EDISON, NJ (Feb. 1, 2023) – The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) today announced, the February 17 men’s basketball contest between Siena College and Quinnipiac University has been flexed to ESPNU as part of the MAAC Wildcard Game package. Opening tip for the game will be at 9 p.m. inside of MVP Arena in Albany, New York.
 
The mid-February matchup will feature a pair of top-5 MAAC teams, with top-ranked Siena, who leads the league in MAAC wins, hosting fourth-place Quinnipiac, who is the conference leader in overall wins. The February 17 game will be the second in the season series between the sides, with the squads first meeting on Friday, December 30 in Hamden, CT, where the Saints topped the Bobcats, 83-76. This will be the third awarded ESPNU contest of the season for Siena, with the Saints home game last Friday against Iona on January 27 and the team’s future meeting at Rider on February 24 also being selected as the wildcard matchup. For Quinnipiac, it’s the second ESPNU wildcard selection for the team, joining the Bobcats’ upcoming home date with in-state rival Fairfield this Friday, February 3.
 
The Siena Saints (15-7, 9-2 MAAC) sit alone atop of the MAAC standings and have held at least a share of first-place for the entirety of the season. The Saints’ 9-2 conference record is the program’s best 11-game start in 13 years while the nine wins are the most in the league this season. After a 7-0 start to the MAAC campaign, Siena suffered defeats in two out of three games before winning two straight last week, earning a statement win over Iona in the aforementioned ESPNU game, 70-53, and with a convincing 70-55 victory over Marist on January 29. Siena is one of the top scoring units in the conference, scoring 69.9 points per game, which ranks third in the MAAC. The Saints also lead the MAAC in combined opponent rebounds (30.8), they rank second in free-throw percentage (.757) and blocked shots per game (4.73), and the team ranks third in scoring margin (3.8), field goal percentage (.448), 3-point field goal percentage (.358), and defensive rebounds per game (24.7). Leading Siena in scoring this season are the trio of Javian McCollum, Jackson Stormo, and Andrew Platek. McCollum is Siena’s top scorer, averaging 15.8 points per clip, good for fourth on the MAAC leaderboard. He also ranks third in free-throw percentage, sixth in assists, and eighth in assist to turnover ratio. Stormo ranks 12th on the MAAC scoring charts, posting 13.8 ppg, while ranking second in blocks and sixth in field goal percentage. Platek is the third-leading scorer on the Saints lineup, accounting for 10.7 points per outing, 23rd in the conference and he serves as the team’s top outside threat, leading the MAAC in 3-point field goal percentage, while ranking second in overall threes made and 3-point field goals per game.
 
The Quinnipiac Bobcats (16-6, 7-4 MAAC) own the best overall record in the MAAC, having won a league-most 16 games, while also owning the highest overall winning percentage (.727) thus far during the season. The Bobcats made the largest jump of any MAAC team this season, going from a last place tie after an 0-3 start in league play, to reeling off six straight wins and moving to as high as third-place on the MAAC standings in less than a month. The six straight wins were also the second-longest winning streak in conference play this season behind Siena’s seven. Last night, Quinnipiac bounced back from a heartbreaking loss on Sunday at Iona, to win its fourth straight at home, topping Marist, 72-66. The Bobcats are the second ranked offensive unit in the MAAC, scoring 72.8 points per contest and owns the second-highest scoring margin in the conference at 5.9. Quinnipiac is the league’s top rebounding team, grabbing 39.0 boards per game, 27.1 defensive rebounds per game, and recording a 5.5 rebounding margin. Defensively, the squad has forced the league’s lowest opponent field goal percentage, holding teams to .407 percent per game. The Bobcats have a balanced offensive attack, with three players averaging over 10 points per game in 2022-23. Leading Quinnipiac this season and ranking 19th in the conference is Dezi Jones with his 11.9 scoring average, doing so while shooting the third-best percentage in the MAAC from beyond the arc and fourth-highest percentage from the charity stripe. Jones is also seventh in assists and fifth in assist to turnover ratio on the year. Matt Balanc is just behind Jones, scoring 11.0 points per game (22nd in the MAAC) while Ike Nweke is averaging 10.5 points (24th in the MAAC) and pulling in 6.1 rebounds, which ranks eighth in the conference.
 
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.
 
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.