MAAC Basketball: Iona, Canisius top seeds in 2019 conference tournament
By Pan Karalis
First round
#8 Marist vs. #9 St. Peter’s
If there’s one thing you can expect from St. Peter’s, it’s that they’ll beat up on the bottom half of the league and surprise a lot of people come tournament time. They shocked Rider a year ago in this tournament, took Iona to the wire, and beat the Foxes twice this year. Yes, it is hard to beat a team three times in one season, but Peacocks leading scorer Davauhnte Turner really likes to play against Marist. Let’s see if they have an answer for him on Thursday.
Winner: St. Peter’s
#7 Manhattan vs. #10 Fairfield
Manhattan and Fairfield traded 13-point losses at the other’s gym, and like the rest of the league, not much separates the schools in the standings. Manahattan robbed Quinnipiac of a share of the league title on the final day of the regular season, but lost three of their last four, including a loss against the Stags. Manhattan doesn’t have a single player that averages double digits in points, and in a game that could come down to the final possession, I’ll give the edge to the Stags. Landon Taliaferro was second behind Cam Young in three pointers made, and leads a corps of three guards that can all be relied on to put the ball through the hoop.
Winner: Fairfield
#6 Monmouth vs. #11 Niagara
Unfortunately for my hometown Hawks, I have to pick Niagara here. I think they’re the most likely team outside the top five to make a significant amount of noise, and are proven against some of the toughest teams in the MAAC. To the naked eye, it might not appear that any tournament would be guaranteed to lose an exciting team in a first round #6 vs. #11 matchup, but that’ll be the case here. If King Rice and Monmouth do move past Niagara, they’ll have a real shot to knock off Quinnipiac. The Purple Eagles sat in first place only a few weeks ago before a late-season slide knocked them down to their current seed.