Men's Basketball

Fairfield and Marist Set to Clash on ESPNU as MAAC Wildcard Game on March 1

EDISON, NJ (Feb. 21, 2024) – The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) today announced, the March 1 men’s basketball contest between Marist College and Fairfield University has been flexed to ESPNU as part of the MAAC Wildcard Game package. Opening tip is set for 7 p.m. at McCann Arena in Poughkeepsie, New York.
 
The Friday night bout will be another top-5 MAAC matchup, featuring two programs that have contrasting styles, with second-place Fairfield, which is one of the top offensive teams in the MAAC, taking on fourth-place Marist, the league’s top defensive unit. This will be the second wildcard selection of the season for both teams, with Marist having earned the inaugural spot for its January 26 contest at Niagara, while Fairfield is receiving its second straight wildcard game, also having this upcoming Friday’s rivalry matchup at top-ranked Quinnipiac flexed to ESPNU. When the teams met on January 7 in Fairfield, the Stags came away with a dominating, 82-61 home victory.
 
Boasting the number one defense in the MAAC, the Marist Red Foxes (14-9, 9-5 MAAC) sit in fourth-place in the MAAC standings and are currently riding a league-best four game winning streak. Marist is holding opponents to a MAAC-low 61.9 points per game, the sixth-best scoring defense in the NCAA. The Red Foxes also own the top field goal percentage defense (.412) and three-point percentage defense (.315) in the league. Their 14.48 forced turnovers per game is second among the league leaders and the team’s plus 2.5 turnover margin ranks third. In addition to the four-game winning streak, Marist has won seven out of its last 10 games since mid-January, which includes season series sweeps over Canisius, Rider, and Siena in six of the seven wins over the timeframe. The Red Foxes will be on the road this weekend ahead of the March 1 ESPNU matchup, traveling to Manhattan (February 23) and Saint Peter’s (February 25).
 
The Fairfield Stags (16-10, 10-5 MAAC) are currently tied for second-place in the MAAC and are one of just three teams to reach 10 league wins thus far. One of the top offensive units in the conference, Fairfield paces the league and ranks 25th nationally with 9.3 made three-pointers per game. The Stags also rank first in the MAAC in both three-point attempts per game and fast break points, hoisting up 24.9 triples and scoring 11.7 fast break points, respectively. Fairfield’s 76.3 points per game are second on the MAAC charts, and the team also ranks second in scoring margin (+5.0), three-point percentage (.374), assist to turnover ratio (1.26), effective field goal percentage (0.530), turnover margin (+2.7), and turnovers per game (11.3). The Stags will play in the aforementioned ESPNU game at Quinnipiac on Friday and then play host to Siena on Sunday (February 25) prior to the March 1 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 2023-24 campaign culminates with the 2024 Hercules Tires MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships from March 12-16 at Atlantic City's Historic Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall for the fifth consecutive year dating back to 2020. For all information regarding the 2024 Hercules Tires MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships, please visit MAACSports.com/basketball and by following @MAACHoops and #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 43rd year of competition during the 2023-24 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius University, 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. Merrimack College and Sacred Heart University will join the MAAC as full members in the 2024-25 academic year, expanding the conference to 13 institutions.
 
Stay up to date with the MAAC on social media by following @MAACSports on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Threads or visit MAACSports.com for all the latest MAAC news.