MAAC

MAAC Semifinals Recap: Rider to Face Siena

Raphielle Johnson — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 17:47:53 -0700

ALBANY, N.Y.- To say that things didn't look good from a depth standpoint heading into tonight's MAAC Tournament semifinal for Rider would be an understatement. Both Ryan Thompson and Justin Robinson missed the game due to injury, but Jason Thompson showed the Times Union Center crowd why he's Player of the Year and Matt Griffin and Kamron Warner stepped up to get the Broncs a 76-71 victory over Marist.

Thompson put up 32 points and 18 rebounds for the regular season conference co-champions, and the freshman Griffin (8 points and 4 assists) and senior Warner (10 points) took full advantage of their expanded roles. Harris Mansell shook off an ankle injury suffered last night to score 16, including six straight from the foul line in the game's final thirty-five seconds.

The Red Foxes were led in scoring by freshman Jay Gavin, who posted twenty-one. Ryan Schneider, barely used in Friday's quarterfinal win over Niagara, scored all eighteen of his points in the first half as Marist went into the break ahead 39-32.

Rider ran off a 9-0 run to start the final stanza, capped by a Griffin three-pointer. Averaging around twelve minutes per game for the season, Griffin played thirty-two minutes in the semifinal. As for his objective heading into the game, Griffin aimed to "be aggressive, play within myself and lead the team". He did just that for Tommy Dempsey's squad, but the star of this one was Thompson, who was virtually unstoppable at times.

During one stretch late in the second half, Thompson scored ten straight Rider points, the last three coming on a three-point play with 1:57 remaining to put Rider ahead 70-64. From there it was all about the junior Mansell, who finished off the win from the foul line. Marist, who attempted forty-one three pointers on the night, shot 28% from the field in the second half and finishes their season with a record of 18-14.

Siena 65, Loyola (MD) 63

With the score standing 38-21 Loyola with 3:29 to go in the first half, it looked as if the Siena Saints were going to have to wait a couple more years to win the MAAC Tournament on their floor for the first time since 2002. But a team that ranked in the bottom half of most of the conference's defensive categories throughout the season put together its best defensive effort of the season to catch the Greyhounds at the end for a 65-63 win.

Forward Alex Franklin, who led the Saints with 22 points, made up for two missed free throws by blocking a shot that would have tied the game with three seconds remaining. Loyola's tip attempt to tie missed, and the Saints move on to Monday night's final. Kenny Hasbrouck scored all seventeen of his points in the second half, including Siena's first seven of the half. Marquis Sullivan scored fourteen to lead the Greyhounds (19-14), but the story was the Saint pressure that eventually negated Loyola's advantage on the boards.

"We scrambled a lot on defense. As we got more pressure on them we felt (that) we could come back," said Siena forward Edwin Ubiles. And to be frank, as Siena made their run you had the feeling that the Saints were in control even though it took them a while to get the game back within two possessions. Once they did, all it took to get the win was a Josh Duell layup on a good pass from Hasbrouck.

Siena outscored the Greyhounds 18-7 in points off turnovers, and 36-22 in the
paint. Loyola shot 33% from the field in the second half.

MAAC Tournament Final
Rider vs. Siena
7PM EST, ESPN2

MAAC Quaterfinals Recap: Rider Survives, Niagara Dethroned

Raphielle Johnson — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 10:22:20 -0700

ALBANY, N.Y.- On paper, the matchup between conference co-champion Rider and last-place Canisius looked like an absolute snoozer. The Broncs, in sweeping the Golden Griffins, won the two games in blowout fashion. The second of which was a 102-51 whipping that underscored just how bad Canisius has been all year. But a not so funny thing happened: Canisius didn't fold.

Thanks to eighteen points and eleven rebounds from MAAC Player of the Year Jason Thompson, Rider fought off Canisius by the final score of 75-71 Saturday night. The Golden Griffins had three players in double figures, led by Greg Logins with twenty. However, the victory may have been a Pyrrhic one for Rider as both Ryan Thompson (concussion) and Justin Robinson (leg) went down with injuries that could keep them out of tomorrow's semifinal against Marist.

All of a sudden, a team that was able to capitalize off of its depth due to their healthy season has to juggle the possible absence of two key starters. "If it could've gone wrong it did go wrong tonight," said head coach Tommy Dempsey.

Thanks to 56% shooting in the second half, the Golden Griffins were tied at 71 with 1:14 remaining. But a Patrick Mansell three-pointer put the Broncs up for good. The differences in the game were free throw shooting and rebounding. Rider, although they shot a sub-standard 57.7% from the charity stripe, made 15 of 26 while Canisius was 4-7. The Broncs also enjoyed a 38-30 rebounding edge.

Canisius finishes the season with a record of 6-25.

Marist 66, Niagara 62

In a ragged game more suited to the Red Foxes tempo, three players reached double figures as Marist defeated the defending tournament champions 66-62 in the fourth quarterfinal of the day in Albany. Charron Fisher, who played all forty minutes, went for 23 and 16 in a losing effort.

Niagara, even though they're ranked third in the MAAC in points per game, is ninth in field goal percentage. But the tempo that normally allows the Purple Eagles to make up for it wasn't to be found on this night as the MAAC's premier defensive team held NU to 36% from the field and won the battle on the boards 43-38. A team with six seniors is using last season's disappointing MAAC Tournament as motivation, and now faces a possibly shorthanded Rider team on Sunday night.

Afternoon quarterfinals-

Loyola (MD) 64, Fairfield 59

Gerald Brown converted an inbounds pass into a layup, moving the Loyola lead to five with seventeen seconds left to seal the victory for the Greyhounds. Brown led the Greyhounds with eighteen, but they also received help from Brett Harvey (16 pts) and Michael Tuck (14 and 8 boards).

Loyola won the rebound battle 37-28, and the Stags helped them out by not taking advantage of numerous opportunities (including the foul line) to overtake the Greyhounds. Fairfield, who was led by Jonathan Han's 14 points and eight assists, finishes their season at 14-16. Loyola will take on top seed Siena Sunday night.

Siena 66, Manhattan 58

Alex Franklin was unstoppable for the Saints, dropping 26 and 9 rebounds on the Jaspers in Siena's eight-point win. Devon Austin led the young Jaspers with seventeen. Kenny Hasbrouck, who only scored nine points, suffered a shoulder injury but was able to return later in the second half.

Even with the substitution of Laurence Jolicoeur for Andrew Gabriel, who did well on Friday against Todd Sowell of St. Peter's, Manhattan had no answer for Franklin. Manhattan also didn' help their cause by shooting a frigid 5-12 from the charity stripe and 3-14 from behind the arc. The Jaspers end their season with a record of 12-19.

While Marist, led by David Devezin with fourteen, had scoring balance while no player other than Fisher or Tyrone Lewis (21) scored more than seven.

