ESPN Announces MAAC Wildcard Game for March 1
EDISON, NJ – The final regular season MAAC Wildcard Game will be Siena College at Canisius College on Friday, March 1 at 9 p.m. on ESPNU at the Koessler Athletic Center in Buffalo, NY.
It will be the second time this season that Canisius (11-13, 8-4 MAAC) and Siena (13-12, 8-4 MAAC) will be in the MAAC Wildcard Game. Canisius will play at Monmouth on February 22 and Siena played at Marist on January 11.
Canisius and Siena met back on January 5 in Albany with Canisius getting a 70-66 road win. Both the Golden Griffins and the Saints sit tied for second in the MAAC, one-half game behind Monmouth University.
Siena is coming off a 3-0 week where the Saints beat Fairfield at home and then won at Manhattan and Rider. Senior Evan Fisher and freshman Jalen Pickett lead the Saints. The teammates swept the Pepsi Zero MAAC Weekly Awards on Monday for the third time this season. Pickett has earned eight MAAC Rookie of the Week honors this season, which ties a Siena record. Fisher is top six in the MAAC in scoring, rebounding, and field goal percentage. Pickett leads the MAAC in assists and assist-to-turnover ratio and is second in steals.
Canisius swept both halves of its weekend road trip in New Jersey. The Golden Griffins handed Rider University an 81-80 loss on Friday when Jonathan Sanks hit a 3-pointer with eight seconds left. On Sunday, Canisius won 64-60 at Saint Peter’s University with the help of a 13-0 second-half run. The Griffs are the best road team in the MAAC this season at 8-4. Siena is one of two other MAAC teams over .500 away from home. Sophomore Takal Molson scored 21 points against Saint Peter's and leads the team at 16.9 a game—fourth in the MAAC.
The wildcard format allows ESPN to pick any game scheduled for that specific date to air on ESPNU and allows the MAAC and ESPN the flexibility to showcase the best matchups as the season progresses.
In 2019, the MAAC Basketball Championships will be at the Times Union Center in Albany, NY on March 7-11. The men’s basketball championship semifinals will air on ESPN3 and ESPNU. The first semifinal will air at 6 p.m. live on ESPN3 and will re-air at 10:30 p.m. on ESPNU. The second semifinal will be live on ESPNU at 8:30 p.m. The women’s basketball Championship Game will air live on ESPNU at 2:30 p.m. on Monday, March 11. The men’s basketball Championship Game will be on ESPN or ESPN2 on Monday, March 11 at 9 p.m. The network for the men’s championship game will be determined 7-10 days before the championship. The remainder of the MAAC Championships games will air on ESPN3 or ESPN+.
All events will be available for replay on the ESPN App.
Games aired on an ESPN network will also be available through the ESPN App, accessible on computers, smartphones, tablets and connected devices to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider.
For the latest updates and schedules visit
MAACSports.com and follow
@MAACHoops.
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 38th year of competition during the 2018-19 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.