It’s been awhile since we talked some MAAC basketball. It took forever, but we are finally ready to start a new college basketball season. Before we jump into things, here is a quick look at the preseason poll:
1. Monmouth
2. Siena
3. Iona
4. Manhattan
5. Saint Peter’s
6. Fairfield
7. Canisius
8. Rider
9. Marist
10. Quinnipiac
11. Niagara
Not much has changed from last year as far as the rankings go. But there are a few reasons why we will most likely have a different outcome compared to last season, which was Iona upsetting top-ranked Monmouth in the MAAC Championship game.
You could argue that the play of G A.J. English was the key component for the Gaels during their unexpected MAAC Tournament run. In his 3 MAAC Tourney games, he averaged 22.6 PPG while going 13/30 (43%) from beyond the arc. A pretty good way to end your MAAC career. But the loss of English, along with the loss of F Isaiah Williams, will most likely keep the Gaels from repeating. However with some fresh new talent, like G Sam Cassell Jr., Iona will definitely hang around as one of the better teams in the conference.
One of the teams that Iona had to defeat on their path to glory was the hometown Siena Saints. After a narrow victory against Manhattan in the quarterfinals, Siena had their season put to rest by the previously mentioned A.J. English. A.J. dropped 29 points and led the Gaels to an 81-70 victory on the Saints home court. But with a full season of growing pains in the books, the backcourt tandem of Marquis Wright and Nico Clareth could propel the Saints back on top.
Siena was ranked 2nd in the preseason poll for good reason. This is a revenge season for the Monmouth Hawks. All of last season was a media frenzy around them. They even received national attention for their crazy bench celebrations. Or whatever you want to call them. Crazy. Stupid. Crazy stupid. They still were popular. G Justin Robinson played the biggest role in igniting those celebrations. The 2015-16 MAAC player of the year looks to not only defend his title, but lead his team back to a title after the shocking defeat that was handed to them by Iona in the title game. What was even more shocking was how Monmouth was left out of the NCAA tournament. 27-7 with a 17-3 conference record wasn’t good enough for them to get in with an at-large bid. Time will tell, but this Monmouth team looks like they should be in that #1 spot for most of the season.
Looking past the top 3 teams, there really aren’t any other championship threats to look out for. But if one player from a Manhattan or a Saint Peter’s has a year like Justin Robinson had in 2015-16, then things could get interesting. That’s the magic of preseason predictions. You can say whatever you want, and chances are you will not get it right. But there is always room for speculation.
The MAAC season begins on November 11th with 6 teams in action. Conference play begins on December 2nd. The MAAC Tournament will be held once again in Albany at the Times Union Center in March.
