Over the past 4 or 5 years the level of play out of the MAAC has been really impressive and as a
whole the conference is much more competitive than it had been in the past. A lot of that can be attributed to Siena’s dominance of this conference before former Head Coach Fran McCaffery left to take on the challenge at Iowa.
His teams had won three straight MAAC tournament championships and even made some noise in the NCAA tournament as well. As a conference they own seven wins in the NCAA tournament and it’s becoming a bit more commonplace in the past decade actually, having 5 tournament wins since the 2002 tournament.
2012 was a pretty good year for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference as the top three teams in the league finished with 20 or more wins, led by regular season champion Iona (24-6, 15-3 conf.). Joining the the Gaels in the 20 win club were 2nd place Loyloa (MD) and 3rd place Manhattan who is starting to make some noise once again after being a power in the MAAC during the 90’s and early 2000’s.
Teams like Fairfield, Siena, and Niagara that used to be on top found themselves mid-pack this season and it goes to show you that you can’t underestimate anyone in the league anymore and nowhere else should that manifest itself more than in the conference tournament.
Unlike the past few years the MAAC tournament is at a neutral site so things could be a bit more interesting than normal and the last game of the quarterfinals between Siena and Manhattan should be the place to look for a chance of a major upset as they split the season series, with both teams winning at home.
Picks & Predictions:
Champion: Mike: Iona & Andy: Iona
Sleeper: Mike: Fairfield & Andy: Manhattan
MVP: This one shouldn’t even be close honestly, as 2 time all-MAAC and 2012 MAAC Player of the Year Scott Machado is head and shoulders above the rest of the conference. He led the nation in assists per game at 10.1 and also dropped 13.1 points per game along with 5 rebounds as well, that’s about as all-around a player as you can ask for at the mid-major level.
Tournament Schedule: *all times eastern
1st Round – March 2nd
#9 Saint Peters vs. #8 Marist – 7:30pm
#10 Canisius vs. #7 Niagara – 9:30pm
Quarterfinals – March 3rd
#5 Rider vs. #4 Fairfield – 2:30pm (ESPN3)
#8/9 Winner vs. #1 Iona – 4:30pm (ESPN3)
#7/10 Winner vs. #2 Loyola – 7:30pm (ESPN3)
#6 Siena vs. #3 Manhattan – 9:30pm (ESPN3)
Semifinals – March 4th
4/5 Winner vs. 1/8/9 Winner – 2pm (ESPN3)
3/6 Winner vs. 2/7/10 Winner – 4:30pm (ESPN3)
Final – March 5th
Semi #1 Winner vs. Semi #2 Winner – 7pm (ESPN2)
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