The first MAAC Monday of 2023 highlights a new segment in between the team spotlight and stat leaders, which will be comprised of snippets of postgame interviews for quick hits that check in with several schools each week around the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, before giving way to the latest batch of weekly power rankings. And after Iona was the first in-depth team profile back in December, the program the Gaels defeated to win the MAAC championship in 2018 and 2021 is next to take the stage, as Fairfield receives a closer look this week.
Through a 2-6 start that saw lackluster shooting and up-and-down results from top to bottom, Jay Young cited one major problem with the first month of Fairfield’s season: Inconsistency.
The Stags quickly righted the ship in December once the state-of-the-art Mahoney Arena opened four weeks ago, feeding off their new environment to win four of their next six games, two of which were MAAC contests against Saint Peter’s and most recently, Marist, to establish a prominent place near the top of the leaderboard as all 11 teams continue to jockey for position in the conference standings.
“We’ve got a building now,” Young said of his program’s new home after he likened Fairfield to basketball nomads in a sense for the past two years between COVID depriving Stag fans the chance to support the team in person and then playing in Bridgeport while Mahoney Arena was being constructed. “It’s the first time since I’ve been here where we kind of have a homecourt advantage, and I thought the energy was good even though the students haven’t been around, but we’ve just got to get better every single day.”
Fairfield’s magnum opus to date this year may very well be its December 30 rout of Marist, where the Stags used a 24-4 run bridging the end of the first half with the beginning of the second to pull away from the Red Foxes en route to a 73-54 runaway that saw sophomore TJ Long’s much-anticipated breakout with 25 points on 10-of-18 shooting for the Long Islander, who connected on five of his 3-point attempts this past Friday. Still, and as the Stags’ ensuing effort in a loss to Siena on Sunday revealed, Rome was not built in a day, and neither is the resurgence in the Nutmeg State, although Young admits signs of life have been more prevalent in recent weeks.
“We’ve been playing better in practice,” he said. “We’ve been telling them all along that they’re going to make shots, they’re good players, they have a history of making shots, to keep shooting, stay positive. When that doesn’t happen, we cannot let shot making affect what we do defensively. We’re a work in progress, we’ve got to get better every day.”
Quick Hits Around the MAAC
“We had a tough time coming back (from Hawaii) because we have major injuries and no bench. Quinn (Slazinski) is probably going to be a season-type injury where we play him one day, rest him one day. I was well aware of what goes on when you come back from Hawaii. It just takes a lot out of you, but we responded with a very good game, especially at the offensive end.”
— Rick Pitino on Iona’s health and readjustment to a normal schedule after competing in the Diamond Head Classic
“To be very honest, we’re an average to good team. We’re not as good as we were last year at this point because our injuries have taken a toll on us.”
— Pitino on how he feels his Iona team has stepped up
“We’ve cut off Nelly's right arm in practice. All the drills, he has to use his left hand. We wanted him to develop an up-and-under, which he’s getting real good at, and a left hand. He had neither, so he’s worked real hard in player development at those two things and it’s paid huge dividends. He’s playing great basketball right now in every phase of the game. He’s really maturing into a very good basketball player.”
— Pitino on Nelly Junior Joseph’s maturation
“We still have some things to clean up, just valuing possessions and also limiting the glass. We gave (Fairfield) too many second-chance opportunities, we wanted to get this (as) a double-digit win and be able to kind of run offense and dictate tempo, and we made it a battle.”
— Carmen Maciariello on what needs to be fixed despite Siena sweeping its Connecticut road trip against Quinnipiac and Fairfield
“Obviously, I think Jared Billups is the defensive player of the year in the conference. I don’t think it’s anything close. Limiting (Caleb) Fields, I thought that was the key to the game, and then Michael Eley is one of the best freshmen in the league. We have some pieces, and now we’ve got to continue to grow them.”
— Maciariello on Siena’s supporting cast
“The takeaway is what causes us to play at our best, and I thought we were really locked in defensively and we were tough. Coaches always say it, it’s old coachspeak, but you tend to make more shots when you’re defending well and you’re hungry, and I thought that’s where it started for us.”
— Baker Dunleavy on Quinnipiac’s biggest key to victory over Manhattan on Sunday
“I’m so proud of him, it’s emotional to even talk about. He tore his Achilles in this building last year in December, he’s worked so hard to get back, and I’m so proud of him and so happy he could have this moment.”
