Every team in the MAAC won at least six games of the 20-game regular season, and outside of Iona, every team lost at least seven games. Even for Rick Pitino’s Gaels, there was a stretch in the season where they looked vulnerable and were in danger of falling to the fourth seed, before finishing the season hot.
Anyone can beat anyone.
If you don’t mind another saying, in mid-major basketball: “A bad 40 minutes can erase four good months,” and that’s precisely what happened last year in Atlantic City for Iona. The Gaels will try to avoid that, while the rest of the league hopes to emulate last year’s champion, Saint Peter’s, who then went on their magical run to the Elite Eight.
Bracket
Schedule
All games at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey.
All times are listed as EST.
First Round (Tuesday, March 7), ESPN+
Game 1: (9) Canisius vs (8) Mount St. Mary’s, 5:00 p.m.
Game 2: (10) Saint Peter’s vs (7) Fairfield, 7:00 p.m.
Game 3: (11) Marist vs (6) Manhattan, 9:00 p.m.
Quarterfinals (Wednesday, March 8, and Thursday, March 9), ESPN+
Game 4: Game 1 Winner vs (1) Iona, 3/8, 7:00 p.m.
Game 5: Game 2 Winner vs (2) Rider, 3/8, 9:30 p.m.
Game 6: Game 3 Winner vs (3) Quinnipiac, 3/9, 7:00 p.m.
Game 7: (5) Niagara vs (4) Siena, 3/9, 9:30 p.m.
Semifinals (Friday, March 10), ESPNEWS
Game 8: Game 4 Winner vs Game 7 Winner, 6:00 p.m.
Game 9: Game 5 Winner vs Game 6 Winner, 8:30 p.m.
Championship (Saturday, March 11), ESPN2
Game 10: Game 8 Winner vs Game 9 Winner, 7:30 p.m.
The Favorite
Iona (24-7, 17-3): With all of the noise around Pitino potentially leaving New Rochelle in the offseason, the Gaels have a group that can make some noise of their own.
After a lull in January where they lost three games out of five, and fell to 6-3, Iona has completely turned their season around, and its comes to Atlantic City on the nation’s fifth-longest winning streak at 11.
The Gaels boast the MAAC’s most talented roster, with the premiere point guard in the league, Daniss Jenkins. He dishes out passes, leads the full-court press and hits mid-range jumpers.
Shooting guard Walter Clayton Jr. brings a rare scoring talent at the mid-major level, an athletic transition player and a strong finisher on the inside.
Nelly Junior Joseph is a powerful big man who recorded 18 double-doubles as the most consistent producer on the team.
Seven-footer Osborn Shema can swat shots, run in transition and step out to hit jump shots. His size helps Iona become…
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