more physical than he was, he's hit the weight room hard, which helps. He looks much, much better than he did just two weeks ago."

- No Ref Show Redux

I can't have been the only one who looked at the referees before tonight’s game and rolled their eyes. James Breeding, Ron Groover, and Nathan Farrell all worked the intense, controversial game the previous night between Villanova and UConn, during which Breeding ejected Dan Hurley for pumping up his own fans and a couple late borderline calls went against Villanova to allow UConn to prevail.

Tonight, though, aside from a lot of monitor reviews late, there wasn't a lot to be said either way about the officiating. It helps when there were only eight total fouls called in the first half, allowing two physical teams to get into the flow of the game and not have it become a parade to the free throw line.

- Cohesion At Mealtime

A theme of tonight's game was cohesion among the Pirates. It was brought up after the game, as every player who saw the floor tonight contributed in some way to the win, and helped them stay locked in when things got hairy down the stretch.

"They've played well this year," Willard said. "They've been together, they've had some huge wins, they work hard, it's a great group to be around. And they've overcome some really tough obstacles, to be honest with you."

All those obstacles (COVID, losing Bryce Aiken with a concussion, starting off 0-2 in conference play) have bonded this Pirates team. But there was something else that also helped: Sharing meals with each other. Willard said that during the team's COVID pause, he changed a lot of what the team did, and happened to mention "the way they ate." Asked for more details, Willard went into a great story.

"I moved everyone up into my offices," Willard said. "I made them come up to my offices, and we got all our meals catered up there up until last month, I think, because I was getting tired of having lasagna all over my carpet. I'm the first one in the office, and I would be cleaning up from the meal the night before. I finally lost my mind."

Willard went on.

"We don't really have a place to eat, we make due with what we have, and I said, ‘it's a new team, let's all get together, bring them up into the office so they can eat together, eat with the staff.’ In the past, for meals, I just let them eat, but we all had COVID, so it was like, 'let's all just eat together, what does it matter at this point?' The guys liked it, so we just kept doing it, and sometimes meals are the best way to talk."

Food brings people together, even if those people happen to play Big East basketball.

Kevin Willard quote book: Butler

By Jason Guerette (@JPGuerette)

On Jamir Harris at point guard:

“He was phenomenal, Jerry. And again, Kadary gave us everything he has and I’m proud of his effort, but we worked two days with Jamir running the show, and I thought he did a great job getting us to that 16-point lead, and the next evolution for him is going to be how to manage that 16-point lead a little bit better, but I was proud of not only the way he played offensively, but the way he played defensively.

On Kadary Richmond:

“He was feeling better today, which is great. The problem is he had spent the last four days in bed, so he felt better, which is great news, but the problem is he’s been in bed for four days. Although he felt better, he hasn’t done anything for four days. His energy level was obviously zapped.”

On Seton Hall’s 20-2 run:

“We had a good defensive unit out there — Jamir at the point, obviously Jared and Myles — but I thought Lex and Tyrese did a really good job. Everyone just kind of got lost a lot in the first half, we lost (Bo) Hodges and they made some threes. I thought we did a really good job of staying at home and we had a really good defensive lineup out there that just made everything difficult for them, and we were able to capitalize on the break.”

On team contributions:

“It’s a veteran group. It’s not a cohesive group because we haven’t had that lineup out there that long, ever, but they’re a veteran group that has a lot of confidence. I loved what they were talking about in the huddle, they just kept talking like, ‘let’s just keep getting stops.’ I think they kind of knew we were a little limited in what we could run at that point, but it was a veteran group that was just talking about getting stops. That was nice to hear.”

On Seton Hall’s belief in one another:

“They should. They’ve played well this year. They’ve been together, they’ve had some huge wins, they work hard, they have a great attitude. It’s a great group to be around, and I think they’ve overcome some really tough obstacles, to be honest with you. A tough COVID outbreak, that kind of took a little momentum out of us, and then losing Bryce the way we lost Bryce and to start league play 0-2 with no chance of winning two games, to be 8-8 I’m thrilled. I’m more than thrilled because the circumstances these guys have had to come through, I think that gave them confidence.”

On Tyrese Samuel:

“He looks like he’s back to what he was in December. It’s taken big guys a little longer to come back, but he looks like he’s got great balance. Defensively, he’s playing much more physical than he was, he’s hit the weight room hard, which has helped because technically, three weeks without lifting does damage to a big guy’s body. But he looks much, much better than he did two weeks ago.”

On Seton Hall’s free throw shooting:

“As long as the right guys are taking them, Jerry, we’re pretty good. (Butler) were 10-for-12, so they were pretty good, too.”

