The penultimate MAAC Monday of the season reprises the tradition of seasons past in its opening segment, with a look at all seeding scenarios for next week’s Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Championship. The MAAC tournament will be held for the fourth consecutive year at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, from March 7-11, 2023. Iona has already clinched the regular season MAAC championship, and Rider is the only other team to clinch a first-round bye thus far. Five teams — Fairfield, Mount St. Mary’s, Canisius, Saint Peter’s and Marist — are locked into play-in games on the first day of the tournament.
Updated conference-only stat leaders and power rankings will follow the seeding scenarios, which are once again listed in order of the current MAAC standings from first to last:
Iona (15-3): Has clinched Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference regular season championship, No. 1 seed in MAAC tournament, and automatic bid to National Invitation Tournament. The Gaels will play the #8 or #9 seed in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, March 8 at 7 p.m.
Rider (12-6): Has clinched a first-round bye and will finish as either the #2, #3, or #4 seed.
Siena (11-7): Can finish as #2, #3, #4, #5, or #6 seed. The Saints will clinch a first-round bye with a win Thursday vs. Manhattan OR Saturday at Saint Peter’s.
Quinnipiac (10-8): Can finish as #2, #3, #4, #5, or #6 seed. The Bobcats will clinch a first-round bye with a win Thursday at Fairfield OR Saturday at Marist, OR with a Manhattan loss Thursday at Siena OR Saturday vs. Mount St. Mary’s.
Niagara (10-9): Can finish as #3, #4, #5, or #6 seed. The Purple Eagles will clinch a first-round bye with a win Saturday at Canisius AND a Manhattan loss Thursday at Siena OR Saturday vs. Mount St. Mary’s.
Manhattan (9-9): Can finish as #3, #4, #5, or #6 seed.
Fairfield (8-11): Can finish as #7 or #8 seed. The Stags will play in the opening round on Tuesday, March 7.
Mount St. Mary’s (7-12): Can finish as #8, #9, #10, or #11 seed. The Mountaineers will play in the opening round on Tuesday, March 7.
Canisius (7-12): Can finish as #7, #8, #9, #10, or #11 seed. The Golden Griffins will play in the opening round on Tuesday, March 7.
Saint Peter’s (6-12): Can finish as #8, #9, #10, or #11 seed. The Peacocks will play in the opening round on Tuesday, March 7.
Marist (6-12): Can finish as #8, #9, #10, or #11 seed. The Red Foxes will play in the opening round on Tuesday, March 7.
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 7.
Quick Hits Around the MAAC
“I thought Stephane really sparked us early with all those offensive rebounds and his good play on the defensive end. Obviously, Patrick exploded there in the second half, and when you make shots, things are going good.”
— John Dunne on Stephane Ingo and Patrick Gardner leading the way in Friday’s win at Manhattan
“The first thing was getting (Saint Peter’s) off the glass. They’re a prolific offensive rebounding team, they had 10 offensive rebounds in the first half. Secondly, we tried to do the best we could to corral them and contain them in the ball screen stuff. We felt like if we could get those two things done, we could cause some struggles for them, and then we had some active hands which led to some turnovers, too.”
— Reggie Witherspoon on Canisius’ second-half adjustments against Saint Peter’s
“(Allen Powell) carried us. The whole team played well, but AP always carries us when ESPNU comes on.”
— Dwight Murray, Jr. on Allen Powell’s latest big-game performance in Rider’s win over Siena
“We didn’t start the game the right way, we didn’t finish the game the right way. We didn’t play smart, got our behinds handed to us defensively, didn’t execute. It wasn’t a good day for us. We just came out with no energy. I don’t understand it. With so much on the line, I don’t know why you wouldn’t come out without any energy.”
— Kevin Baggett on Rider’s effort in Sunday’s loss to Mount St. Mary’s
“When we get into that tournament, it’s a single-game elimination, so you better play with a sense of urgency. If you get down like we got down today, then we’re going home and the season is over for us.”
— Baggett on the MAAC tournament
“Credit to Iona, I think the last time they lost was to us in Loudonville and obviously, I think they had a point to prove. I think they’re the team that’s obviously playing the best basketball in the league right now, but you’re not going to win when you give up 22 points on turnovers in the first half. That’s not the focus needed to come in here and win a game. Our defense has to travel. A lot of our wounds were self-inflicted…not sprinting to the ball, not waiting on screens, not playing off two feet, a lot of the things that have kind of been our Achilles’ heel all season.”
