NYC Metro Hoops

Friday's schedule may be light but there's some good action to take in as direction of the Ivy and Metro Atlantic races will be determined. Iona (19-5, 11-2) and Loyola (MD) (18-5, 11-2) are tied for first place with two games separating them from the pack (Manhattan and Fairfield leading that group), and the winner would take a big step towards grabbing the regular season crown. What should viewers look forward to?

Somerset, NJ -- Following a thrilling run to the 2011 Northeast Conference (NEC) men's basketball title, head coaches have picked Long Island to repeat as NEC champion. The announcement was made on Wednesday morning during a media teleconference to promote the tipoff of the 2011-12 season, the 31st in the league's history. The Blackbirds, who won the 2011 NEC Tournament crown with an 85-82 overtime victory over Robert Morris, claimed 10 of the possible 12 first-place votes.

Somerset, NJ -- In conjunction with the release of the Northeast Conference (NEC) men's basketball preseason coaches poll, the league's head coaches also selected the 2011-12 preseason All-NEC team, revealing the individuals who are expected to make the biggest impact this coming season. Reigning NEC Player of the Year Ken Horton (Ossining, NY/Ossining), a senior forward for Central Connecticut State, leads the five-man team.

Horton is joined by a pair of Long Island junior forwards in Julian Boyd (San Antonio, TX/William H.

Springfield, Mass. - Iona College senior forward Mike Glover has been named the 2011-2012 MAAC Men's Basketball Preseason Player of the Year, as selected by the league's 10 head coaches.

Glover is joined on the first team by Fairfield University junior guard Derek Needham and senior center Ryan Olander, Iona senior guard Scott Machado and Rider University senior guard/forward Novar Gadson.

Springfield, Mass. - Iona College, the runner-up in last year's title game, is the preseason favorite to win the 2012 MAAC Men's Basketball Championship, according to the MAAC Pre- season Coaches' Poll.

Iona received eight of the first-place votes and 97 points, followed by last season's preseason pick Fairfield University,which received two first-place votes and 92 points. Loyola University (Maryland) finished in third with 76 points.

After the second week of conference play in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference this is a fair question to ask given the results. Three teams have either one or no league losses with preseason favorite Fairfield (5-0) leading the way. Ed Cooley's team had an impressive week, pasting Niagara (70-48), Marist (59-44) and Saint Peter's (70-43) to move their win streak to 11 games. PG Derek Needham may still lead the Stags in scoring but they've received solid contributions from a number of players, most notably F Ryan Olander and freshman forward Maurice Barrow.

Another weekend of Northeast Conference action tips off tonight with a full slate of games, highlighted by Central Connecticut State heading south to take on a Sacred Heart team that's won its last three games. The Blue Devils and Pioneers are two of the six teams with 2-2 records in league play, and with just eight spots available in the NEC Tournament games like these ultimately make all the difference. This season has been a bit of a departure for those used to watching the Pioneers, traditionally one of the higher scoring teams in the conference.

First-year head coach Dan Hurley has done quite the job with the Wagner Seahawks, a team that won all of five games in 2009-10. Going into Thursday's game against two-time defending NEC champion Robert Morris the Seahawks were in a three-way tie for first place with a 2-0 league play. The player who has benefitted the most with the coaching change? Junior guard Tyler Murray, who has eclipsed the 20-point plateau five times and has failed to reach double figures just once this season.

The first weekend of December traditionally means the start of conference play in the NEC, with many of the teams playing a pair of games before returning to non-conference action for the remainder of the month. But while it comes as no surprise to the casual observer that preseason favorite Quinnipiac is one of the four remaining undefeated teams (1-0), the other three teams may cause a second glance. Tied atop the league with 2-0 marks are Fairleigh Dickinson and St. Francis (NY), both of whom beat an expected contender over the weekend.

If there was one question in particular that arose from the first weekend of MAAC play in regards to individual players it was who has the ability to slow down Michael Glover. Niagara and Canisius didn't have the horses to do so, and Glover's dominance is a major reason why Tim Cluess' Iona Gaels are currently on a five-game win streak. Michael went off against Canisius, tallying 39 points and 14 rebounds in the 94-85 victory.

While conference play in the MAAC traditionally begins with a pair of games the first weekend of December, Siena and Rider had to play their league opener on Friday due to a conflict with final exams. But thanks in large part to preseason MAAC Player of the Year Ryan Rossiter the Saints struck first blood in the conference standings, winning at Rider 73-60. Rossiter has more than lived up to the preseason hype for Mitch Buonaguro's team, boasting averages of 20.2 points and 14.5 rebounds per game.