MAAC Tournament Preview

Raphielle Johnson — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 11:50:15 -0800

As many as six teams have a shot at automatic bid By Raphielle Johnson This season, the MAAC staged one of the most competitive races in league history with four teams having a shot at the regular season title heading into the weekend. When the dust settled, Siena and Rider shared the crown with the Saints receiving the top seed (and an NIT berth should they not win the NCAA bid) in this weekend’s conference tournament that takes place on their home floor. Along with the top two, Niagara and Loyola (MD) went into the final weekend with chances at the top spot, with Fairfield and Marist not far behind. The bottom four teams in the standings will tip things off on Friday night, with Iona and Manhattan favorites to send Canisius and St. Peter’s home respectively. On display will be the nation’s top scorer (Charron Fisher of Niagara), one of the best big men in the country (Rider’s Jason Thompson) and a team in Siena who knocked off Stanford on this very court. Should be an exciting tournament, and it’s anybody’s guess who will end up winning it. Here’s a preview of the MAAC Tournament. Conference computer numbers (courtesy of kenpom.com): RPI: 17th, average non-conference SOS rank: 22nd, average non-conference RPI rank: 17th. Projected number of NCAA bids: One. Tournament Schedule (all games played at the Times Union Center in Albany, NY, all games prior to the final on MAAC TV/MSG) First Round (Friday March 7th) #8 Manhattan vs. #9 St. Peter’s (7:30 PM) #7 Iona vs. #10 Canisius (10 PM) Quarterfinals (Saturday March 8th) Quarterfinal 1: #4 Loyola vs. #5 Fairfield (2:15 PM) Quarterfinal 2: #1 Siena vs. Manhattan/St. Peter’s winner (4:30 PM) Quarterfinal 3: #2 Rider vs. Iona/Canisius winner (7:30 PM) Quarterfinal 4: #3 Niagara vs. #6 Marist (10 PM) Semifinals (Sunday March 9th) Quarterfinal 1 winner vs. Quarterfinal 2 winner (6 PM) Quarterfinal 3 winner vs. Quarterfinal 4 winner (8 PM) Final (Monday March 10th) Semifinal winners (7 PM, ESPN2) #8 Manhattan vs. #9 St. Peter’s Category Manhattan St. Peter’s Points per game Antoine Pearson (12.1) Wesley Jenkins (13.0) Rebounds per game Rashad Green (5.0) Todd Sowell (10.6) Assists per game Pearson (2.3) Nick Leon (2.72) FG percentage Andrew Gabriel (50.0) Ryan Bacon (60.0) 3PT percentage Pearson (40.6) Jenkins (41.8) Assist/Turnover ratio Darryl Crawford (1.2) Leon (0.91) Regular season meetings: Manhattan 65, St. Peter’s 62 (December 7th at Manhattan) and St. Peter’s 78, Manhattan 68 (February 3rd at St. Peter’s). Both teams enter this game looking to end losing streaks, Manhattan having dropped their last three games and St. Peter’s the last four. The fortunes of the Jaspers (11-18, 5-13) have hinged on one thing throughout: when they show a commitment to defense they’ve got a chance. But when they don’t, with the second half of their loss at Iona on Sunday being a prime example, they’re in trouble. Manhattan was last in the MAAC in both field goal percentage defense and three-point percentage defense, and ninth in rebound margin. On the other end of the floor, sophomore guard Antoine Pearson runs the show. A third-team All-MAAC performer, Pearson led the team in scoring, assists and three-point percentage. Five Jaspers in all average at least eight points per game, with Devon Austin and Chris Smith being the others in double figures. A guard-heavy (guard Rashad Green leads the team in rebounding) rotation relies on serviceable interior play from the likes of Laurence Jolicoeur, Andrew Gabriel and Brandon Adams. The Jaspers can put some points on the board, but Barry Rohrssen’s team will have to defend better if they want to advance. As for the Peacocks (6-23, 3-15), turnovers have led to their demise on many occasions this season. Nick Leon has stepped in at the point after SPC was essentially without on in 2006-07, but no Peacock has an assist-to-turnover ratio over 1.0. Freshman Wesley Jenkins, a member of the league’s All-Rookie Team, leads the team in scoring and three-point percentage. Senior big man Todd Sowell averages a double-double (12.4 ppg, 10.6 rpg), with Darrell Lampley being the other Peacock averaging double figures in scoring. Senior guard Raul Orta adds some experience and leadership to the backcourt, and other contributors include Akeem Gooding, Ryan Bacon and Tim Spitler. If the Jaspers can force St. Peter’s to make contested shots, they should advance to play Siena. But if they allow SPC to shoot 52% like they did in their February 3rd victory, they’ll be in trouble. #7 Iona vs. #10 Canisius Category Iona Canisius Points per game 65.8 (9th) 61.7 (10th) PPG allowed 69.2 (3rd) 73.6 (10th) Field goal % 43.5 (4th) 39.6 (10th) FG % defense 42.5 (3rd) 44.0 (7th) 3PT % 31.3 (10th) 33.7 (8th) 3PT % defense 36.4 (7th) 35.2 (6th) Rebound margin + 0.6 (4th) - 2.2 (8th) Turnover margin - 0.61 (5th) - 4.45 (10th) Category Iona Canisius Points per game Dexter Gray (11.2) Frank Turner (12.7) Rebounds per game Gary Springer (7.7) Greg Logins (5.4) Assists per game Kyle Camper (3.81) Turner (4.48) FG percentage Devon Clarke (61.6) Tomas Vasquez-Simmons (56.0) 3PT percentage Clarke (42.9) Jovan Robinson (39.2) Assist/Turnover ratio Camper (1.26) Turner (1.16) Regular season meetings: Iona 66, Canisius 59 (February 8th at Iona) and Iona 57, Canisius 52 (February 18th at Canisius). As the saying goes, it’s tough to beat a team three times in a single season, and the Gaels will attempt to do so in Friday’s nightcap. In ending a two-game skid with an 87-75 win over rival Manhattan on Sunday Iona (12-19, 8-10) eclipsed eighty points for the first time since an 87-81 win over New Hampshire on December 15th. This is an older group, but they spent the early part of the season getting reacquainted with each other (guys like Dexter Gray, Kyle Camper and Gary Springer missed large blocks of time last season) as well as new head coach Kevin Willard. Camper leads the team in assists, spearheading a deep backcourt that also features the likes of Milan Prodanovic, Rashon Dwight and De’Shaune Griffin. Freshman Andre Tarver, who has missed five games this season, may also see some time. Up front is the trio of Gray, Springer and Clarke. All three lead the team in at least one major category, and expect senior John Kelly to see a few minutes every now and then as well. Averaging less than ten minutes per contest for the season, Kelly went for 14 and 7 on “Senior Day” against Manhattan. Iona won’t overwhelm you with their rebounding numbers, but they are more than capable of holding their own on the glass. Very little has gone right for the Golden Griffins (5-24, 2-16) this season, but some growing pains were expected with the loss of three senior starters. Frank Turner has been the workhorse for Tom Parrotta’s squad, leading the team in both scoring and assists. Turner is a quick guard who also possesses good court awareness. After Turner, the scoring is evenly distributed amongst seven players averaging between 5.6 and 7.4 points per game. But the lack of a consistent secondary option is the reason why this team is last in the MAAC in scoring and field goal percentage. It also doesn’t help when you’ve got the worst turnover margin in the conference either. Iona, on paper at least, should win this game. However, the two have played a couple of close games this season so it wouldn’t be a shock if the Golden Griffins hung around for a bit. #4 Loyola (MD) vs. #5 Fairfield Category Loyola (MD) Fairfield Points per game 72.2 (4th) 66.0 (8th) PPG allowed 71.4 (5th) 69.1 (2nd) Field goal % 43.1 (6th) 43.4 (5th) FG % defense 42.6 (4th) 45.1 (8th) 3PT % 34.9 (7th) 38.0 (4th) 3PT % defense 33.8 (3rd) 38.1 (t-8th) Rebound margin + 1.6 (2nd) + 0.6 (5th) Turnover margin - 1.84 (8th) - 1.24 (6th) Category Loyola (MD) Fairfield Points per game Gerald Brown (18.8) Jonathan Han (11.7) Rebounds per game Michael Tuck (7.2) Anthony Johnson (7.3) Assists per game Brian Rudolph (4.32) Han (6.14) FG percentage Tuck (51.1) Johnson (50.7) 3PT percentage Marquis Sullivan (43.2) Han (44.9) Assist/Turnover ratio Brett Harvey (2.95) Han (1.76) Regular season meetings: Fairfield 69, Fairfield 67 (January 4th at Fairfield) and