2021 Hercules Tires MAAC Men’s Basketball Championship Preview
Atlantic City, N.J. (March 8, 2021) – The 2021 Hercules Tires MAAC Men’s Basketball Championship tips off tonight at Atlantic City’s historic Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall. The 40
th edition of the tournament makes its return to Atlantic City after last year’s tournament was cancelled due to the COVD-19 Pandemic.
Siena claimed a share of the regular season title and the No. 1 overall seed, earning a first-round bye alongside co -champion No. 2 Monmouth, No. 3 Saint Peter’s, No. 4 Marist and No. 5 Niagara. The 11 teams will compete for the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, bringing March Madness back to Atlantic City.
No. 1 Siena (12-2, 12-4 MAAC)
For the second straight season, Siena won a share of the Regular Season Championship. Siena Men's Basketball boasts three All-MAAC selections highlighted by a pair of First Team honorees. Senior captain Manny Camper and junior guard Jalen Pickett each earned First Team All-MAAC acclaim once again, while sophomore guard Jordan King was heralded as a Third Team All-MAAC selection. This marks just the sixth time in Siena's 32 seasons in the conference in which the program has earned multiple First Team All-MAAC honorees, and second straight. Top-seeded Siena begins play in the 2021 Hercules Tires MAAC Basketball Championships at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in quarterfinal round action Wednesday at 5 p.m. on ESPN+. The Saints will face the winner of the MAAC First Round matchup between eighth seeded Quinnipiac and No. 9 Iona which is set for Tuesday at 5 p.m.
No. 2 Monmouth (12-7, 12-6 MAAC)
Monmouth University Men's Basketball is lead by three seniors who were named to Postseason All-MAAC teams. Guard Deion Hammond was a unanimous choice for the First Team, while guard George Papas earned Second Team honors and forward Melik Martin was voted to the Third Team. Head Coach King Rice is in his tenth season on the Monmouth sidelines. Rice, who led the Hawks to a championship game appearance two year ago, looks to lead the team to its first MAAC Championship.
No. 3 Saint Peter’s (13-10, 10-8 MAAC)
Saint Peter's men's basketball is lead by Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) team members KC Ndefo and Daryl Banks III. After earning All-MAAC Third team accolades in 2019-20, Ndefo locked down a unanimous selection to the All-MAAC First Team in 2020-21. The junior forward led the Peacocks in scoring, blocks, and steals for the second consecutive season, averaging 13.6 points, 3.7 blocks, and 1.4 steals. Ndefo ranked top-10 in the MAAC in all three categories, finishing the regular season first in blocks, sixth in points, and seventh in steals, while also ranking ninth in rebounds. His blocks per game average and total blocks (85) both lead the nation. Known predominantly for his rim protection, Ndefo made a jump offensively this season, improving his scoring average by 5.1 points per game and scoring in double-figures in 18 out of 23 games. Moreover, the Elmont, NY native is one of two players ranked top-10 in the conference in both blocks and steals this season.
No. 4 Marist (12-8, 10-8 MAAC)
John Dunne, who was recently named as a finalist for the Skip Prosser Man of Year, lead the Red Foxes to a top four finish and first round bye. Marist has had major contributions from Freshman’s Hakim Byrd and Ricardo Wright. Wright was a unanimous selection to the All-Rookie Team, and was named MAAC Rookie of the Week four times in the regular season. Byrd played in all 20 of Marist's regular-season games, with eight starts. He is averaging 8.3 points, 2.0 assists, and 2.0 rebounds per game while shooting .826 from the free-throw line.
No. 5 Niagara (8-10, 7-9)
Head Coach Greg Paulus led the Purple Eagles to a top five finish in the league. All-MAAC Second Team honoree Marcus Hammond and Kobi Nwandu lead the way for the Purple Eagles. Hammond earns all-league honors for the second straight season after being named to the 2019-20 All-MAAC First Team. Hammond, who was a unanimous Preseason All-MAAC First Team selection, leads the Purple Eagles in assists (2.9 apg), rebounds (5.7 rpg), 3-pointers (1.9 pg), steals (1.1 spg), and minutes (34.1). Nwandu is averaging a team-leading 14.5 points per game, which ranks fifth in the MAAC, in his first season as a Purple Eagle.
No. 6 Canisius (7-5, 7-5)
Canisius enters the championship coming off a big win against the league’s number one seed and co-champion Siena. The Griffs are led by Junior and All-MAAC Third Team selection Malek Green. Green, who sat out the 2019-20 season after transferring to Canisius from Morehead State, led the Golden Griffins with his 13.3 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. He enters the conference tournament ranked eighth in the MAAC in scoring and third in boards per game, making him one of four players in the league to rank in the top-10 in both scoring and rebounding average.
