MAAC/ASUN Challenge Tips off Friday
Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (Nov. 20, 2019) – The 2019 MAAC/ASUN Challenge tips off on Friday, Nov. 22 at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort.
The inaugural, two-day event will feature Iona College and Monmouth University on the men’s side and Marist College and Rider University on the women’s side. Iona and Monmouth will each face ASUN foes Kennesaw State University and Stetson University. Marist and Rider will take on Lipscomb University and the University of North Florida.
All games will be televised on ESPN3 (links to watch below).
Iona was voted the preseason favorite by the league’s head coaches after winning the previous four MAAC Championships. The Gaels have three scorers averaging double-digits through their first two games in E.J. Crawford (19.0), Tajuan Agee (16.5) and Asante Gist (10.5).
Monmouth opened the season with a win on the road over Lehigh to start a road stretch that included stops at Power Five opponents Kansas State, No. 5 Kansas and Pittsburgh. Preseason All-MAAC selections Ray Salnave (14.0) and Deion Hammond (13.3) are both scoring in double figures for the Hawks through five games.
Preseason favorite Marist (3-0) started the season with wins over Boston, Albany and Elon. The Red Foxes have three players averaging 13+ points through their first three games in Rebekah Hand (19.7), Alana Gilmer (13.7) and Grace Vander Weide (13.0).
Preseason Player of the Year Stella Johnson has led the Broncs to a 2-1 start, with wins over Big Ten opponent Penn State and Big East foe Xavier. Johnson leads the team in scoring, averaging 24.7 points per game. Amari Johnson ranks second in scoring (13.3 PPG) and leads the team in rebounds per game (8.7)
See below for the full slate of games:
| Friday, Nov. 22 |
Matchup |
Time |
Watch |
| Game 1 (W) |
Marist vs. North Florida |
12:00 p.m. |
ESPN3 |
| Game 2 (W) |
Rider vs. Lipscomb |
2:30 p.m. |
ESPN3 |
| Game 3 (M) |
Iona vs. Stetson |
6:00 p.m. |
ESPN3 |
| Game 4 (M) |
Monmouth vs. Kennesaw State |
8:30 p.m. |
ESPN3 |
| Saturday Nov. 23 |
Matchup |
Time |
Watch |
| Game 5 (W) |
Marist vs. Lipscomb |
12:00 p.m. |
ESPN3 |
| Game 6 (W) |
Rider vs. North Florida |
2:30 p.m. |
ESPN3 |
| Game 7 (M) |
Iona vs. Kennesaw State |
6:00 p.m. |
ESPN3 |
| Game 8 (M) |
Monmouth vs. Stetson |
8:30 p.m. |
ESPN3 |
About the 2020 MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships:
The MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships return to New Jersey on March 10-14, 2020 at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. To stay up to date on MAAC basketball, visit
http://maacsports.com/basketball and follow
@MAACHoops on Twitter.
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 39
th year of competition during the 2019-20 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.