Loyola 67, Fairfield 63 (January 11th at Fairfield). These two foes split their regular season, with the road team winning each both contests. Loyola’s (18-13, 12-6) got one of the best guards in the MAAC in senior Gerald Brown, once again an all-conference selection. But their fortunes may ultimately rest upon the shoulders of Marquis Sullivan. Moved to the bench halfway through the year in order to simplify his role, Sullivan has to be consistent in his role as the Greyhounds’ secondary option. Michael Tuck increased both his scoring and rebounding numbers this season, and he’s got some help inside from the likes of Omari Isreal and Hassan Fofana. Fofana has been bothered by injuries for most of the season, so he isn’t seeing as many minutes as last season. In the backcourt, Brett Harvey and Brian Rudolph handle the point guard responsibilities for Jimmy Patsos’ club. Harvey led the MAAC in assist-to-turnover margin this season, while Rudolph led the Greyhounds in assists per game. The only issue regarding Loyola is the fact that they don’t force too many turnovers. The Greyhounds only force thirteen per game, eighth in the conference. As for the Stags (14-15, 11-7), this team caught fire once Jonathan Han’s production picked up. The junior point guard from Brooklyn led the team in points, assists, three-point percentage and assist-to-turnover ratio. After an embarrassing 88-60 loss at Canisius on February 1st, Fairfield won seven straight games before losing the finale at Rider. After Han, seven players average between 4.9 and 9.6 points per game. Sophomores Anthony Johnson and Greg Nero are both capable of scoring inside, with Nero moving to the bench to make way for fifth-year senior Marty O’Sullivan after O’Sullivan put together a solid stretch of games during the win streak. Herbie Allen joins Han in the backcourt, and forwards Warren Edney and Mike Evanovich can provide some scoring punch as well. In Fairfield’s win at Loyola, Evanovich went for twenty points. Something tells me the Greyhounds won’t forget about him in their scouting report this time around, as he was left open behind the arc on a few occasions in the first half of that game. Senior Mamadou Diakhate is a role player who won’t see too many minutes but can provide some defense. Diakhate has battled injuries for most of the year, missing seventeen games. This quarterfinal is essentially a toss-up, but I’ll take Loyola to move on to the semifinals. #3 Niagara vs. #6 Marist Category Niagara Marist Points per game 77.0 (3rd) 70.0 (5th) PPG allowed 73.3 (9th) 68.7 (1st) Field goal % 40.7 (9th) 45.4 (2nd) FG % defense 44.0 (6th) 41.8 (1st) 3PT % 31.5 (9th) 39.0 (2nd) 3PT % defense 33.6 (1st) 33.7 (2nd) Rebound margin + 0.1 (6th) + 1.2 (3rd) Turnover margin + 2.11 (2nd) - 1.73 (7th) Category Niagara Marist Points per game Charron Fisher (27.8) Louie McCroskey (12.2) Rebounds per game Fisher (9.3) Spongy Benjamin (6.9) Assists per game Anthony Nelson (5.18) David Devezin (4.43) FG percentage Benson Egemonye (63.6) Benjamin (57.2) 3PT percentage Stanley Hodge (35.9) Ben Farmer (41.6) Assist/Turnover margin Nelson (1.88) Devezin (2.15) Regular season meetings: Niagara 76, Marist 67 (December 22nd at Niagara) and Marist 84, Niagara 65 (January 21st at Marist). With the two teams splitting their two regular season meetings, it’s pretty easy to see what the difference was in the two games: Charron Fisher. The nation’s leading scorer, Fisher went for a seemingly routine 27 in their win in December. But in the return meeting, Fisher was 4-21 from the field for seventeen points as Marist won in a blowout. Fisher leads the Purple Eagles in rebounding as well, and he’ll get scoring help from the likes of sophomore Tyrone Lewis (last year’s tournament MVP), senior Stanley Hodge and Benson Egemonye. Freshman Anthony Nelson has taken over at the point, ranking among the league leaders in both assists and assist-to-turnover ratio. Niagara (19-9, 12-6) is one of the league’s best when it comes to scoring point, due more to their uptempo style than their accuracy. Niagara is ninth in the conference in both field goal percentage and three-point percentage. And despite giving up more points per game than any school other than Canisius, the Purple Eagles are the MAAC’s best when it comes to defending the three. Opponents shoot 33.6% from behind the arc, something that could come in handy against the conference’s best three-point shooting team. Marist (17-13, 11-7) has been without the services of Syracuse transfer for two significant stretches, the second of which occurred because of an ankle sprain. In his stead, freshman guard Jay Gavin stepped in to become the team’s primary scoring option. His production is supplemented by the play of forwards Spongy Benjamin and Ryan Stilphen, and point guard David Devezin is one of the league better floor generals in his first season in Poughkeepsie. Role players Ryan Schneider, Shae McNamara, Ben Farmer and Dejuan Goodwin also are counted on for either perimeter shooting (Schneider and Farmer) or interior defense (McNamara). The Red Foxes, while being the best perimeter shooting team in the MAAC, is also the best defensive team. Their points per game allowed and field goal percentage defense numbers are both tops in the conference, with three-point percentage defense ranking second. Depending on how successful they are in slowing down Fisher, Marist can move on the semifinals. But if he goes off, Niagara moves on. Byes: #1 Siena and #2 Rider Category Siena Rider Points per game 77.7 (2nd) 78.0 (1st) PPG allowed 72.4 (7th) 70.5 (4th) Field goal % 45.0 (3rd) 48.9 (1st) FG % defense 45.3 (9th) 42.1 (2nd) 3PT % 39.0 (t-2nd) 40.0 (1st) 3PT % defense 34.6 (4th) 38.1 (t-8th) Rebound margin - 4.6 (10th) + 3.7 (1st) Turnover margin + 6.24 (1st) + 0.50 (4th) Category Siena Rider Points per game Edwin Ubiles (17.7) Jason Thompson (20.2) Rebounds per game Alex Franklin (8.0) J. Thompson (11.8) Assists per game Ronald Moore (5.17) Ryan Thompson (3.50) FG percentage Franklin (56.8) Mike Ringgold (61.9) 3PT percentage Ubiles (45.8) Harris Mansell (44.7) Assist/Turnover ratio Moore (2.46) R. Thompson (1.38) Siena vs. Manhattan and St. Peter’s: 3-1 (lost 73-72 at Manhattan on February 18th) Rider vs. Iona and Canisius: 4-0 The Saints (19-10, 13-5) will have the luxury of playing on their home court in the MAAC Tournament, but the last time they won the tournament at home was in 2002. With three players averaging double figures and two between eight and nine points per game, the Saints are more than capable of cutting down the nets. Sophomore Edwin Ubiles and junior Kenny Hasbrouck were both first-team all-conference selections this season, and Alex Franklin increased his points per game output by six this season in making up for the graduation of Michael Haddix. Ronald Moore and Tay Fisher anchor the backcourt, while Josh Duell, Ryan Rossiter and Corey Magee supply bench help inside. The Saints may not be the best rebounding team out there, but they take care of the basketball, a quality that can prove to be invaluable this time of the year. Rider (21-9, 13-5) will be looking to get back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1994, and this just may be the team to get the job done. In senior Jason Thompson, Tommy Dempsey has at his disposal a center that could very well be a first-round selection in this summer’s NBA Draft. Averaging a double-double for the second consecutive season, Thompson is also adept at getting the ball out to open teammates when the defense collapses to stop him. Ryan Thompson has stepped up his production from last season, becoming one of the league’s most versatile players (he leads the team in assists) in the process. Harris Mansell can shoot it from deep, and freshman Mike Ringgold was named to the conference’s all-rookie team for his efforts inside. Justin Robinson handles the point guard duties, but Ryan tends to be the one who makes the majority of the plays in regards to ball distribution. The Broncs lead the MAAC in all three major offensive categories, and they’re also the best rebounding team in the league. That could be enough to get them back into the NCAA Tournament. My pick to win the tournament: Rider.