With the start of the season right around the corner (and the preseason NEC Coaches Teleconference coming up on Wednesday morning), this is a good time to rank the backcourts and frontcourts of the Northeast Conference. First up are the top six backcourts in my opinion. Teams 7-12 will follow shortly, with the frontcourt rankings on deck. Feel free to comment below; I welcome solid hoops discussion. 

The last time Fairfield reached the top of the MAAC was back in 1997, when they gave North Carolina all they wanted and then some in a first round NCAA Tournament loss. And with the release of the Preseason Coaches Poll, Ed Cooley's team is the favorite to win the conference in it's 30th year of existence. Fairfield picked up six first-place votes and totaled 96 points, beating out three-time defending champion Siena by five points. The Saints, who boast preseason Player of the Year Ryan Rossiter and fellow first-team member Clarence Jackson, received three first place votes.

Bryant
November
Fri 12 vs. Cleveland St. (World Vision Basketball Classic) 7:00 PM
Sat 13 vs. Kent St. (World Vision Basketball Classic) 3:30 PM
Sun 14 vs. Iona (World Vision Basketball Classic) 3:00 PM
Wed 17 Salve Regina (exhibition) 7:00 PM
Sat 20 Army 3:30 PM
Wed 24 Harvard 4:00 PM
Sun 28 at Lehigh 7:00 PM
December
Thu 2 at Fairleigh Dickinson * TBA
Wed 8 Yale 7:00 PM
Sat 11 at Columbia TBA
Sun 19 at Boston College TBA

An eventful offseason for New York metropolitan area college basketball is steadily transitioning into the 2010-11 season, with individual workouts and team lifting sessions leading into the start of practice in four weeks. That also means the official release of schedules for most of the team, and you can find them here.

The first half of the July open evaluation period ended yesterday, allowing the many recruiting analysts, coaches and players the opportunity to recharge their batteries for events in Orlando, Las Vegas and everywhere in between next week (I'll be in Vegas). But despite the emphasis on evaluating kids in the 2011 class and beyond there was still room for additions to help out area programs for the upcoming season.

The news was rather quiet for the area schools last week with the notable exception of the Big East releasing the home/road opponents for each of its' member schools this coming season. Hope springs eternal and the three coaching changes have injected some serious life (and buzz) into Rutgers, St. John's and Seton Hall. Mike Rice has the job that may require the most "rebuilding", but with veteran rosters (and some very good incoming recruits) the table is set for both Kevin Willard (Seton Hall) and Steve Lavin (St. John's) to make some noise.

Given the number of players slated to return to Moon Township next season, it wouldn't have been too far-fetched to pick Robert Morris this early to earn their third consecutive NCAA Tournament berth. But that was before head coach Mike Rice decided to move on, accepting the same position at Rutgers.

The Met Basketball Writers Association announced their annual honors on Wednesday, naming Hofstra junior guard Charles Jenkins the winner of the Haggerty Award (Player of the Year). Winning the award for the second consecutive year, Jenkins joins the following list of players to have won the Haggerty two or more times in their collegiate careers:

It was a good year for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, and despite the fact that Siena won their third consecutive league title it did not come without challenges. Fran McCaffery and his veteran squad was unable to win an NCAA Tournament game for the third consecutive season as they were unable to make up for Clarence Jackson's absence in a loss to Purdue. Jackson and Ryan Rossiter will be the lone returning starters for new head coach Mitch Buonaguro, who takes over for the departed McCaffery (Iowa).

The Street Stops Here will air on PBS on Wednesday at 10 PM EST.

Coach [kohch] - noun. A person who trains an athlete or a group of athletes (dictionary.com).

Seven teams get to continue their seasons in postseason play; while the New York metropolitan area goes another year without a participant in the NCAA Tournament there's value in being able to play somewhere. Three schools will take part in the NIT with Seton Hall and Stony Brook hosting games while St. John's hits the road. Three other schools will play in the CBI and CIT tournaments (Quinnipiac added in for a full article), meaning that just under a third of the twenty-four schools will play in a postseason tournament.

Luke Harangody was a First Team All-Big East selection and it was an honor that many questioned this week due primarily to his knee injury. The senior played just eleven minutes in Saturday's regular season finale at Marquette and the question of many was whether or not his return would hamper the surging Irish in their quest for an NCAA Tournament bid. Well, you got your answer. Harangody came off the bench to score 20 points and grab 10 rebounds, essentially being the difference-maker in Notre Dame's 68-54 win over Seton Hall.

Tuesday's action was supposed to focus primarily on bubble teams USF and Seton Hall. But at the end of the afternoon session all anyone could talk about is the nosedive that Jim Calhoun's Connecticut Huskies completed with a 73-51 beating at the hands of St. John's. And the issue wasn't the fact that they lost; they were out-worked, out-toughed; whatever aspect of the game you can find the Red Storm dominated it. You hate to get to the point where you question the heart of a team but that would be appropriate for what took place in the second game of the day.

