EDISON, NJ (Dec. 1, 2022) – The 2022-23 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) men’s basketball league slate tips-off this week with eight total league games. The early December portion of the conference schedule officially begins tonight with a pair of conference games. In addition to tonight’s games, there are two scheduled contests every day through Sunday, December 4.
 
Thursday, December 1

• Fairfield at Manhattan – 7 p.m. – ESPN+
• Mount St. Mary’s at Saint Peter’s – 7 p.m.

Friday, December 2

• Canisius at Siena – 7 p.m. – ESPN+
• Niagara at Iona – 7 p.m. – ESPN3

Saturday, December 3

• Rider at Mount St. Mary’s – 4 p.m. – ESPN3
• Saint Peter’s at Fairfield – 7 p.m. – ESPN3

Sunday, December 4

• Canisius at Iona – 1 p.m. – ESPN+
• Niagara at Quinnipiac – 1 p.m. – ESPN+

 
The full 2022-23 MAAC men’s basketball schedule can be found on maacsports.com.
 
Conference Nugget:
10 out of the 11 teams open the conference schedule this week from Thursday, Dec. 1 through Sunday, Dec. 4. The lone squad not competing in MAAC play during the opening week is Marist, which will tip off its MAAC stanza on Monday, Dec. 19.
 
Non-Conference Notables:
MAAC Standings
Five MAAC men’s teams enter December with records of .500 or above, with three teams boasting winning records. Sitting at the top of the standings after the initial month of the season is Quinnipiac with a 7-1 record. Following the Bobcats are Saint Peter’s (4-2) and Siena (4-3). Iona (2-2) and Niagara (3-3) hold even records. The entire 2022-23 MAAC men’s basketball standings can be found on maacsports.com.
 
Home Court Advantage
MAAC squads have been dominate at home through the first month of the season. Seven teams are undefeated at home, 10 out of 11 MAAC units have recorded at least one home win, and the conference has a combined 17-5 home record to start 2022-23. The only league team without a home win is Fairfield, which has not yet played a home game. The seven teams with perfect home marks are: Saint Peter’s (4-0), Quinnipiac (2-0), Rider (2-0), Iona (1-0), Manhattan (1-0), Niagara (1-0), and Mount St. Mary’s (1-0).
 
MAAC Takes MAAC/ASUN Challenge (Again) - Purple Eagles Perfection
The third installment of the MAAC/ASUN Challenge took the event abroad, as the two conferences did battle at the National Basketball Arena in Dublin, Ireland. Despite the change in location – and country – the MAAC prevailed for the third straight time, edging the ASUN 5-3 (2021, 5-3 and 2019, 6-2). The Niagara University Purple Eagles, which entered the annual event winless, went a perfect 2-0 over the two-day event, knocking off Central Arkansas (73-64) and previously unbeaten Stetson (66-62) on the men’s side. Noah Thomasson averaged 22.0 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game, while shooting 54.8 percent from the field en route to being named MVP of the challenge.

MTE MAAC Success
A handful of MAAC teams have competed in multi-team events thus far, with four teams posting winning records and the fifth holding a .500 mark, while the league has combined to go 9-4 overall. Boasting a perfect 2-0 record is Mount St. Mary’s, which scored a pair of true road wins during the California Thanksgiving Jam at Cal Poly (73-68) and at Pacific (69-65). Siena secured the most impressive MTE victories, upending a pair of high-major teams and finishing third at the annual ESPN Events Invitational in Orlando, Florida. The Saints got their first win over an ACC opponent in 12 years, handling Florida State 80-63 on Thanksgiving, followed by their first Big East win in 19 years, edging Seton Hall 60-55 on Nov. 28. Quinnipiac soared out to the best start in program history since 1969-70, with a pair of wins in Quebec, Canada in The Northern Classic, topping Stephen F. Austin (58-44) and Montana State (70-53), before falling to CAA contender Hofstra by two-points. Fairfield, which traveled to Savannah, Georgia for the Hostilo Hoops Community Classic winless, came out of the event 2-1. The Stags knocked off CAA favorite and previously unbeaten Towson 74-69 and handed Evansville a 63-56 defeat to cap off the event. The Manhattan Jaspers traveled across the pond to London, England for the London Basketball Classic at Copper Box Arena. The Jaspers finished third at the event, dropping a controversial overtime game to Northeastern, before slipping by Army 72-71 in the consolation game.
 
The 2022-23 campaign culminates with the 2023 Hercules Tires MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships from March 7-11 at Atlantic City's Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall for the fourth consecutive year. For all information regarding the 2023 Hercules Tires MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships, please visit MAACSports.com/basketball and by following @MAACHoops and #MAACHoops on Twitter. For tickets to the 2023 Hercules Tires MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships, please visit ticketmaster.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) is in its 42nd year of competition during the 2022-23 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona University, Manhattan College, Marist College, Mount St. Mary’s University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College.
 
Stay up to date with the MAAC on social media by following @MAACSports on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram or visit MAACSports.com for all the latest MAAC news.