Tuesday Report Card: Josh Duncan's Perfect Week

Shawn Siegel — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 12:53:20 -0800

The Report Card

A - Josh Duncan

Xavier's senior forward is on a ridiculous shooting tear in recent games. He's 26 of 32 (82%) overall in his last 4 games, including 11 of 14 from three (79%). In his last two games, Duncan has 48 points in just 49 minutes.. a ratio that only Michael Beasley can match. While the last week has been unprecedented.. he's been solid all season. Duncan averages 11.7 ppg in just 21.5 minutes.. an extremely rare player that leads his team in scoring off the bench. Let's call him the Manu Ginobili of college hoops.

B - MAAC

If you saw their three game winning streak coming, then you have some amazing predictive powers. After dropping to a dismal 5-17 record, the Wolverines have responded with wins over Penn State, Iowa, and Ohio State. Amazingly, Ohio State was the first team in the Top 125 that Michigan's beaten all year. Guess who their previous best win was against? Brown.. back on November 11th. As good as the win was for Coach Beilein and his young squad.. what does it say about OSU? If not for good name recognition and name recognition of the two other mediocre teams they've beaten (Florida & Syracuse), then the Buckeyes would be on the outside of the field looking in.

C - DeAndre Jordan

Just about everyone thinks Jordan is a future NBA player, and he's still projected in the Top 10-15 of almost all 2008 Mock Drafts.. yet you wouldn't know it from his actual production. Since Big 12 play has started, he's only scored 10+ points three times, hasn't had a 10 rebound game, and hasn't had more than 2 blocks. In fact, he's only had a 10 rebound game once since November 21st, and just one double-double all year against a D1 team. Even worse, in the last 9 games he's shooting just 25 of 57 from the field (44%).. not bad numbers from a two-guard, but weak for a guy who has no game outside of dunks and layups.

D - Donte Greene

Someone (Boeheim) needs to tell Greene to stop shooting so many damn threes. At one point in their loss to Louisville, the announcers said Greene's in a little funk.. but that's not true. He's just never been a good three-point shooter.. and it was his early season success that was more surprising then his recent downturn. 6 for 37 (16%) in his last 4 games won't cut it. Maybe in 2-3 years, he'll figure it out.. but for now it's just painful to watch him bomb away. I have no rooting interest in Syracuse.. but for his sake, I get the sense scouts cringe every time he shoots & misses.

F - Tim Welsh

After losing to G'Town last night, the Friars are now 4-10 in Big East play.. good for 14th. Its safe to say Welsh won't be Providence's head coach going into next year. In the last 3 years, they've finished 9th, 13th & 10th in the Big East. Missing the Big East tournament would be an unfortunate and embarrassing end for Welsh, who at times looked like he was going to have a bright future at PC.

The Daily Report Card tells you all you need to know about the day in college hoops. From good to bad and bad to worse, I'll be laying down the law.