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The 16-team brawl that is the Big East Tournament begins on Tuesday with teams nine through sixteen playing on the opening day. Similar to last season there are bubble teams playing with the hope of gaining the opportunity to bolster their resumes against stiffer competition later in the week. You've got the bubble angle for USF and Seton Hall, two teams who may be closer to working their way into the Tournament than anticipated a couple of weeks ago as the nation concentrated on Connecticut.

Speaking of the reeling Huskies, what will they bring to the table against St. John's?

The time to determine who will earn the MAAC's automatic bid is finally here and the matchup between Fairfield and Siena (7 PM, ESPN2) should not disappoint. Of course the Saints won both regular season meetings but they had to hold in in the second, winning by just two points at the Times Union Center on February 8th. Derek Needham scored 26 points in that game for the Stags but he also had five turnovers, as did Sean Crawford. That was essentially the difference (along with two more free throws for Siena): fifteen turnovers to ten for the Saints.

Steve Pikiell's Stony Brook Seawolves will look to move one step closer to the school's first-ever NCAA Tournament berth when they take on Boston University in the semis of the America East Tournament (5 PM, AmericaEast.TV). Stony Brook won both regular season meetings, most recently beating the Terriers 71-55 back on January 30th on Long Island. But Patrick Chambers' team is an entirely different outfit, having won five straight and seven of their last eight since that meeting.

After a long and eventful day on Saturday (the Manhattan/Siena chippiness followed by the ejection of Frank Turner), the four teams pegged by the coaches in the preseason to be the best will play in today's MAAC Tournament semifinals. The first game matches a Rider squad that's playing better basketball, especially on the defensive end of the floor, and regular season champion Siena.

With the top four seeds all moving into the NEC Tournament semifinals we should have two very good matchups on Sunday. The headliner: Mount St. Mary's visiting Robert Morris (7 PM, NortheastConference.TV) in the third meeting between the two this season. This also marks the fifth consecutive NEC Tournament in which the Mountaineers and Colonials play each other, with RMU winning last year's NEC final in Moon Township. The two teams split their regular season meetings with the home team winning both.

Friday was a good day for the America East champion Stony Brook Seawolves, who cleaned up in regards to the end of season awards. Senior Muhammad El-Amin was named Kevin Roberson Player of the Year and Steve Pikiell Coach of the Year. Also honored by the conference were Tommy Brenton (2nd Team All-Conference, All-Defensive) and Bryan Dougher (2nd Team All-Conference). Stony Brook begins their quest towards the America East Tournament title at noon when they take on eighth-seeded Albany.

The MAAC quarterfinals take center stage on Saturday with the top six teams joining the fray along with Friday night winners Manhattan (94-79 over Loyola) and Canisius (72-54 over Marist). The biggest storyline: can Siena pick up their third consecutive MAAC crown? Anything less will likely mean a trip to the NIT despite a solid RPI due to their lack of any RPI Top 50 wins.

"First Round Friday" is here with a pair of games to kick off the men's basketball tournament at the Times Union Center. If there was ever an opportunity to see which teams/players want to keep playing and which ones have simply "checked out" this is it. Marist is back in the tenth seed with hopes of duplicating last year's feat of winning their first game in Albany. But they'll be taking on a Canisius squad that not only has whipped them in both meetings but also should be ready to play hard for departing senior Frank Turner.

The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference announced its end of season individual honors on Thursday afternoon, and they are as follows:

Rookie of the Year: G Derek Needham (Fairfield)

6th Man of the Year: F Mike Evanovich (Fairfield)

Defensive Player of the Year: F Anthony Johnson (Fairfield)

Coach of the Year: Kevin Willard (Iona)

Player of the Year: F Alex Franklin (Siena)

One of the eight teams in the Northeast Conference is just three wins away from earning the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament with quarterfinal play kicking things off tonight. Quinnipiac and Robert Morris shared the regular season crown with matching 15-3 league records but Tom Moore's Bobcats get the top seed as a result of their head-to-head win in the lone meeting between the two.

