For the last three seasons, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference has seen two teams duke it out in the finals: the Iona Gaels and the Manhattan Jaspers. The Monmouth Hawks, however, appear to have announced this season that there’s a new sheriff in town, as they have cemented their place atop the regular season standings with a 17-3 record. Will Monmouth go all the way? Or will some other team win it all and automatically reserve a spot in the National Tournament?
Read on for a breakdown of the MAAC tournament. You can also check out our preview for the Atlantic Sun tourney.
2016 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament Preview
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Monmouth Hawks
The Hawks have even been projected by some March Madness experts as an at-large entry after the team took down a couple of power conference teams in then No. 17 Notre Dame (70-68) and Georgetown (83-68). Monmouth, which finished conference play with three-straight wins and a 17-3 record, draws strength from its high-flying offense that is currently ranked 25th in the nation with an average of 80.3 points per game.
Iona Gaels
The Gaels enter the conference tournament red-hot. They defeated all of their last five opponents and though they fell short of gaining a share of the regular season title, the Hawks nonetheless are solid picks to win the conference tournament.
For one, the Gaels have beaten the who’s who in the MAAC with wins over Manhattan, Fairfield, Siena, and—you guessed it—Monmouth. They’ve actually split the two games with the Hawks, but the Gaels took the most recent one, a decisive 83-67 road win on February 19. Furthermore, Iona’s offense isn’t that far behind Monmouth, as the Hawks average 79.8 points per game. Iona most recently won the MAAC tournament title in 2013.
Sleeper
Manhattan Jaspers
Manhattan is looking groggy heading into the tournament. The Jaspers have gone 1-5 over their last six games, but don’t count them out just yet. Because in case you forgot, they’re the reigning two-time MAAC tournament champions and will have another shot at it as a sixth seed.
They have a date with Marist to end their regular season schedule, a game that they should and would likely win as a home favorite, considering that the Red Foxes are at the bottom of the conference standings.
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Long Shot
Marist Red Foxes
There’s basically nothing that points to Marist staging a Cinderella run in the upcoming MAAC tournament. Their offense is middling (71.8 PPG on 42.2 FG%) and their defense is as soft as Kleenex. Oh, and they’ve secured at least a share of the last place of the conference standings. But wait a minute. Marist has victimized the likes of Manhattan and Siena this season, so the Red Foxes have those wins to motivate themselves in the tournament.