Previous Best / Worst

February 18th - Wake Forest / NJIT

February 15th - Oral Roberts / Big Ten Predictions

February 13th - Mike Green / Ed Donato

February 11th - Charron Fisher / Tim Morris

February 8th - Big West / Virginia

February 6th - Chris Lofton / Dick Vitale

February 5th - Bob Knight / Josh Heytvelt

February 4th - New York Giants / Washington State

February 1st - Nevada / Penn

January 31st - Kansas State / St. John's

January 29th - Winthrop / Dyson & Wiggins

January 28th - Rutgers / Doris Burke

January 25th - Ron Hunter / Princeton Offense

January 23rd - Kentucky / Archbishop Burke

January 22nd - DJ Augustin / Scott Sutton

January 21st - New York Giants / Marquette

January 20th - Maryland / ESPN.com editors

January 18th - Cleveland State / Marquette

January 17th - Drake / HP Laptops

January 14th - Roy Hibbert / Michigan State

January 10th - Tony Bennett / Saint Louis

January 9th - DJ White / CSTV

January 8th - Robert Morris / Schedule Makers

January 7th - Wayne Ellington / Illinois

January 6th - Herb Sendek / Kentucky

An "interesting" finish to Marist/Fairfeld...perfect summary of the MAAC

Raphielle Johnson — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 21:13:23 -0800
Tonight's battle between Marist and Fairfield went just about as expected for a game between schools tied with 9-6 league records. Double overtime, won in the end by the home-standing Stags, now winners of five straight. But how this game got to its conclusion is something that will be talked about from now until the entire conference shows up in Albany, NY for the conference tournament. In a tie game with 2.6 seconds remaining in regulation, Marist tried to throw an inbounds pass the length of the floor for an attempt at a game-winner, only to have the pass picked off by Fairfield's Mamadou Diakhate. Diakhate, in an attempt to avoid either going out of bounds or travelling with the ball, threw the ball to guard Lyndon Jordan. Jordan catches the ball and then...well, it sure looked like he called a timeout with 0.7 seconds remaining while Anthony Johnson was telling him not to. Fairfield had no timeouts remaining, which would have resulted in a technical foul. Correction, it should have resulted in a technical foul, because in the replay you can see Jordan make the hand signal. But it was not called, as the officiating crew (after reviewing the play on the courtside monitor) concluded that Diakhate travelled. I saw two steps, but hey, I don't have a whistle so it doesn't matter what I saw. Marist nearly won on a Ryan Schneider shot from the baseline that would have brought back images of Larry Bird had he made it, as he was behind the backboard upon release. The first overtime was relatively quiet until Anthony Johnson, a poor free throw shooter (52% for the season) made two from the line to tie the score at 80. Double overtime featured an interesting foul call on Ryan Stilphen (after he was hit in the face, causing a bloody nose), resulting in three free throws for Diakhate. Two more came in the form of a techincal called on Stilphen for arguing the foul. After the technical, Diakhate proceeded to make just one of three from the line...and then clap as if he had won the national title. Once the game got to 86-85 Fairfield and Johnson headed back to the line with 0.9 seconds remaining, Matt Brady used a strategy more teams should use in this situation. After Johnson missed the first, Brady had Jay Gavin repeatedly commit a lane violation, essentially forcing Johnson to make a foul shot. The third try was the charm, and I'm wiling to bet that if Johnson continued to miss the teams could still be playing, on the foul line in the second OT. Fairfield got the win, moving within one game of first place after yet another wild night in the MAAC. Marty O'Sullivan, a 5th year senior who seemed destined to finish his career plastered to the bench, went for 23 and 10 for the Stags. Jonathan Han (Fairfield) and David Devezin (Marist) both played all fifty minutes at the point, with this being the fifth straight game in which Devezin played every minute. He only played 39 minutes in Marist's 79-65 loss to Rider back on January 30th. So, is it a shock that the Stags are within one game of first place? When you take into consideration what they looked like during the non-conference portion of the schedule, yes. But they had a similar "rebirth" last season, seeming to get off the mat on the referee's count of nine. Han has been the catalyst, making fewer mistakes and creating for both himself and his teammates. After tonight, both of these teams are among the many (six, to be more specific) that could end up with the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. This weekend in the MAAC saw co-leaders Rider and Siena drop two games apiece, allowing both Loyola (MD) and Niagara to move into first place. Even Manhattan (who beat Siena tonight) and Iona are capable of springing an upset or two in the conference tournament, but I don't expect the same of either St. Peter's or Canisius. Now comes a brief respite from league play in the form of O'Reilly BracketBusters, then back into league play for two more. Of course, there is a tiebreaker in place for three or more teams. But did anyone really think there was a good chance of having to use it when the season began? MAAC Standings Rider 11-5 Siena 11-5 Loyola 11-5 Niagara 11-5 Fairfield 10-6 Marist 9-7 Iona 7-9 Manhattan 5-11 St. Peter's 3-13 Canisius 2-14

NYC Metro Ranking & Report: Jason Thompson Leads Rider

Raphielle Johnson — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 07:59:25 -0800
I’d be a fool not to mention the New York Giants’ 17-14 victory in Super Bowl XLII. Congratulations to the organization and all you Giants who helped this team achieve their 3-5 home record. Just kidding, enjoy the moment and the fact that just when everyone said this team couldn’t win, they went ahead and did it. Now, let’s move on to the week that was in the metropolitan area on the hardwood.

Team of the Week:
Rider
Results:
W 79-65 @ Marist, W 89-75 @ Siena

Back to back fourteen-point road wins last week put the Rider Broncs in the driver’s seat for the MAAC regular season title. And their current nine-game win streak makes them one of the nation’s hottest teams as well. In the Wednesday night showdown in Poughkeepsie, Rider won the battle on the boards 38-27 and shot fifty percent (8-16) from behind the arc in avenging their January 4^th home loss to the Red Foxes. Senior center Jason Thompson led four Broncs in double figures with twenty points, and also tallied nine boards, four blocks and four assists.

The win at Siena on Saturday featured one of the more impressive offensive displays put up in college basketball all season long, with Rider scoring fifty-nine points to take a twenty-five point lead into the locker room. While they didn’t perform as well in the second half, looking somewhat tentative on the offensive end of the floor, Rider had essentially put the game away in the first twenty minutes. Jason Thompson played all forty minutes and put up twenty-three points and twenty-one rebounds, and all five starters reached double figures. Be it Jason on the block, Ryan in between, or sharpshooter Harris Mansell from deep, Tommy Dempsey’s Broncs have a number of scoring options from which to choose.

No disrespect to the fans who decided to spark the “We Own Jersey” chant at the end of the Seton Hall/ Rutgers game Thursday night, but this may be the Garden State’s best team right now.

Honorable Mention: Iona (wins over Manhattan and St. Peter’s to move to 5-7 in the MAAC); Sacred Heart (wins at FDU and St. Francis-NY to move into first in the NEC)

Player of the Week:
Jason Thompson (Rider)
Numbers for the Week:
20 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 blocks @ Marist; 23 points, 21 rebounds, 5 assists @ Siena

For those who saw the midseason 30 list for the Wooden Award and thought “Who is Jason Thompson?” last week, the senior big man gave quite the answer in his two appearances. For the season, Thompson now averages twenty points and more than eleven (11.5 to be exact) rebounds per contest. But this shouldn’t be a surprise, given the fact that of the three players in college basketball to average twenty and ten last season, he’s the only one who returned to school. So while the experts focus on the big men in conferences with a higher profile, Jason continues to do what he does best, helping lead the Broncs to wins along the way. If this keeps up, one of those higher profile teams will find out quite a bit about Thompson and his mates in March.

Honorable Mention: John Baumann (Columbia): 19 and 7 @ Yale, 23 and 13 vs. Cornell; Brian Laing (Seton Hall): 23 and 6 @ Rutgers, 24 and 6 @ Georgetown; Drew Shubik (Sacred Heart): 16, 14 and 9 assists @ FDU, 9, 6 and 6 assists @ St. Francis-NY.

Turnaround of the Week:
Fairfield winning at Niagara, 76-72, two days after getting blown out 88-60 at Canisius.

Now, the Stags winning at Niagara isn’t an upset along the lines of the Super Bowl that we all just watched. But when you’re coming off of a twenty-eight point loss to a team with one conference win (and three wins total) going into said meeting, not too many people are expecting you to win the game. Fairfield, thanks in large part to the durable Jonathan Han at point, was able to get a split of the trip to Western New York.

Han, a junior from Brooklyn, hasn’t played fewer than thirty-five minutes in a game since logging thirty-two in a game against Holy Cross on November 13^th. The floor general has helped keep this team afloat in the MAAC when it looked as if they were earmarked for a finish at or near the bottom of the conference. Five Stags reached double figures, and they also limited the Purple Eagles to 4-22 from behind the arc to move to 6-6 in league play.

　

Other Observations of the last week

-- St. John’s recovered from an embarrassing effort on Wednesday in beating South Florida on Saturday.