— Dunleavy on Savion Lewis’ return to Draddy Gymnasium
Scoring Leaders
1) Noah Thomasson, Niagara (17.4 PPG)
2) Dwight Murray, Jr., Rider (17.1)
3) Javian McCollum, Siena (17.1)
4) Patrick Gardner, Marist (17.0)
5) Walter Clayton, Jr., Iona (16.1)
6) Daniss Jenkins, Iona (15.9)
7) Nelly Junior Joseph, Iona (15.5)
T-8) Jalen Benjamin, Mount St. Mary’s (14.7)
T-8) Anthony Nelson, Manhattan (14.7)
10) Jordan Henderson, Canisius (13.8)
Rebounding Leaders
1) Josh Roberts, Manhattan (8.8 RPG)
2) Supreme Cook, Fairfield (8.2)
3) Nelly Junior Joseph, Marist (7.9)
4) Patrick Gardner, Marist (7.3)
5) Malik Jefferson, Mount St. Mary’s (7.1)
6) Paul Otieno, Quinnipiac (6.9)
7) Mervin James, Rider (6.7)
8) Ike Nweke, Quinnipiac (6.6)
9) Jared Billups, Siena (6.4)
10) Stephane Ingo, Marist (6.3)
Assist Leaders
1) Daniss Jenkins, Iona (5.0 APG)
2) Jalen Benjamin, Mount St. Mary’s (4.2)
3) Latrell Reid, Saint Peter’s (4.2)
4) Javian McCollum, Siena (4.0)
5) Anthony Nelson, Manhattan (3.7)
6) Luis Kortright, Quinnipiac (3.6)
7) Noah Thomasson, Niagara (3.5)
8) Savion Lewis, Quinnipiac (3.3)
9) Dezi Jones, Quinnipiac (3.3)
10) Dwight Murray, Jr., Rider (3.3)
Field Goal Percentage Leaders
1) Josh Roberts, Manhattan (.764)
2) Corey Washington, Saint Peter’s (.740)
3) Berrick JeanLouis, Iona (.588)
4) Nelly Junior Joseph, Iona (.568)
5) Jackson Stormo, Siena (.563)
6) Malik Jefferson, Mount St. Mary’s (.553)
7) Supreme Cook, Fairfield (.546)
8) Ike Nweke, Quinnipiac (.531)
9) Sam Iorio, Niagara (.521)
T-10) Andrew Platek, Siena (.500)
T-10) Marques Watson, Manhattan (.500)
Free Throw Percentage Leaders
1) Walter Clayton, Jr., Iona (.978)
2) Jaylen Murray, Saint Peter’s (.920)
3) Mervin James, Rider (.897)
4) Javian McCollum, Siena (.873)
5) Caleb Fields, Fairfield (.810)
T-6) Jalen Benjamin, Mount St. Mary’s (.809)
T-6) Dwight Murray, Jr., Rider (.809)
8) Jackson Stormo, Siena (.792)
9) Jared Billups, Siena (.755)
10) Isiah Dasher, Saint Peter’s (.754)
3-Point Field Goal Percentage Leaders
1) Andrew Platek, Siena (.492)
2) Jaylen Murray, Saint Peter’s (.488)
3) Bryce Moore, Niagara (.480)
4) Allen Betrand, Rider (.424)
5) Dezi Jones, Quinnipiac (.424)
6) Siem Uijtendaal, Canisius (.423)
7) Walter Clayton, Jr., Iona (.413)
8) Noah Thomasson, Niagara (.412)
9) Nick Brennen, Manhattan (.404)
10) Dakota Leffew, Mount St. Mary’s (.397)
Steal Leaders
1) Anthony Nelson, Manhattan (2.2 SPG)
2) Luis Kortright, Quinnipiac (1.6)
T-3) Walter Clayton, Jr., Iona (1.5)
T-3) Caleb Fields, Fairfield (1.5)
T-3) Nelly Junior Joseph, Iona (1.5)
Blocked Shot Leaders
1) Josh Roberts, Manhattan (2.2 BPG)
2) Nelly Junior Joseph, Iona (1.8)
3) Jackson Stormo, Siena (1.6)
4) Stephane Ingo, Marist (1.5)
5) Osborn Shema, Iona (1.3)
Power Rankings
1) Iona (10-4, 3-0 MAAC)
Last Week: 1
Last Game: Sunday 1/1 vs. Saint Peter’s (W 73-55)
Next Game: Friday 1/6 at Marist, 7 p.m.
2) Siena (9-5, 3-0 MAAC)
Last Week: 2
Last Game: Sunday 1/1 at Fairfield (W 70-61)
Next Game: Friday 1/6 vs. Saint Peter’s, 7 p.m.
3) Rider (6-6, 3-0 MAAC)
Last Week: 3
Last Game: Saturday 12/31 at Canisius (W 66-64)
Next Game: Monday 1/2 at Niagara, 12 p.m.
4) Niagara (7-5, 2-1 MAAC)
Last Week: 6
Last Game: Saturday 12/31 vs. Mount St. Mary’s (W 67-55)
Next Game: Monday 1/2 vs. Rider, 12 p.m.
5) Quinnipiac (10-5, 1-3 MAAC)
Last Week: 4
Last Game: Sunday 1/1 at Manhattan (W 84-65)
Next Game: Friday 1/6 at Rider, 7 p.m.
6) Fairfield (6-8, 2-2 MAAC)
Last Week: 7
Last Game: Sunday 1/1 vs. Siena (L 70-61)
Next Game: Friday 1/6 vs. Niagara, 7 p.m.
7) Saint Peter’s (7-7, 2-3 MAAC)
Last Week: 9
Last Game: Sunday 1/1 at Iona (L 73-55)
Next Game: Friday 1/6 at Siena, 7 p.m.
8) Mount St. Mary’s (5-9, 1-2 MAAC)
Last Week: 8
Last Game: Saturday 12/31 at Niagara (L 67-55)
Next Game: Monday 1/2 at Canisius, 3 p.m.
9) Manhattan (4-9, 2-2 MAAC)
Last Week: 5
Last Game: Sunday 1/1 vs. Quinnipiac (L 84-65)
Next Game: Friday 1/6 vs. Canisius, 7 p.m.
10) Marist (4-8, 0-3 MAAC)
Last Week: 10
Last Game: Friday 12/30 at Fairfield (L 73-54)
Next Game: Friday 1/6 vs. Iona, 7 p.m.
Last Week: 11
Last Game: Saturday 12/31 vs. Rider (L 66-64)
Next Game: Monday 1/2 vs. Mount St. Mary’s, 3 p.m.
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