— Carmen Maciariello on what went wrong for Siena in Sunday’s loss at Iona
“I just think guys have to understand — and we talk about it, we preach it — the details of everything we do. The disappointing part was that we didn’t come to the table with the same level of focus and intensity that we needed to put together a better performance. We got a couple days to get right and then we’ve got a tough Manhattan team that beat us at their place, and then we’ve gotta go on the road to Saint Peter’s. It’s gotta be just a complete focus of all the details in exactly how we want to play. We don’t need anybody to do anything they can’t do.”
— Maciariello on what Siena needs to do to refocus entering the last week of the regular season
“We give them credit for what they did at their place, but we definitely had that on our mind. We wanted to get back at them, honestly. Our guys did what they needed to do.”
— Daniss Jenkins on a revenge factor for Iona against Siena after the Saints’ 70-53 win in Albany on January 27
“I can’t find any negatives except we’ve really gotta juggle our bench to stay out of foul trouble and buy minutes in the game. Outside of that, I’m very pleased with the game, very pleased with the offensive pace, pleased with the way came out defensively. We did a lot of really good things.”
— Rick Pitino on Iona’s effort against Siena
“I love coaching at Iona, I love my players. I hate being in a one-bid league. Here, there’s pressure when you go to Atlantic City because you gain no advantage by being the No. 1 seed. It’s not like you play at home and it’s not like at the end of the tournament, you play at home, so it’s meaningless. It’s Russian roulette, and that’s what I don’t like. I love the league, I love the coaches, I love everything about it, but I hate being in a one-bid league. We could win 24 games and anybody could beat us. That’s this league.”
— Pitino on the MAAC and MAAC tournament
“I think if I had an MVP this season, I would give it to Osborn Shema. And why would I do that? Because he plays every second as if his life is on the line. He would be my MVP on this basketball team because of how hard he plays, all the time. He’s the guy I respect the most on our basketball team. Osborn is the guy who gives me everything he has.”
— Pitino on Osborn Shema
Scoring Leaders
1) Noah Thomasson, Niagara (20.3 PPG)
2) Patrick Gardner, Marist (19.3)
3) Walter Clayton, Jr., Iona (17.0)
4) Jalen Benjamin, Mount St. Mary’s (16.8)
5) Anthony Nelson, Manhattan (16.1)
6) Dwight Murray, Jr., Rider (15.3)
7) Isiah Dasher, Saint Peter’s (14.7)
8) Nelly Junior Joseph, Iona (14.5)
9) Daniss Jenkins, Iona (14.4)
10) Jordan Henderson, Canisius (13.6)
Rebounding Leaders
1) Nelly Junior Joseph, Iona (10.7 RPG)
2) Josh Roberts, Manhattan (10.0)
3) Supreme Cook, Fairfield (9.2)
4) Mervin James, Rider (7.7)
5) Michael Baer, Siena (7.4)
6) Paul Otieno, Quinnipiac (7.2)
7) Jared Billups, Siena (7.0)
8) Jacco Fritz, Canisius (6.5)
9) Ajiri Ogemuno-Johnson, Rider (6.2)
10) George Tinsley, Mount St. Mary’s (6.0)
Assist Leaders
T-1) Daniss Jenkins, Iona (5.1 APG)
T-1) Anthony Nelson, Manhattan (5.1 APG)
3) Dezi Jones, Quinnipiac (4.1)
4) Luis Kortright, Quinnipiac (3.6)