As if last week’s loss to Pittsburgh was bad enough, the Red Storm found a way to fall further on Wednesday, suffering their worst defeat ever in Big East play against Georgetown. In a game where the largest deficit was thirty-nine, St. John’s didn’t score their first field goal of the game until about five minutes remaining in the first half. Fans were even more upset with the team and head coach Norm Roberts, and that game was the type of effort that can implode a season. But give these guys credit, they didn’t allow it to do so.

Yes, the end of their six-game losing streak came at South Florida, a team battling its own issues right now. But to make the big plays down the stretch without the services of one of your best players (Anthony Mason Jr. went down with a sprained ankle late in the first half) shows that this group does indeed have some mental toughness. Next up for the Red Storm is Rutgers at the RAC, another young team that has struggled at times this season and is coming off of a bad loss at Louisville.

-- Even though they’re only 3-4 in the Patriot League, Army owns road wins over both Holy Cross and Bucknell.

The above statement shows two things: just how wide open the Patriot League actually is this season, and the fact that the Black Knights do indeed have a chance to make some noise in the coming month. Army, thanks to Jarell Brown’s twenty-one point effort, left Sojka Pavillion on Sunday with an impressive 68-52 win. Bucknell head coach Pat Flannery missed the game today due to illness, but that should not take away from the fact that Jim Crews’ squad forced twenty-three Bison turnovers in this one.

The issue for Army is to consistently put up efforts like this, as the execution was lacking in their 83-58 loss at Lafayette Wednesday night. If they can, then there is a chance to make a move up the Patriot standings, as they still get Bucknell, Holy Cross and Lafayette at home.

-- In their last two games, Manhattan has forced a combined 43 turnovers. But they lost both games.

Usually, forcing a high number of turnovers will get your team into the win column. But this hasn’t been the case for the Jaspers of late, and the reason is quite simple: they’re not defending well enough when they don’t force a turnover. In the two-point loss to Iona Wednesday night, the Gaels shot 50% from the field despite twenty-one miscues. On Sunday, St. Peter’s wins by ten, shooting 52.1% from the field while committing twenty-two turnovers.

So even though they shoot a respectable 42% from the field themselves, they rank dead last in the MAAC in field goal percentage defense (46.7%). Four of the five best teams in the league in this category are also four of the top five teams in the standings, a good indicator of what the Jaspers need to improve upon if they want to end their current seven-game skid.

-- Thought to be a team that had a chance to compete in the Atlantic 10, Fordham is struggling to keep their head above water right now.

It’s been a good year for the Atlantic 10, but unfortunately for the Fordham Rams they haven’t been part of the renaissance. A team that brings back five senior starters going into the season now finds itself fighting to simply qualify for the conference tournament with a 2-5 league record. Similar to Manhattan, the Rams are last in their conference in field goal percentage defense, an issue all the more glaring when you take into consideration the fact that this is one of the A-10’s poorer offensive teams (11^th in field goal percentage) as well.

No one’s expecting the Rams to run up and down the floor, putting up a lot of points in the process. This isn’t that kind of team, but if they don’t get stingier on the other end of the floor they may not be headed to Atlantic City next month. And that would be a bitter pill to swallow for this senior class.

　

Games to keep an eye on

Marist @ Siena (Monday, 7 PM)

Two rivals get together in Albany in a game that will go a long way in deciding who ends up winning the MAAC regular season title. Part of a three-way tie for second, both are just a game back of Rider in the loss column, a team both have lost to in the past week.

Notre Dame @ Seton Hall (Wednesday, 7:30 PM)

This game should feature a lot of points, as well as a lot of three pointers. The question for Seton Hall will be how they go about slowing down Luke Harangody inside. All three Pirate big men fouled out of the overtime win against Rutgers, but they can’t get away with that in this one.

Wagner @ Mount St. Mary’s (Thursday, 7 PM)

In order for the Seahawks to keep within striking distance of Sacred Heart, they need to get a few road wins. Both of their conference losses came on the road, in blowout fashion at that. The Mountaineers, led by guards Chris Vann and Jeremy Goode, are more than capable of knocking Wagner off.

Niagara @ Rider (Friday, 7 PM)

No television for this one, but this game offers the opportunity to check out two of the MAAC’s best players, Charron Fisher (Niagara) and the aforementioned Jason Thompson. But to focus on just those two would be unfair to the likes of Tyrone Lewis and Ryan Thompson. There’s a lot of offensive talent that will be on display in this one, a game that could be a preview of things to come next month when the MAAC Tournament takes place in Albany.

Providence @ St. John’s (Saturday, Noon)

Two teams who will be in desperate need of a Big East win if they want to qualify for the Big East Tournament. While many expected growing pains for the Red Storm, not too many expected the Friars to scuffle the way that they have for stretches this season. Losing Sharaud Curry hurts, but there’s still some talent on this roster, enough to say that they shouldn’t be 12-9. The winner breathes a temporary sigh of relief while the loser falls deeper into the hole.

Rhode Island @ Fordham (Sunday, Noon)

The battle of the Rams takes place in the Bronx, and this is a game that Fordham must have at this point in the season. And given their defensive troubles of late, welcoming a team with two of the conference’s better scorers (Will Daniels and Jimmy Baron) isn’t the best way to get out of their funk. But no one said this would be easy for Fordham either.

　

　

Updated Rankings (last week’s in parentheses)

1. Rider (3)

2. Seton Hall (1)

3. Sacred Heart (5)

4. Marist (2)

5. Wagner (4)

6. Army (8)

7. Yale (6)

8. Iona (13)

9. Rutgers (7)

10. Fordham (9)

11. Columbia (12)

12. St. John’s (10)

13. Long Island (11)

14. Fairleigh Dickinson (14)

15. Fairfield (15)

16. Hofstra (16)

17. Monmouth (17)

18. Princeton (21)

19. St. Francis-NY (18)

20. St. Peter’s (22)

21. Manhattan (19)

22. Stony Brook (20)

23. NJIT (23)

　

NYC Metro Preview & Ranking

Raphielle Johnson — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 01:02:32 -0800
No one follows the team in the NYC Metropolitan area more than Raphielle Johnson. He previews the 19 local teams and ranks them throughout the season.

Click each link for a full preview.