The Northeast Conference announced its all-conference teams and major individual honors on Tuesday morning. The honorees are:

Jim Phelan Coach of the Year: Tom Moore (Quinnipiac)

Player of the Year: F Justin Rutty (Quinnipiac)

Rookie of the Year: G Karon Abraham (Robert Morris)

Defensive Player of the Year: G Mezie Newigwe (Robert Morris)

Most Improved Player: C Liam Potter (Sacred Heart)

All-Rookie Team

The MAAC announced its all-league honors on Monday at the beginning of its' pre-conference tournament teleconference. They are as follows:

All-Rookie Team

G Derek Needham (Fairfield)
G Kyle Smyth (Iona)
G Robert Olson (Loyola)
G Candon Rusin (Marist)
F Darius Conley (Saint Peter's) 

All-MAAC Teams

First Team

G Ronald Moore (Siena)
G Ryan Thompson (Rider)
F Alex Franklin (Siena)
F Ryan Rossiter (Iona)
C Anthony Johnson (Fairfield) 

MAAC Weekend Preview

The final weekend of the regular season offers up much intrigue with slots two through nine still up for grabs before next weekend's MAAC Tournament. Three teams are still in the running for the two seed and with Iona visiting Fairfield tonight the first domino will fall. Kevin Willard's Gaels, who have won four of six games this month, have already beaten the Stags (68-58 on January 24th) but their 56-54 loss to Saint Peter's back on December 4th keeps the Peacocks in play for the two-seed.

The final weekend of the regular season is here in the NEC and there are just two available spots for the NEC Tournament and four teams fighting for them. Monmouth is the one team with the ability to punch their ticket tonight but they'll have quite the task at Quinnipiac. A game behind them in the standings are CCSU and St. Francis (NY), and those two meet on Saturday in Brooklyn with the winner likely qualifying for the NEC Tournament. And Sacred Heart is the team with the most left to do at this point, sitting at 6-10 in the standings.

Weekly Honors (announced on Sunday or Monday)

Atlantic 10: Fordham freshman forward Chris Gaston was named to the league's Honor Roll on Sunday, averaging 23 points and 12 rebounds per game in the Rams' two contests.

Big East: A pair of Scarlet Knights were honored on Monday with Dane Miller winning his third consecutive Rookie of the Week award and Hamady Ndiaye being named to the Honor Roll. Miller averaged 12.5 points and 8.0 rebounds while Ndiaye added 14.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 4.0 blocks in Rutgers' 1-1 week.

It's BracketBusters weekend and with all ten MAAC teams taking part it's one last respite from the rigors of conference play. Seeing a relatively unfamiliar face allows teams the opportunity to fine-tune things in advance of the upcoming MAAC Tournament. And the teams in the marquee matchups have an opportunity to bulk up their resume in regards to seeding or getting into the NCAA Tournament should they be an at-large possibility.

Weekly Honors (announced on Monday)

Choice Hotels Co-Players of the Week: F Kelly Beidler (Mount St. Mary's) and G James Johnson (Quinnipiac)
Beidler averaged 15.5 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.5 rebounds in wins over Monmouth and FDU last week, helping the Mountaineers move their win streak to six games. Johnson averaged 20 ppg last week as the Bobcats locked up at least one NEC Tournament home game with wins over SFNY and LIU. 

Weekly Honors (announced on Monday)

America East: Stony Brook senior Muhammad El-Amin was named Player of the Week thanks to averages of 27.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game in two wins for the Seawolves.

Tonight's game between Saint Peter's and Loyola has been postponed due to the snowstorm that hit the Mid-Atlantic this week. The game has been rescheduled for February 17th at 7 PM. 

Game of the Night: Siena at Niagara (8 PM, ESPN2)

With six games left in the regular season this is a big weekend for the NEC with spots three through ten separated by just two games. Robert Morris and Quinnipiac look to be the class of the NEC while Wagner and Bryant have an uphill climb to say the least in regards to simply making the tournament. The most important game on Thursday's schedule: Mount St. Mary's visiting Monmouth with both things in the thick of the NEC race for at the least a spot in the NEC Tournament.

There's been a lot of talk about favorites Cornell and Harvard in the early stages of Ivy League play and with good reason; the Big Red are two-time defending champs and Harvard has one of the best players in the country (Jeremy Lin) and a solid non-conference profile to boot. But who's in second place? None other than the Princeton Tigers, who will take their 2-0 league mark on the road this weekend in games at Harvard and Dartmouth.

While this game may not have equal ramifications in regards to the standings for both teams, make no mistake about the importance of tomorrow night's matchup between Iona and Siena. The Saints have won thirteen straight games and 32 in a row at home while the Gaels haven't lost since January 4th at Canisius (eight straight wins). Both are hot and outside of Siena reserve point guard Kyle Downey both teams have all hands on deck for this one, which could be the second of three meetings should they meet in the MAAC Tournament.

Thursday marks the beginning of "Rivalry Week" a concept the NEC has adopted this season with all six games matching familiar foes, and the games will be repeated at the opposite site on Saturday. While LIU/St. Francis (NY) and Monmouth/FDU could be the most competitive matchups (Quinnipiac/Sacred Heart shouldn't disappoint either) on paper, there's also the matter of the league's hottest team (Robert Morris) taking its seven-game win streak on the road.