On momentum entering Big East tournament:

“You need to ask these old guys. There’s one focus, and one focus only, and that’s Saturday. And we have a tough — I know Xavier lost a tough one in triple overtime — that’s all we’re focused on right now. This time of year, you’re not worried about anything else besides your next game.”

On grinding out close wins:

“I think it’s our shooting. We don’t shoot it great, so we’re going to have to grind out a lot. From a coach’s standpoint, we don’t shoot it great, so we’re always in a close game. It’s a veteran group, and again, I blame COVID for everything, but COVID kind of helped this team gel a little bit early when we all got it in September. When we got it, we kind of had to just hunker down together and we had to change a lot of things that we were doing, and I think I changed the way we ate, I changed the way how we were kind of doing things. In that first shutdown, I think everybody got sick and everybody was kind of just together, and so we kind of just grew as a team and got to know each other because we were just stuck with each other.”

“We don’t have a locker room anymore anyway, but I moved everybody up into my offices. So I made them come up into my offices, and we got all our meals catered up there all the way up until last month, I think, because I was getting tired of having lasagna all over my carpet, so I think I moved them down about a month ago. I’m the first one in the office — me and Kevin Lynch — and I would be cleaning up from the meal the night before. I felt like I finally lost my mind. But we don’t have a place to eat, it’s probably my biggest pet peeve about our facilities, we make due with what we have to do and I said, it’s a new team, let’s all get together, bring them up to the office so they can eat with us, eat with the staff. I made them go around the conference table — I got that big conference room table — and I made them come up. And in the past, I’ve kind of just for meals, let them eat, if they want to take it and go back to their room. But I value these guys’ time tremendously, but it was such a new team and we all had COVID, so I was like, let’s all just eat together. What does it matter at this point? So the guys liked it, we kept doing it, and sometimes meals are kind of the best way to talk and bust balls. I finally stopped, I walked in one day and there had to be three trays of lasagna sitting on the conference table. And I was like, ‘man, I can’t do this anymore.’ The office smelled like lasagna, there’s chicken parm over here, I’m like, ‘man, this is enough.’” 

Siena looks to refocus for fourth game in seven days, last four of regular season

Still tied for second in MAAC, Siena aims to reset after Tuesday's loss to Monmouth as it heads to Quinnipiac. (Photo by Siena College Athletics)

WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. — While most will look at Siena’s current standing — tied for second in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference — and see a team that has outperformed an eighth-place prediction, those within the locker room will admit the team has had its share of hiccups, the latest of which coming Tuesday in a loss to Monmouth where both head coach Carmen Maciariello and forward Jackson Stormo admitted the Saints came out flat in a first half that saw 21 percent shooting and almost six minutes without a field goal.

“I think that’s constantly been the battle with this group,” Maciariello said when navigating an arduous February made difficult by reschedules games from December and January due to COVID-19, but not making excuses for a group that has hit its bumps in the proverbial road. “Continuing to be in character and being humbled by losses, right? We get swept by Manhattan, we split with Marist, we had a 10-point lead against them, Rider — a game at home where we’re playing well and we don’t show up — and then obviously I was expecting us to play well on one day prep and being on the road. I thought our focus would be a little better, but also for this group, it’s their first time playing here so it’s a learning lesson. For me, they’re always teaching moments.”

“We just can’t take this one to heart,” Stormo echoed as Siena now sets its sights on Quinnipiac Thursday in Hamden, seeking a season sweep of the Bobcats. “We’ve got a big game on Thursday now. I’ve been saying for the past couple of weeks that every game’s a big game, but we’ve got to go take care of this one on the road. It was big that we didn’t fold.”

Although the No. 1 seed in the MAAC tournament is no longer up for grabs after Iona clinched it as a result of the Saints’ loss Tuesday, a share of a third straight regular season crown is still in play, provided Siena wins each of its last four games while the Gaels lose all of their four remaining contests. It may seem improbable, but not impossible, and the latest learning experience has afforded a pragmatic and wizened outlook on the last remaining hurdles before the MAAC descends on Atlantic City in two weeks.

“This can help a lot,” a confident Stormo admitted. “We saw what happens when we come out flat, and we know what we have to do for the next four games and the tournament, but I like the optimism. I hope it helps us. We’ve got a night and then tomorrow to prepare. It’s a quick turnaround for us, but we’ve proven that we can do it, so we’ve got to move forward.”

“I think the magic number for us is 13,” Maciariello said with regard to conference wins. “We’re at 10 wins right now and we’ve got four games left, we got the Buffalo trip, we have a home game against Monmouth and we’re at Quinnipiac. We’ve got to get to that magic number 13 with some tough road games and only one being at home, but I think this group is a resilient group and I think their focus is strong. Hopefully we can make sure we’re getting our legs back.”