1. Seton Hall

2. Fordham

3. Marist

4. Yale

5. Hofstra

6. Columbia

7. Fairfield

8. Wagner

9. Army

10. Manhattan

11. St Francis (NY)

12. St. John's

13. Iona

14. Sacred Heart

15. Stony Brook

16. St Peter's

17. FDU

18. LIU

19. New Jersey Tech

Early conference action...and Villanova steals one (or has one handed to them)

Raphielle Johnson — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 22:35:48 -0800
In the era of the "superconference", more leagues are tipping off conference games in the month of December. Tonight, the MAAC, NEC, Ohio Valley and Horizon all had at least one conference game on tap. And with this being a blog on the northeast, I'll focus on the MAAC and NEC openers. Niagara 89, Rider 77 Even with the losses of key players such as Clif Brown, Lorenzo Miles and J.R. Duffey, Coach Mihalich's Purple Eagles can still put some points on the board. To be frank, I'm not sure if anyone could have stopped Charron Fisher tonight. The senior forward, who to be honest may be closer to 6-2 than his listed 6-4, dropped 36 on the Broncs up in Niagara Falls. Two other telling stats from this one: Niagara shot 22-24 from the foul line, and of Rider's 30 rebounds the Thompson brothers had 22. Both put up double-doubles (Jason: 25 and 10; Ryan: 12 and 12), and Ryan should be right up there when you talk about some of the more versatile players in the northeast. But if they don't get more help on the glass (no other Bronc had more than two boards), they're going to have a tough time separating themselves in the middle of a practically wide-open MAAC. Mount St. Mary's 73, Long Island 55 Two questions concerning the Blackbirds in this one: how on Earth does Jaytornah Wisseh only take four shots; and do really expect to win a game when you shoot 13-29 from the charity stripe? Kellen Allen went a putrid 3-11, and Ronald Manigault wasn't much better with his 3-8. On all fronts, this was just a horrible shooting night at the Mount for LIU. 35% from the field and 4-18 from distance. With James Williams graduating, struggles on offense aren't a big surprise, but they've got to shoot better than this once NEC play hits full-tilt in January. Sacred Heart 68, CCSU 52 Just when I was ready to mail it in on the Crusaders, they soundly defeat the defending NEC champs up in New Britain. Of course, similar to the outfit at Florida it's unfair to compare CCSU this season to last year, but this is a good win for a team that lost one of its best players for the season in Joey Henley. Drew Shubik and Brice Brooks combined for 39 points in the win, an effort that the two may have to repeat quite often to offset the loss of Henley. Central will have to lean heavily on Tristan Blackwood for offense, but he was 2-10 from the field in this one. The Blue Devils will be able to defend, but where will the offense come from this year? Quinnipiac 90, St. Francis (NY) 79 Lots of scoring, lots of turnovers as well. The two teams combined for forty-three turnovers, but it was SFNY's poor shooting (37% from the field) combined with allowing Quinnipiac to shoot 55% that decided this one. No Terrier who took more than five shots shot the ball well. Jamaal Womack: 6-19, Robert Hines: 4-17 and Ricky Cadell: 4-12. But to focus on their shortcomings in this one would mean ignoring the solid all-around perfomance from Marcus Williams (10 pts, 7 rebounds, 7 assists). The Bobcats got 25 from DeMario Anderson, and three others reached double figures. I don't think it's a stretch to say at this point in the season that Anderson is the NEC's best perimeter scorer. So, what can we learn from these early conference games? To be honest, not sure if you learn too much more than you would with a non-conference game at this stage. Of course, there are some things that you can pinpoint, but with almost a month between the next conference game (some leagues will in fact have each member play two league games this month) the teams you see now may not look the same in a month. Lastly, still trying to make sense of the two Big East/SEC Invitational games in Philly tonight. Which Providence team will show up on a nightly basis is anyone's guess. Yeah, they had a shot to get the game to overtime, but they didn't play well at all against South Carolina. The Friars made a run in the second half thanks to ten minutes without a turnover combined with USC going 6 minutes without a field goal, but why can't they play with that kind of intensity for all forty minutes? It was an issue against BC as well as URI this past week, and if they want to think NCAA in March this has to be rectified. And I don't think it's as simple an answer as getting Sharaud Curry back when he returns. As for Villanova's comeback, they showed a good deal of mental toughness in coming back from 21 down. But let's be honest here: if LSU's guards show any kind of poise late, the SEC leaves Philly with a sweep. Anthony Randolph fouling out certainly didn't help the Tigers, but he and Chris Johnson can't be counted on to break the pressure as well as block shots. And I'm hoping that Antonio Pena sees a little more playing time as the season wears on. That's all I've got for now, good night.

Daily Poll: Who Will Win the MAAC?

Shawn Siegel — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 18:00:43 -0700

MAAC Championship Preview

Raphielle Johnson — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0800
In a season that saw teams picked to finish in the middle of the MAAC when the season began compete for the regular season title, it all comes to a climax in Bridgeport, CT this weekend. Marist, preseason pick to win the conference, held up their end of the bargain in winning the conference’s regular season title, their first ever outright MAAC crown. Led by the dynamic backcourt of seniors Jared Jordan and Will Whittington, the Red Foxes went 14-4 in conference play, finishing a game ahead of streaking Niagara. The versatile Charron Fisher, a junior who averaged twenty-one and eight for the Purple Eagles this season, has led the way on the offensive end for a team that has five players averaging double figures in scoring. And like Marist, Niagara arrives in Bridgeport on an eight-game winning streak. These two teams will have to wait until the end of the first round games on Friday night to know who they will face on Saturday.

Loyola (MD) and Siena tied for third in the MAAC, but the Greyhounds get the tiebreaker due to their season sweep of the Saints. Loyola is led by All-MAAC performer Gerald Brown and third team member Marquis Sullivan, one of the better backcourts in the MAAC. Siena comes into the tournament as one of the league’s younger teams, something that should definitely bode well for the future (they will most likely be the favorite to win the league next season). Senior forward Michael Haddix has been a mainstay for Fran McCaffrey’s squad throughout the season, as has sophomore guard Kenny Hasbrouck. And in freshmen Manny Ubiles, Kenny Moore and Alex Franklin, the Saints have a talented trio of youngsters who can play with anyone.

Just below these two are Manhattan, host Fairfield and Rider, three teams that certainly have the talent needed to make a run to the tournament title. Manhattan took a little while to adjust to first year head coach Barry Rohrssen, but the Jaspers caught fire in January and hung around the top of the league standings for a while. Like Siena, this is a young team (Guy Ngarndi is the only contributing senior that the Jaspers will lose this year) that should compete for the conference title next season. Fairfield went through a brutal stretch to begin the season, stumbling out of the gates with a 3-15 record. Then they got hot, closing out the season with a record of 10-3, including wins over Niagara and two over their first round opponent Loyola. Unlike Manhattan and Fairfield, Rider hasn’t done as well down the stretch, going 3-5 in their last eight games. But in Jason Thompson the Broncs have one of the more versatile players in the league, so long as he avoids foul trouble.

At the bottom of the league are three teams that have limped down the stretch in Canisius, St. Peter’s and Iona. The Golden Griffins, who had a five-game win streak at one point in the season (including a win over Marist), have lost their last eight games. Their opening round opponent, St. Peter’s, went on a seventeen game losing skid before finishing out the regular season 2-2 in their last four. And Iona, the last team in Division I college basketball to win a game this season, has battled injuries all season long, forcing Jeff Ruland to rely on freshmen more than he may have wanted to when the season began. A positive for the Gaels has to be that their only conference win came at the expense of Rider, their first round opponent.

Format: Two opening round games on Friday will decide which teams play the top two seeds, Marist and Niagara, in Saturday’s quarterfinals. All games will be played at the Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, CT.

