2020 Hercules Tires MAAC Men’s Basketball Championship Preview
Atlantic City, N.J. (March 9, 2020) – The 2020 Hercules Tires MAAC Men’s Basketball Championship tips off tomorrow at Atlantic City’s historic Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall. The 39
th edition of the tournament makes its return to the Garden State for the first time since 2003.
Siena claimed the outright regular season title and the No. 1 overall seed, earning a first-round bye alongside No. 2 Saint Peter’s, No. 3 Rider, No. 4 Monmouth and No. 5 Quinnipiac. The 11 teams will compete for the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, bringing March Madness back to Atlantic City for the first time since 2012.
No. 1 Siena (19-10, 15-5 MAAC)
The Saints won their last nine games of the regular season and 12 of their last 13 en route to the program’s eighth regular season championship. In his first year as Head Coach, Carmen Maciariello led Siena to a perfect 14-0 home record and its first regular season title since 2009-10 after being voted sixth in the MAAC Preseason Coaches’ Poll. Of 61 first-year Division-I head coaches, Maciariello is the only one to win his conference’s regular season championship outright. Preseason Player of the Year Jalen Pickett is averaging a team-high 15.3 points, a league-leading 6.0 assists and 4.5 rebounds for the Saints in his sophomore campaign. Pickett was unanimously selected to the 2019-20 All-MAAC First Team, joined on the list by teammate Manny Camper. Elijah Burns also represented the Saints as part of the All-MAAC Second Team. (MAAC Championships: 5, Last Championship: 2010)
No. 2 Saint Peter’s (17-12, 14-6 MAAC)
Picked to finish 9
th in the preseason, the Peacocks sit in second place in the MAAC standings. In year two at the helm, Head Coach Shaheen Holloway led Saint Peter’s to a 14-6 conference mark after going 6-12 in league play a season ago. Prior to his time in Jersey City, Holloway spent eight seasons as the associate head coach at his alma mater, Seton Hall. Five separate freshmen for Saint Peter’s have claimed a total of 10 MAAC Rookie of the Week awards this season (Fousseyni Drame – 3, Aaron Estrada – 3, Hassan Drame – 2, Daryl Banks III – 1, Doug Edert – 1). Saint Peter’s became the first team in MAAC history to have five separate individuals win at least one conference rookie of the week award. Three of those freshmen – Estrada, Banks and Edert – were named to the 2019-20 MAAC All-Rookie Team, setting a new conference record. Estrada also picked up All-MAAC Third Team honors alongside sophomore KC Ndefo. (3, 2011)
No. 3 Rider (18-12, 12-8 MAAC)
Rider currently has four 1,000-point scorers on its roster: Dimencio Vaughn, Tyere Marshall, Frederick Scott and Stevie Jordan. All four Broncs are averaging double figures, with Vaughn leading the way at 14.8 points per game. Vaughn was one of three players to be unanimously selected to the All-MAAC First Team. Marshall and Scott also earned spots on the Third Team. The Broncs seek their first-ever MAAC Championship win. Two-time MAAC Coach of the Year Kevin Baggett is in his eighth season at the helm.
No. 4 Monmouth (18-13, 12-8 MAAC)
This marks the fourth time in seven seasons the Hawks have earned a first-round bye to start the championship. Monmouth only lost two games at home this season, falling to eventual No. 1 Siena and No. 2 Saint Peter’s. Two Hawks rank in the top-10 in the league in scoring in Deion Hammond (16.3 ppg) and Ray Salnave (14.5 ppg). Head Coach King Rice is in his ninth season on the Monmouth sidelines. Rice, who led the Hawks to a championship game appearance a year ago, looks to lead the team to its first MAAC Championship.
No. 5 Quinnipiac (15-15, 10-10)
The Bobcats ended the season on a three-game winning streak to lock up the final first-round bye. Quinnipiac is led by a pair of All-MAAC Second Team selections in Rich Kelly and Kevin Marfo. Kelly ranks in the top-three in the league in scoring (16.7 ppg), assists per game (4.5), free throw percentage (.891), and three-pointers made per game (2.7). Marfo leads the NCAA with 13.3 rebounds per game. The redshirt junior tacks on 10.2 points per game and has posted 17 double-doubles so far this season (1
st – MAAC, 12
th – NCAA). Head Coach Baker Dunleavy looks to lead the Bobcats to their first MAAC Championship since joining the league in 2013. Dunleavy, in his third season in Hamden, was previously the associate head coach for a national-title winning team at Villanova in 2016.
