After two uninteresting Opening Round games last night, the MAAC gets really interesting today with a quarterfinal quadruple-header.
#4 Fairfield vs. #5 Rider
The defending regular season champs, Fairfield are trying to play the role of underdog this year, as they come in as the red-hot #4 seed. They do have a really tough test right off the bat, with a Rider team that is playing really well, as well. This is a very interesting CTC game here, as 8 people (Gross, J, Lil Lohse, Primm, RSmith, Scoot, Stri, Waters) have Rider in the mild upset. Primm has Rider winning again next round. Dave, KA, and Teddy have Fairfield reaching the finals. Dave has them winning the tournament.
#1 Iona vs. #8 Marist
The Red Foxes knocked off defending champion, St. Peter’s, last night in the Opening Round. Now, they get top-seeded and national story, Iona. The Gaels are well-known for their potential NBA backcourt, with lottery prospect Scotty Machado and Arizona transfer Mo-Mo Jones, but, in my opinion, their best player is Seton Hall transfer (and younger brother of former St. John’s star, Anthony), Michael Glover. The only knock on Iona (which may bite them in the next tournament, should they get there) is that they are very small and tend to not play any defense at times. But, they are the highest scoring team in the country and actually have an at-large shot were they to lose this week. KA has the huge upset pick of Marist here. The other 19 have Iona, with most of them having them winning this tournament.
#2 Loyola (MD) vs. #7 Niagara
The Greyhounds of Loyola took first-place in the MAAC, when they beat Iona a couple weeks ago, but lost three straight after that and had to settle for the #2-seed. Niagara, who has some young talent, survived against a bad Canisius team last night, giving them a shot here in the quarters. Bry, J, and RDoc have Niagara here in a big upset. Alexi, KA, Primm, Scoot, and Teddy all have the Greyhounds winning this tournament.
#3 Manhattan vs. #6 Siena
The Jaspers of Manhattan are one of the better stories around the country this year. They quickly turned around a struggling program and were in contention all year. Siena – the former dominating force of the MAAC – is still a middling MAAC team, despite huge resource advantages over their conference-mates. 5 people went with Siena here (Doogan, Gross, Lynch, Scoot, Waters). Doogan, Lynch, and Waters have the Saints going to the finals.
