The 2014 Metro Atlanta Athletic Conference favorites are familiar. Last year's champs, the Iona Gaels, race their way into Springfield's MassMutual Center this week hoping to run their opponents off the floor. The bad news for coach Tim Cluess' quad: all three losses during the 20-game conference schedule came to the No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 teams in the MAAC.
MAAC Tournament 2014: Iona leads a crowded field
There are as many as four teams in the MAAC who have legitimate chances at pulling off a run through the conference tournament.
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Manhattan, Quinnipiac and Canisius all have wins against the Gaels to remember, and that means their formula is out there to stop the fourth-highest scoring team in the NCAA. Iona is led by the dangerous guard duo of Sean Armand and A.J. English, who each average nearly 18 points per game. The Gaels are ranked No. 11 in Ken Pomeroy's offensive efficiency rankings and bury their opponents under a barrage of three-pointers. Iona has made the most threes in the NCAA, attempted the fourth-most and is hitting them the 10th-best -- close to 40 percent as a team.
Like a lot of offensive-oriented teams, defense isn’t Iona’s trademark. The Gaels have solid perimeter defense and MAAC opponents have hit 33 percent against them from beyond the arc, good for second in the conference. Take a step inside the line and it is a different story. Conference opponents shoot 49 percent for two-point field goals against Iona. The collapse in defense has been the cause of many of Iona’s losses on the season. In six of the Gaels’ nine losses, opponents have shot better than 50 percent from the floor.
Iona is far from a shoo-in as the tournament champions. Manhattan, Quinnipiac and Canisius all have legitimate chances at making a run, and of those three teams, Canisius might be the most dangerous. Canisius comes in as the No. 4 seed and would run into Iona in the semifinals. Billy Baron, one of the top scorers in the nation, leads the Golden Griffins and is one of the few people who can keep up with Iona's pace. Baron's 24.4 points per game are third-best in the nation, and he leads the conference in most offensive statistics.
Out of all these offensive-minded clubs, the defense-oriented Manhattan Jaspers could make waves in the tournament. Manhattan sits as the No. 2 seed in the tournament and got there by shutting down conference opponents' shots. In conference games, Ken Pomeroy ranks the Jaspers as the MAAC's most efficient defense, as they held opponents to 40 percent shooting and 69.9 points per game.
Here’s the full schedule and here’s a link to the bracket. All times are ET. The quarterfinals and semifinals will be broadcast on ESPN3 and the championship game will be shown on ESPN2.
Thursday, March 6 (First round)
No. 8 Rider vs. No. 9 Monmouth, 5 p.m.
No. 7 St. Peter’s vs. No. 10 Fairfield, 7 p.m.
No. 6 Marist vs. No. 11 Niagara, 9 p.m.
Saturday, March 8 (Quarterfinals)
Winner of No. 8/9 vs. No. 1 Iona, Noon
No. 5 Siena vs. No. 4 Canisius, 2:30 p.m.
Winner of No. 7/10 vs. No. 2 Manhattan, 6:30 p.m.
Winner of No. 6/11 vs. No. 3 Quinnipiac, 9 p.m.
Sunday, March 9 (Semifinals)
Winner of No. 1/8/9 vs. Winner of No. 4/5, 4:30 p.m.
Winner of No. 2/7/10 vs. Winner of No. 3/6/11, 7 p.m.
Monday, March 10
Championship game, 7 p.m.
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