No. 16 Seed Iona to Play No. 1 Seed North Carolina in First Round of NCAA Tournament
EDISON, NJ – The 2019 MAAC Champions, Iona College (17-15), will face the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region, University of North Carolina (27-6), in the First Round of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.
The 16th-seeded Gaels will take on the No. 1 seeded Tar Heels on Friday, March 22 in Columbus, Ohio.
North Carolina lost to Duke University in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament on Friday. North Carolina is a No. 1 seed for the 17th time, which is the most all-time.
The Gaels are in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight season after becoming the first men’s MAAC basketball team to claim four consecutive MAAC Championships. It is the 13th time in program history that Iona is playing in the NCAA Tournament.
Iona was the top seed in the MAAC Championship after claiming the regular season title. The Gaels topped No. 9 Saint Peter’s University, No. 5 Siena College, and No. 6 Monmouth University on their way to the MAAC Championship.
Senior guard Rickey McGill was named the Most Valuable Player of the MAAC Championship and became the first men’s basketball player to win four MAAC titles. McGill averaged 15.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 2.3 steals over three games at the MAAC Championship. McGill was joined on the All-Championship Team by juniors Tajuan Agee, and E.J. Crawford.
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.