Dates: March 2^nd-5^th(all games available on ESPN Full Court, final on ESPN 2, all times EST)

Opening Round: Game 1: #8 Canisius vs. #9 St. Peter’s (7:30 PM)

Game 2: #7 Rider vs. #10 Iona (10 PM)

Quarterfinals: Game 3: #4 Siena vs. #5 Manhattan (2 PM)

Game 4: #1 Marist vs. winner Game 1 (4 PM)

Game 5: #2 Niagara vs. winner Game 2 (7:30 PM)

Game 6: #3 Loyola (MD) vs. #6 Fairfield (10 PM)

Semifinals: Game 7: winner Game 3 vs. winner Game 4 (6 PM)

Game 8: winner Game 5 vs. winner Game 6 (8 PM)

Final: Game 9: winner Game 7 vs. winner Game 8 (9 PM, ESPN2)

Canisius vs. St. Peter’s

Canisius won both game between the two teams, by three at home and a twenty-one point blowout in Jersey City. Of course, the Peacocks were mired in a seventeen-game losing skid at the time, and they’ve found a way to take better care of the basketball of late. It’s tough to win games when you’re averaging over sixteen turnovers a game, something that during the season has found a way to negate the fact that SPC has four players averaging at least ten points per game. Juniors Raul Orta and Todd Sowell, along with sophomores Kevin Spann and Akeem Gooding, have led the way in year one of the John Dunne era. Expect better things from this group next season, as they also had to adjust to life without Keydren Clark this year.

The Golden Griffins are led by a trio of seniors, guards Chuck Harris and Corey Herring and forward Darnell Wilson. But the man to watch is a freshman; 5’10” guard Frank Turner, a point guard that has a good assist to turnover ratio (1.45:1) and can find his own shot as well as get his teammates involved. Like the Peacocks, the Griffs have a first year head coach, former Hofstra assistant Tom Parrotta. Just like the Hofstra teams he helped recruit and mold; this outfit likes to use their guards to attack on the offensive end.

The winner of this one gets Marist on Saturday, and Canisius was able to knock off the conference champions at home earlier this season. St. Peter’s was swept in the season series by the Red Foxes.

Rider vs. Iona

The Broncs have plenty of talent on their roster, led by junior forward and first-team All-MAAC performer Jason Thompson. But they have been maddeningly inconsistent throughout the season. But when you realize that the team only has one senior on its roster (guard Terrence Mouton), you begin to realize just why it’s been difficult for this group to maintain any kind of positive momentum. Thompson is the one player that the Broncs can ill afford to have in foul trouble, but they face a team in Iona that is limited when it comes to depth. Yet this didn’t prevent the Gaels from getting their first win of the season over the Broncs back on February 3^rd in New Rochelle. The Broncs do a good job of valuing the basketball, averaging more assists than turnovers per game on the season. With Iona averaging almost eighteen turnovers per game, this could be the difference in this one.

The Gaels have two seniors available, forwards Anthony Bruin and Justin Marshall. Dexter Gray, a transfer from St. John’s, was supposed to contribute but he ran into academic issues four games into his season. Junior guard Kyle Camper was supposed to take over the point, but he suffered a foot injury that sidelined him for the remainder of the season. And Gary Springer was lost before the season even began due to a knee injury. All this has resulted in freshmen and sophomores getting the majority of the minutes this year, something that should bode well for the future. But it didn’t help the Gaels much this year.

The winner will take on second seed Niagara on Saturday, and the Purple Eagles swept both teams in the regular season.

Siena vs. Manhattan

Within 48 hours, the Siena Saints went from competing for the MAAC title to the four seed, thanks to their loss to Marist and the head-to-head tiebreaker with Loyola. Besides Michael Haddix and David Ryan, this is a young group that you have to believe is capable of special things in the near future. But to look ahead to next season with this group would be to ignore the fact that there is enough talent on this roster to snatch the league’s automatic bid this year. Kenny Hasbrouck, a second team All-MAAC selection, can kill opponents by either slashing to the basket or hitting the three point shot. Manny Ubiles, only a freshman, is one of the MAAC’s best athletes, and classmate Kenny Moore can also provide a spark. They’ve fallen short in two classics with Marist, so you have to think that they’d like nothing more than to see their rival in the semifinals.

Manhattan is also a young team that will compete for the conference title in 2007-08. Arturo Dubois has been the Jaspers’ rock in the paint while the trio of Devon Austin, Darryl Crawford and Antoine Pearson has scored from the perimeter. Unfortunately for the Jaspers, however, they’ve had trouble at times putting the ball in the basket. And given the Saints ability to but the ball in the bucket, any prolonged droughts could spell trouble for Manhattan. Enjoy this game, because if the two teams meet in next season’s MAAC Tournament a lot more could be on the line.

Loyola (MD) vs. Fairfield

Two of the league’s best scoring guards get together in this one, Loyola’s Gerald Brown and Fairfield’s Michael Van Schaick. Brown, who led the league in scoring with twenty-two points per game, has only scored thirteen and twelve in his two games against the Stags this season, both wins for Fairfield. Can they slow him down for a third time this season? That remains to be seen, but Brown will need help from his teammates, most notably Marquis Sullivan. In those two games, the third-team All-MAAC selection averaged eleven points per game. And in an offense that relies so much on its primary scoring option, someone else has to step up. But we’ve seen it before in conference tournaments where one guy puts a team on his back and carries them through the weekend. So don’t be shocked if Brown gets it done for the Greyhounds.

Michael Van Schaick is the Stags’ only player averaging double figures in scoring, but he’s got two freshman forwards in Greg Nero and Anthony Johnson who have picked up the slack this season. In the two wins over Loyola, Johnson has been the better performer of the two, averaging 13.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. With Van Schaick putting up nineteen per in those two wins, it’s easy to see why Fairfield won both of those games. Whichever team gets more from their supplementary players will move on to the semifinals.

Marist and Niagara (both have byes)

The top two teams in the MAAC have to wait until the first round games on Friday night to figure out who they’re going to play on Saturday. This can be seen as either a gift (your opponent gets tired while you watch) or a curse (you come out of the gates rusty and get upset). Marist is led by one of the better guard tandems in the nation in Jared Jordan and Will Whittington, but how well they do this weekend may depend on forward Ryan Stilphen and center James Smith. In the season finale last Saturday, Smith went for 24 and 12 in the Red Foxes’ overtime win over Siena. Rebounding has been an issue at times for Marist, especially when their outside shots aren’t falling. But given the offensive firepower on this team, look for the Red Foxes to have little trouble putting the ball in the basket. Against teams on their side of the bracket, Marist has lost at Canisius and at Manhattan.

Niagara has one of the more balanced attacks in the MAAC, with five players averaging at least eleven points per game. In addition to the aforementioned Fisher, head coach Joe Mihalich can look to forwards Cilf Brown and J.R. Duffey for contributions, along with guards Lorenzo Miles and Tyrone Lewis. This versatility is what makes the Purple Eagles so difficult to defend, and this could lead to a decent run in this tournament for Niagara. Against teams on their side of the bracket, the Purple Eagles have lost road games to both Fairfield and Loyola this season.

My pick to win the MAAC: Marist.