No. 15 Seed Iona Draws No. 2 Seed Duke in First Round of 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament
EDISON, NJ – 2018 MAAC Champions, No. 15 seed Iona College (20-13) is set to face No. 2 seed Duke University (26-7) in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship as announced during the Selection Show that aired Sunday evening on TBS. The Gaels first round matchup with the Blue Devils is slated for Thursday, March 15, in Pittsburgh, PA as part of the Midwest Region. Iona and Duke meet for the first time in history.
The Gaels return to the NCAA Tournament for the third year in a row and 12
th time in program history. It is the first time since 2013 and second time in program history that Iona has drawn a No. 15 seed. In their last appearance in the NCAA Tournament, the Gaels fell to Oregon, 93-77, in the 2017 first round.
No. 4 Iona defeated No. 6 Fairfield University, 83-71, to claim its third consecutive MAAC Men’s Basketball Championship on Monday, March 5. The Gaels became the third team in MAAC history to win three-straight titles, they joined Siena College (2008-10) and former member La Salle University (1988-90). Iona has won four of the last six MAAC Men’s Basketball Championships and a conference record 11 overall.
The win marked the third time in MAAC history that the No. 4 seed went on to win the Championship and it was the first time since Iona did so in 2013. The 12-point margin of victory was the largest since Siena defeated Rider University by 21 points in 2008.
Graduate guard Zach Lewis earned the 2018 MAAC Men’s Basketball Championship MVP honor after he posted 19.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 2.3 steals per game over the course of three games.
Junior forward Roland Griffin scored a career-high 29 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field in the Championship victory over Fairfield. Griffin was named a member of the 2018 MAAC Men’s Basketball All-Championship Team. Junior guard Schadrac Casimir also earned All-Championship Team honors.
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 37
th year of competition during the 2017-18 academic year. Current Conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College.