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Monmouth basketball: Hawks first to win conference title

By Doug Winkey

Nov 18, 2016; Syracuse, NY, USA; Monmouth Hawks head coach King Rice talks with his team during a time-out in the second half against the Syracuse Orange at the Carrier Dome. Syracuse defeated Monmouth 71-50. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 18, 2016; Syracuse, NY, USA; Monmouth Hawks head coach King Rice talks with his team during a time-out in the second half against the Syracuse Orange at the Carrier Dome. Syracuse defeated Monmouth 71-50. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports /
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Monmouth basketball quietly won the first regular season title of the year this week.

The Monmouth Hawks have secured the top spot in the MAAC Tournament. They are the first team in the nation to clinch their conference regular season title and should be a heavy favorite to receive their first NCAA appearance since 2006. Head coach King Rice has done a tremendous job building the program up since taking over in 2011.

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The Hawks are currently 15-2 in the MAAC and 23-5 overall. Their best nonconference win was a three-point victory at Memphis but took South Carolina down to the wire on the road. They suffered early losses to Rider and Saint Peters, but have otherwise rolled through Metro Atlantic play. They have won their 15 conference games by an average of 12.7 points. How has the West Long Branch, New Jersey school reached this point?

The first answer that pops out is balance. Monmouth is rated 97th in both adjusted offense and defense with the 191st fastest tempo. Those numbers help combine to make the Hawks 85th overall from an analytics standpoint. For perspective, they are just two spots behind the Big Ten’s Nebraska and Penn State overall but are better than both of those schools on offense relative to their competition.

Second is point guard Justin Robinson. The 5’8″ New York native averages 19.9 points this year with shooting splits of 42/42/85. Robinson leads the team in scoring and has done so the past two years. He also adds 3.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 1.5 steals. He needs just 110 points over his last four or five games to break the coveted 2000-point barrier. His primary supporters have been Micah Seaborn with 14.0 ppg and

His primary supporters have been Micah Seaborn with 14.0 points and Je’lon Hornbeak’s 11.1. Chris Brady anchors the middle with 9.1 points, 6.8 boards, and 1.8 blocks. Overall the Hawks shoot 43 percent from the field and 37 percent from deep.

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Monmouth came up short against Iona last year, but the Hawks look ready to take down last season’s tournament representative. They have solid, balanced numbers and experience against some of the nation’s power schools. Monmouth won’t get a high seed, a 13 is the most common spot on the major bracketology projections, but this team could scare a major program in March. King Rice’s name might come up in coaching searches this spring with the job he’s done.