No. 7 Fairfield (7-16, 7-11)
The Stags will open play in the 2021 Hercules Tires Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Basketball Championship against Manhattan. Head Coach Jay Young will bring his team to Atlantic City for a third straight match up with Manhattan College. Of late the Stags have been getting major contributions from newcomer Jake Wojcik who netted a personal best 33 points in powering the team past Manhattan in there last matchup. He was one of three starters in double figures, joining Taj Benning (14 points) and Caleb Green (12 points).
No. 8 Quinnipiac (9-12, 7-10)
Quinnipiac men’s basketball begins postseason play on Tuesday night, squaring off with Iona in the opening round of the 2021 MAAC Tournament. Luis Kortright (10.5 PPG) and Tymu
Chenery (10.0 PPG) were both named to the MAAC All-Rookie Team. Kortright ranks third in scoring among MAAC first-year players, while Chenery ranks fourth.
No. 9 Iona (8-5, 6-3)
Iona lead by Hall of Famer, Rick Pitino will enter the 2021 MAAC Men's Basketball Championship as the No. 9 seed. Due to COVID-19 related disruptions, Iona has paused for a combined total of 69 days for the 2020-21season. The Gaels were picked second in the MAAC Preseason Poll. Iona received major contributions from unanimous All- MAAC First Team member Isaiah Ross. The three-time MAAC Player of the Week scored 30+ points three times, including a career-high 33 points in Iona's first win of the season at Hofstra on December 5. Ross enters the MAAC Tournament averaging 20.5 points per game and shooting 48.9% from the floor and 41.8% from deep. He has hit at least five three-point field goals in four contests this season.
No. 10 Manhattan (7-12, 6-12)
Head Coach Steve Masiello has a school-record 11 MAAC Championship wins, with a school-record 61.1 winning percentage and two titles over nine previous trips to the conference tournament. The Jaspers enter the tournament all-time at 29-34 with five MAAC titles in championship play. With Tuesday's game, Manhattan will have played Fairfield more than any other MAAC school in program history, as the Jaspers have also squared off with Siena and Saint Peter's 11 times.
No. 11 Rider (5-16, 5-13)
Rider enters the tournament lead by All-MAAC Second Team member Dwight Murray, Jr. Murray has scored in double figures a team-high 17 times in 21 games this year, including seven games of 20 points or more. He's posted a team-high three double-doubles, including a pair that also neared a triple-double with seven assists. He's averaged 15.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game, while shooting a MAAC-best 88.1 percent from the free-throw line in 37.1 minutes per game.
To keep up with the postseason action, follow @MAACHoops on Twitter and join the conversation on social media using the hashtag #maAChoops21.
See below for the full schedule and matchups:
| Round |
Game |
Matchup |
Date |
Times |
Network |
| First Round |
Game 1 |
No. 6 Canisius vs No. 11 Rider |
March 8 |
7:00 PM |
ESPN+ |
| First Round |
Game 2 |
No. 8 Quinnipiac vs No. 9 Iona |
March 9 |
5:00 PM |
ESPN+ |
| First Round |
Game 3 |
No. 7 Fairfield vs. No. 10 Manhattan |
March 9 |
7:30 PM |
ESPN+ |
| Quarterfinal |
Game 4 |
No. 1 Siena vs Game 2 Winner |
March 10 |
5:00 PM |
ESPN+ |
| Quarterfinal |
Game 5 |
No. 2 Monmouth vs Game 3 Winner |
March 10 |
7:30 PM |
ESPN+ |
| Quarterfinal |
Game 6 |
No. 3 Saint Peter’s vs Game 1 Winner |
March 11 |
5:00 PM |
ESPN+ |
| Quarterfinal |
Game 7 |
No. 4 Marist vs No. 5 Niagara |
March 11 |
7:30 PM |
ESPN+ |
| Semifinal |
Game 8 |
Game 4 Winner vs Game 7 Winner |
March 12 |
6:00 PM |
ESPNews |
| Semifinal |
Game 9 |
Winner Game 5 vs Winner Game 6 |
March 12 |
8:30 PM |
ESPNews |
| Championship |
Game 10 |
Winner Game 8 vs Winner Game 9 |
March 13 |
4:00 PM. |
ESPNU |
About the 2021 Hercules Tires MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships:
The MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships return to New Jersey on March 8-13, 2021 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 Time Out for Black Lives
Time Out for Black Lives aims to inspire and educate youth, athletes, families and fans. The initiative has an interactive website where coaches and student-athletes from MAAC basketball programs contribute their time and resources to read children’s books in entertaining videos, all focusing on Black culture, history, music and myths. The program comes as part of the MAAC’s
United for Justice campaign that was announced over the summer. For more information, visit
timeoutforblacklives.com.
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) celebrates its 40th year of competition during the 2020-21 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.