Men's Basketball

Fairfield at Rider on February 10 Flexed to ESPNU as MAAC Wildcard Game

EDISON, NJ (Jan. 23, 2023) – The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) today announced, the February 10 men’s basketball contest between Rider University and Fairfield University has been flexed to ESPNU as part of the MAAC Wildcard Game package. The game will tip at 7 p.m. inside of Alumni Gymnasium in Lawrenceville, New Jersey.
 
The matchup puts two of the MAAC’s hottest teams head-to-head in a top-5 matchup, with third-place Rider hosting fifth-place Fairfield. The February 10th contest will be the second meeting of the season between the teams who are scheduled to clash in Fairfield, Connecticut this weekend on Sunday, January 29 at 2 p.m.
 
The Rider Broncs (9-9, 6-3 MAAC) currently sit in a two-way tie for third-place at 6-3 in the league and the squad is riding a three-game unbeaten streak, the second longest active streak in the conference. After beginning the new year in a slump, the Broncs have reeled off three straight victories, starting with an upset road win over Iona (Jan. 15), which snapped the Gaels 21 game home winning streak, followed by a pair of home triumphs over Niagara (Jan. 20) and Manhattan (Jan. 22). Leading Rider this season is all-league guard Dwight Murray Jr., who is logging 16.6 points, 3.2 assists, 1.4 steals, in 35.6 minutes of action. On the MAAC charts he ranks third in scoring, ninth in assists, tied for fourth in steals, and second in minutes. Another double-digit scorer for the Broncs is Mervin James, who was just named MAAC Player of the Week today. James averages 13.2 points per contest, good for a 13th place tie in the MAAC, while pulling down 7.0 rebounds, fifth-most in the MAAC. He is also seventh in defensive rebounds, ninth in offensive rebounds, and second in free throw percentage on the conference leaderboard. Rider scores the fifth most points per game in the league at 69.2 ppg, and has the third-best scoring margin at 1.3 points. The Broncs also rank second in free throw percentage and both third in rebounds and rebounding margin.
 
The Fairfield Stags (9-10, 5-4 MAAC), who also had its February 3 meeting at in-state rival Quinnipiac flexed to ESPNU, have sole possession of fifth-place on the conference standings, following a three-game winning streak. The three consecutive wins are tied for the second longest active streak in the MAAC along with Rider, and they feature wins over defending MAAC champion Saint Peter’s (Jan. 15), Canisius (Jan. 20), and an impressive 10-point road win over first-place Siena (Jan. 22). Fairfield enters the week as the top defensive unit in the MAAC, leading the league in points allowed per game, while giving up the fewest made 3-pointers and holding its opponents to the lowest 3-point field goal percentage in the MAAC. Individually, the Stags are led by Supreme Cook and Caleb Fields this season, with the duo ranking 13th and 17th on the MAAC scoring leaderboard, respectively. Cook, who also ranks second in the MAAC in double-doubles and third in rebounding, is averaging 13.2 points, 8.5 rebounds, and has five total double-doubles on the season to lead Fairfield. Additionally, he is the fifth-most efficient field goal shooter, making .547 percent of his shots per game while ranking 12th in blocked shots on the defensive side of the ball. Fields, the Stags second-leading scorer, is averaging 12.5 points per game. He ranks fifth in free throw percentage, seventh in steals, and 15th in assist to turnover ratio while playing a league-high 36.1 minutes per game.
 
The MAAC Wildcard Game 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. Future MAAC wildcard matchups will be announced at later dates.
 
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.