No. 6 Niagara (11-20, 9-11)
First year Head Coach Greg Paulus led the Purple Eagles to nine regular season conference wins, three more than last season’s total. All-MAAC First Team honoree Marcus Hammond leads the way for the Purple Eagles. In his sophomore season, Marcus Hammond is averaging 14.2 points, 2.9 assists and 4.6 rebounds, all good for team-highs. Hammond was twice named the MAAC Player of the Week this season. (2, 2007)
No. 7 Iona (11-16, 9-11)
The four-time reigning MAAC Champions would become the first team in conference history to win five-straight if they can pull off the postseason run. Senior E.J. Crawford, who already has three MAAC Championships under his belt, would be the second player in MAAC history to win a fourth. The unanimous All-MAAC First Team selection makes the list for the second straight year after leading the league in scoring at 18.8 points per game. Teammate Tajuan Agee was named to the All-MAAC Second Team. (12, 2019)
No. 8 Fairfield (12-19, 8-12)
Fairfield is under the leadership of first year Head Coach Jay Young. Young picked up the first signature non-conference win of his career, with a victory over Texas A&M at the Orlando Invitational earlier this season. Landon Taliaferro’s 10 threes scored in that game still sits tied for third in the NCAA. A pair of Stags are averaging double figures in Taliaferro (12.3 ppg) and Jesus Cruz (11.2 ppg). (3, 1997)
No. 9 Manhattan (12-17, 8-12)
The Jaspers have one All-MAAC selection in third-teamer Pauly Paulicap. The senior is averaging 10.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.9 blocks, all team-highs. Paulicap’s 6.2 rebounds put him in sixth in the league and his 1.9 blocks sit him in second. Head Coach Stevie Masiello is in his ninth season at the helm and led the Jaspers to back-to-back titles in 2014 and 2015. (5, 2015)
No. 10 Canisius (12-19, 7-13)
Canisius enters the championship on a two-game winning streak after victories over Marist and Niagara to cap the season. The Griffs are led by senior and All-MAAC Third Team selection Malik Johnson. Johnson is averaging 12.5 points and team-highs in rebounds (5.9) and assists (5.9). The senior leader’s 5.9 assists per game rank second in the league. Freshman Jacco Fritz was selected to the MAAC All-Rookie Team and was named MAAC Rookie of the Week on three separate occasions, tied for the league-high. (1, 1996)
No. 11 Marist (7-22, 6-14)
Six of Marist’s seven wins on the season came during conference play. Tyler Sagl represented Marist on the All-Rookie Team after averaging 8.6 points and shooting 80.9 percent from the line in his freshman campaign. Sagl was named MAAC Rookie of the Week on Jan. 27, after averaging 20.0 points and shooting 47.4 percent (9-for-19) from three-point range on the week.
The Red Foxes have never cut down the nets in the MAAC Championship.
Tickets for the 2020 Hercules Tires MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships can be purchased by visiting
ticketmaster.com or by visiting
maacsports.com/basketball. To keep up with the postseason action, follow @MAACHoops on Twitter and join the conversation on social media using the hashtag #maAChoops20.
See below for the full schedule and matchups:
| Round |
Game |
Matchup |
Date |
Times |
Network |
| First Round |
Game 1 |
No. 8 Fairfield vs No. 9 Manhattan |
March 10 |
5:00 p.m. |
ESPN3 |
| First Round |
Game 2 |
No. 7 Iona vs No. 10 Canisius |
March 10 |
7:00 p.m. |
ESPN3 |
| First Round |
Game 3 |
No. 6 Niagara vs No. 11 Marist |
March 10 |
9:00 p.m. |
ESPN3 |
| Quarterfinal |
Game 4 |
No. 1 Siena vs Game 1 Winner |
March 11 |
7:00 p.m. |
ESPN3 |
| Quarterfinal |
Game 5 |
No. 2 Saint Peter’s vs Game 2 Winner |
March 11 |
9:30 p.m. |
ESPN3 |
| Quarterfinal |
Game 6 |
No. 3 Rider vs Game 3 Winner |
March 12 |
7:00 p.m. |
ESPN3 |
| Quarterfinal |
Game 7 |
No. 4 Monmouth vs No. 5 Quinnipiac |
March 12 |
9:30 p.m. |
ESPN3 |
| Semifinal |
Game 8 |
Game 4 Winner vs Game 7 Winner |
March 13 |
6:00 p.m. |
ESPNN |
| Semifinal |
Game 9 |
Game 5 Winner vs Game 6 Winner |
March 13 |
8:30 p.m. |
ESPNN |
| Championship |
Game 10 |
Game 8 Winner vs Game 9 Winner |
March 14 |
4:00 p.m. |
ESPNU |
About the 2020 Hercules Tires MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships:
The 2020 Hercules Tire 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.