5) Jalen Benjamin, Mount St. Mary’s (3.3)
6) Noah Thomasson, Niagara (3.3)
7) Latrell Reid, Saint Peter’s (3.2)
8) Javian McCollum, Siena (3.0)
9) Walter Clayton, Jr., Iona (2.9)
10) Tahj Staveskie, Canisius (2.8)
Field Goal Percentage Leaders
1) Josh Roberts, Manhattan (.664)
2) Jacco Fritz, Canisius (.594)
T-3) Jedy Cordilia, Mount St. Mary’s (.574)
T-3) Paul Otieno, Quinnipiac (.574)
5) Patrick Gardner, Marist (.545)
6) Allan Jeanne-Rose, Fairfield (.526)
7) Nelly Junior Joseph, Iona (.514)
8) Supreme Cook, Fairfield (.514)
9) Walter Clayton, Jr., Iona (.500)
10) Mervin James, Rider (.495)
Free Throw Percentage Leaders
1) Walter Clayton, Jr., Iona (.917)
2) Javian McCollum, Siena (.891)
3) Isaiah Brickner, Marist (.889)
4) TJ Gadsden, Canisius (.868)
5) TJ Long, Fairfield (.867)
6) Dezi Jones, Quinnipiac (.859)
7) Matt Balanc, Quinnipiac (.848)
8) Mervin James, Rider (.833)
9) Samir Stewart, Manhattan (.825)
10) Caleb Fields, Fairfield (.818)
3-Point Field Goal Percentage Leaders
1) Andrew Platek, Siena (.451)
2) Nick Brennen, Manhattan (.437)
3) Walter Clayton, Jr., Iona (.434)
4) Anton Brookshire, Iona (.429)
5) Jalen Benjamin, Mount St. Mary’s (.414)
6) Samir Stewart, Manhattan (.409)
7) Dezi Jones, Quinnipiac (.405)
8) Tyrese Williams, Quinnipiac (.386)
9) Jordan Henderson, Canisius (.386)
10) Dwight Murray, Jr., Rider (.384)
Steal Leaders
1) Walter Clayton, Jr., Iona (2.4 SPG)
2) Caleb Fields, Fairfield (1.8)
3) Anthony Nelson, Manhattan (1.7)
4) Dwight Murray, Jr., Rider (1.4)
5) Daniss Jenkins, Iona (1.3)
Blocked Shot Leaders
1) Osborn Shema, Iona (1.6 BPG)
2) Josh Roberts, Manhattan (1.5)
3) Berrick JeanLouis, Iona (1.3)
4) Jackson Stormo, Siena (1.3)
5) Nelly Junior Joseph, Iona (1.2)
Power Rankings
1) Iona (22-7, 15-3 MAAC)
Last Week: 1
Last Game: Sunday 2/26 vs. Siena (W 93-60)
Next Game: Thursday 3/2 vs. Marist, 7 p.m.
2) Rider (15-12, 12-6 MAAC)
Last Week: 3
Last Game: Sunday 2/26 vs. Mount St. Mary’s (L 63-58)
Next Game: Thursday 3/2 at Saint Peter’s, 7 p.m.
3) Siena (17-12, 11-7 MAAC)
Last Week: 2
Last Game: Sunday 2/26 at Iona (L 93-60)
Next Game: Thursday 3/2 vs. Manhattan, 7 p.m.
4) Quinnipiac (19-10, 10-8 MAAC)
Last Week: 4
Last Game: Sunday 2/26 vs. Manhattan (L 72-70)
Next Game: Thursday 3/2 at Fairfield, 7:30 p.m.
5) Manhattan (11-16, 9-9 MAAC)
Last Week: 5
Last Game: Sunday 2/26 at Quinnipiac (W 72-70)
Next Game: Thursday 3/2 at Siena, 7 p.m.
6) Niagara (15-13, 10-9 MAAC)
Last Week: 6
Last Game: Sunday 2/26 vs. Saint Peter’s (L 66-65)
Next Game: Saturday 3/4 at Canisius, 3:30 p.m.
7) Mount St. Mary’s (11-19, 7-12 MAAC)
Last Week: 8
Last Game: Sunday 2/26 at Rider (W 63-58)
Next Game: Saturday 3/4 vs. Manhattan, 2 p.m.
8) Fairfield (12-17, 8-11 MAAC)
Last Week: 7
Last Game: Sunday 2/26 at Canisius (L 64-51)
Next Game: Thursday 3/2 vs. Quinnipiac, 7:30 p.m.
9) Marist (10-17, 6-12 MAAC)
Last Week: 10
Last Game: Friday 2/24 at Manhattan (W 81-58)
Next Game: Thursday 3/2 at Iona, 7 p.m.
10) Canisius (9-19, 7-12 MAAC)
Last Week: 11
Last Game: Sunday 2/26 vs. Fairfield (W 64-51)
Next Game: Saturday 3/4 vs. Niagara, 3:30 p.m.
Last Week: 9
Last Game: Sunday 2/26 at Niagara (W 66-65)
Next Game: Thursday 3/2 vs. Rider, 7 p.m.
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