MAAC Basketball: High octane offenses the theme for 2018-19

The MAAC is known for high scoring programs, led by Iona and Rider. Both teams return plenty of scoring options.

The 2018 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament was turned upside down when the top three seeds were all defeated in the quarterfinals. With the bracket wide open, the Iona Gaels took full advantage, racking up three wins in three days for the tournament championship.

The high-scoring Gaels will be looking to repeat but they will have to fend off another prolific offense in the Rider Broncs. The Broncs won the regular-season championship finishing 15-3 in the conference and 22-10 overall.

Both teams ranked in the top 53 in scoring offense last season, Iona scored over 79 points per game while Rider netted nearly 82. Rider shot 46% from the field and ranked 20^th in total rebounds per game with 39.16. While the Broncs were good at shooting the ball and grabbing opponents misses, a couple of problems hampered coach Kevin Baggett’s team. While the team can score, so did their opponents, Rider gave up 78 points per game and although they ranked 6^th in the country in free throws attempted, they ranked last in all of college basketball in free throw percentage at 60.8%.

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Iona is a three-point shooting team. They finished in the top 39 teams in the country in three-point field goals per game (9.5), three-point field goal percentage (38.3%) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.37). However much like Rider, the team struggled to stop opponents, giving up 76.5 points per game while having a -4.0-rebounding margin.

The two teams had a total of 10 double-digit scorers and eight of them return to lead their squads in 2018.

Rider is one of the few teams in the country that returns all five of its double-digit scorers from last season and all five aren’t going anywhere as they consist of three redshirt sophomores and two juniors. The juniors are both Pennsylvania natives; 6-0 guard Stevie Jordan and 6-9 center Tyere Marshall. Jordan averaged 12.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and a team-leading 5.9 assists per contest, the assist total was good enough for 24^th best in the country. Marshall added over 10 points while grabbing 6.6 rebounds.

The three sophomores returning to the Broncs were also the team’s top three scorers last season. Despite missing three games, 6-5 swingman Dimencio Vaughn was the team’s leading scorer and rebounder with 16.1 points and 6.7 rebounds. He also registered three double-doubles and a season-high 34 points in a win over St. Peter’s. Jordan Allen, a 6-4 guard netted 13 points per game, but also scored at least 15 in 15 of the team’s games. Finally, Indiana native Frederick Scott averaged 12.8 points and 6.5 rebounds and led the team in field goal percentage among those with at least 100 shot attempts at 52%.

Iona returns its top three scorers, and they are also three of the team’s leading rebounders. Rickey McGill was the team’s leading scorer with 13.4, was not far behind Rider’s Jordan in assists with 5.6 per game, and at just 6-1 was the team’s second-best returning rebounder with four per game. E.J. Crawford, a 6-6 swingman threw down 12.5 points and among those returning, attempted a team-high 148 three-pointers making just 50. Senior big man Roland Griffin averaged 11.2 points and reached the 20-point plateau six times, including a season-high 29 in the MAAC championship game against Fairfield.

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If you like offense, the MAAC has been the place to be, and with so many top scorers returning to the regular season and tournament champions, it will again be one of the top offensive-centric conferences in the country.