2015 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament Preview

(SportsNetwork.com) – The 34th annual Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament is set to tip off at the Times Union Center on Thursday with an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on the line.

The defending champion Manhattan Jaspers (16-13, 13-7), the third seed in this year’s event, don’t take the floor until the quarterfinals on Saturday as they await the survivor of the Marist/Quinnipiac matchup in the first round of the event.

Manhattan, which has played in the title game each of the last two seasons and has a total of four championships to date, will follow Emmy Andujar into battle on Saturday. Andujar is a 50.9 percent shooter from the floor who not only leads the team in scoring with 16.5 ppg, but he is also first on the unit with 7.5 rpg and 97 assists, making him one of a very rare breed these days. Add in Ashton Pankey and Shane Richards, who are averaging 13.3 and 12.9 ppg, respectively, and the Jaspers have a formidable scoring trio.

During league play it was clear that yet again Chavaughn Lewis was the leading force for 11th-seeded Marist (6-24, 5-15) with his 19.9 ppg, although his 28.6 percent shooting behind the 3-point line was still something that needed vast improvement. He was also first on the unit with 48 assists, 41 steals and 14 blocked shots in those league bouts, his 5.1 rpg placing him second. Khallid Hart was responsible for another 13.6 ppg, but his 3-point shooting was simply atrocious (.279), as was his aim from anywhere on the floor (.366) as he dragged the entire team down to 39.8 percent.

The sixth-seeded Bobcats (15-14, 9-11) not only led the league in rebounding with a massive 45.2 rpg, they were first in all of Division I as of Monday with a rebounding advantage of 12.0 rpg. Most of the credit there goes to Ousmane Drame who averaged a double-double over the course of the campaign with 14.4 ppg and 10.8 rpg. But more than just a beast on the glass, Drame was and is an imposing figure in the paint who rejected 86 shots for a team that had 170 blocks, pushing them to 5.9 bpg to rank 10th nationally. When the Bobcats add in Zaid Hearst (18.4 ppg) as a top-notch scorer and passer (74 assists) you have to believe the team will be moving on.

Perhaps the one aspect of the game that stands out most for the ninth-seeded Purple Eagles (8-21, 7-13), who are set to challenge the eighth-seeded Siena Saints (10-19, 7-13), is their lackluster defense, allowing opponents to shoot not only 47.0 percent from the floor overall but also 38.0 percent behind the 3-point line, both of which have the squad near the bottom nationally. Emile Blackman was credited with a team-best 13.6 ppg and Ramone Snowden, the only player to have started all 29 games, added 10.9 ppg, but he was one of the reasons why Niagara was shaky from the field as he converted only 39.5 percent of his chances.

First and foremost, it should be noted that Siena’s captain and leading scorer, Rob Poole, is listed as probable for the team’s first game due to sprained ankle. Poole was responsible for 14.2 ppg thanks to an impressive 83.3 percent shooting at the free-throw line and his 52 3-pointers, although he converted 35.9 percent out on the perimeter in his 26 appearances. Marquis Wright, the one who had started every game for the Saints, not only put up 12.7 ppg, he also distributed 144 of his team’s 381 assists, making sure many of his teammates were involved in the offense as much as possible.

Awaiting the winner of the Niagara/Siena contest will be the top-seeded Iona Gaels (24-7, 17-3), the 2013 champions of this event and winners of the tournament a total of eight times. The Gaels rank sixth in the nation in scoring with 79.6 ppg, but at the same time they are 309th with 72.5 ppg allowed. They are connecting on close to 10 3-pointers per game thanks to A.J. English (19.5 ppg) and Schadrac Casimir (15.2 ppg) who have both knocked down 89 triples. David Laury (20.1 ppg) handles the interior with 9.5 rpg.

As one of the weakest shooting teams in the country, the 10th-seeded Fairfield Stags (7-23, 5-15), who will tangle with the seventh-seeded Saint Peter’s Peacocks, converted just 39.4 percent from the floor over the course of 30 regular-season outings, resulting in just 60.4 ppg. The leading scorer for the program was Marcus Gilbert with 16.5 ppg, with a good portion of his points coming at the free-throw line where he nailed 137-of-176 (.778).

As for the Peacocks (14-17, 8-12), their defense was tougher than that of Fairfield, giving up only 61.0 ppg, which ranked the them 49th in the nation heading into the week. Unfortunately, the offense came up with just 61.4 ppg, which didn’t leave much room for error. Desi Washington and Marvin Dominique carried much of the load from a scoring standpoint for the squad as they poured in 14.2 and 14.1 ppg, respectively.

The second-seeded Rider Broncs (21-10, 15-5), who have a bye into the quarterfinals, will be the prize for the winner of the Fairfield/Saint Peter’s battle. The Broncs are much more of a defensive-oriented squad, limiting foes to only 63.6 ppg, but when you consider they are one of the worst free-throw shooting squads in the nation at just 60.5 percent, they really have no other choice. Matt Lopez (12.3 ppg) had been the leading scorer for the unit, but a sprained right knee will keep him out of action.

Also making the leap to the quarterfinals are fifth-seeded Canisius (16-13, 11-9) and fourth-seeded Monmouth (17-14, 13-7). The Hawks, who won both regular-season meetings against the Golden Griffins, held foes to only 39.6 percent success from the field, which allowed Justin Robinson (13.4 ppg) and Deon Jones (12.7 ppg) to take care of business at the offensive end of the court. Robinson also led the program in assists with 117.

The Golden Griffs, who have a record of 23-24 in this event and have just a single title stemming from a 52-46 victory against Fairfield almost two decades ago, were a streaky team during the regular season, but at least closed out with four wins in the last five outings. The issue with Canisius is that it will be missing second-leading scorer Phil Valenti (10.6 ppg) due to a right ankle injury. That leaves Zach Lewis (12.9 ppg) and Josiah Heath (9.5 ppg) as the top options on offense for a program scoring only 64.6 ppg.

Considering how explosive the offense can be and how easily that can compensate for a weak defense, it would be foolish at this point to go against the Gaels in this event.

Sports Network Predicted Champion: Iona

Categorized in: NCAA Basketball