Siena and Monmouth advance to the semis, contenders Quinnipiac and Rider bounced in their first games of the MAAC tournament
There were some upsets on the second day of the MAAC Basketball Conference Tournament. Who fell unexpectedly to the lower seeds?
Another day, another evening of fantastic action in the MAAC Basketball tournament in Albany. The third day of the tourney featured #6 Monmouth against #3 Quinnipiac, and #4 Rider taking on hosts, #5 Siena, and the winners would join Canisius and Iona in the semifinals on Sunday. While the top seeds avoided upsets on Friday, the two lower seeds would get past their favored opponents to play for a spot in Monday’s championship game.
Another disappointment for Rider
Rider had a very difficult season after being the unanimous pick to win the MAAC in 2019. The talented Broncs returned virtually everyone from a team that won the league with a 15-3 record a season ago, and despite a hot league start, ended up with an 11-7 MAAC record. But in a tough, parity-driven league, it was good enough for a tie for second place, a game back of champions Iona, and a fourth seed. While the regular season hadn’t gone according to plan, it was going to be difficult to pick against the Broncs in Albany.
And the game was as tight as anyone could’ve expected through the first 35 minutes. It was back and forth, gun-slinging affair in the second half, with neither team being able to consistently get stops; Siena couldn’t miss from the outside, but they had no answers for Rider’s frontcourt on the other end. But with about five minutes left, Rider went cold and couldn’t find a way to finish or get to the line. Siena eventually built an 11-point lead late, but one final Rider push put the game in doubt. They were within four points with 40 seconds left in the game, but Siena eventually iced it in front of their fans in Albany. The Saints won 87-81 and will face Iona in the semis.
Rider has now won 26 games over the last two seasons in league play, have a regular season title and a second-place finish, but haven’t advanced past the quarterfinal round in this tournament in eight years. Rider won’t have the automatic NIT bid to fall back on this year, but they will be returning all of their major contributors again next season. The expectations and the pressure on this maturing team will be massive in 2020.
Monmouth moves past Cam Young, Quinnipiac
Cam Young, Quinnipiac’s senior guard that made national headlines with a 55-point performance a few weeks ago against Siena, was one of the major headlines coming into the MAAC tournament. One of the most dynamic scorers in the league and a first team all-conference selection, I expected him to be one of the biggest x-factors coming into the weekend. He was one of the reasons I chose Quinnipiac to raise the trophy on Monday.
And I’ll have to live with the fact that I chose bottom-seeded Niagara to upset Monmouth in the first round, but I did anticipate the Hawks being a threat to do damage if they managed to beat what was perhaps the most dangerous bottom seed in any tournament in the country. They’ve done just that. Like every game in this tournament, it was a tight one between Monmouth and Quinnipiac. The high-scoring game went back and forth until a three-minute second half scoreless drought for the Bobcats allowed Monmouth to build a nine-point lead they wouldn’t give up. Monmouth won 98-92 and will play Canisius on Sunday. Ray Salnave scored 19 for Monmouth, and Cam Young, with 33, was still the biggest storyline in a Quinnipiac loss.
Quinnipiac will have as tough of an off-season as Rider will, failing to win a single game in the tournament. However, with Cam Young leaving, Baker Dunleavy will have to figure out how to replace that production if they expect to compete in the MAAC next year.
If the first three days have been any indication, Sunday’s semifinal action is going to be cant-miss basketball.
Add us as a preferred source on Google