Ray Floriani of NBE Basketball Report and College Chalktalk is the RTC correspondent for the NEC and MAAC.

Predicted Order of Finish

1. Fairfield (14-4)
2. Siena (13-5)
3. St.Peter’s (11-7)
4. Iona (10-8)
5. Niagara (9-9)
6. Loyola (MD) (8-10)
7. Canisius (7-11)
8. Manhattan (7-11)
9. Rider (6-12)
10. Marist (5-13)

All Conference Team

• Derek Needham (G) – Fairfield
• Ryan Rossiter (F) – Siena
• Wesley Jenkins (G) – St.Peter’s
• Scott Machado (G) –  Iona
• Julius Coles (G) – Canisius

Top Newcomer

Mike Glover (F) – Iona. Glover,  a 6’7 transfer from Seton Hall is eligible at Iona this season and is the newcomer pick here. He’ll certainly get the opportunity to excel as the Gaels need steady contributions up front.

Averaging 16.4 points per game as a freshman last season, Fairfield's Derek Needham may be the MAAC's best player. (Brian A. Pounds/Connecticut Post)

Predicted Champion: Fairfield (NCAA Seed: #14) – They nearly won the conference in 2010 and are the favorite entering this campaign. The Stags were twenty minutes away from an upset and ticket to the Big Dance, but Siena rallied to capture the MAAC Tournament crown in overtime. If the Stags won the game, it would have been labeled an upset by traditional fans, but not in the eyes of those who follow the MAAC closely. Fairfield was that good. They return a big reason for their success last year in point guard Derek Needham. The freshman prodigy was one of the best players in the MAAC and will play a vital role in the Fairfield attack. Anthony Johnson, a solid inside player, is gone. Coach Ed Cooley hopes some of the injury problems of last year have exited as well. Newcomers Maurice Barrow and Keith Matthews will inject some fresh talent. Read the rest of this entry »

Ray Floriani of College Chalktalk is the RTC correspondent for the MAAC and NEC conferences.

LYNDHURST, NJ – The regular schedule winds up this weekend with the postseason tournament beginning on Friday in Albany. Siena is in the driver’s seat as regular season champion, top tournament seed and host of the get together in New York’s capitol city.  The Saints’ BracketBuster setback at Butler all but insures Siena will have to cut down the nets at the Times Union Center to get to the Big Dance. Something they are in very favorable position to do.

Player of the Week: Ryan Thompson (G/F), Rider – Averaged 29.5 PPG, 4.5 rebounds and assists in two games. Scored 21 in a win at St.Peter’s and followed up with a carrer-high 38 in an OT loss at Hofstra.

Rookie of the Week: Colin Nickerson (G), Fairfield – Averaged 16.5 PPG and shot 65% from the field in two games for the Stags. Set a career high of 13 against Manhattan than surpassed it with 20 points at Vermont.

Milestones and Notes

• Iona’s nine conference wins is the fifth highest total since the Gaels started MAAC play in 1981-82.
• Derek Needham set the freshman scoring record at Fairfield. Needham broke the mark of 427 set by Fordham assistant Joe DeSantis in 1976.
• Frank Turner of Canisius enters the final weekend with 593 career assists leaving him just shy of being the seventh MAAC player to hand out 700 assists. Turner tied the school record with 121 games played, a mark he is set to eclipse this weekend.
• Ryan Thompson, with 1,809 career points, is fourth on Rider’s all time scoring list. Older brother Jason (‘08) is in third at 2.040 points.
• Speaking of Rider, juniors Mike Ringgold, Justin Robinson and Jharmar Youngblood all joined the school’s 900-point club recently.
• St. Peter’s’ fifteen victories is the most in four years. Ten MAAC wins is the best showing since the 2004-05 campaign.
• On Senior Day at Siena this Sunday, the school will honor the most successful senior class in program history.

Team Breakdowns

• Canisius – Improved to 4-1 all time in BracketBusters with a win over James Madison. The victory gave Canisius its 13^th win, the most in Tom Parrotta’s four year tenure. Win also gave the Golden Griffins their first winning season at home in five years. Frank Turner had an excellent 16 point, 13 assist game in his final Koessler Athletic Center appearance.  Junior forward Greg Logins added 15 points, 8 rebounds against JMU. Another junior, Tomas Vazquez-Simmons, had 4 blocks against the Dukes , giving him 199 rejections for his career.
• Fairfield – Ended the regular season with an 8-7 road record including 6-3 in MAAC play. Derek Needham and Anthony Johnson continued their fine play for the Stags. Fairfield did get an additional lift from freshman Colin Nickerson, with a good scoring week including a 20-point outing at Vermont. Stags wind up the regular season at home against Iona and Niagara.
• Iona – The 69-53 BracketBuster win over William & Mary was the Gaels’ 20^th of the season. It was the first 20-win season in four years and 14^th in program history. Gaels finished heir non-conference slate 9-3. Scott Machado scored 17 in the William & Mary game. Junior Alejo Rodriquez added 12 points and 8 boards. Iona finishes up in control their seeding destiny . The Gaels visit Fairfield (tied for second) and St.Peter’s (a game behind Fairfield and Iona).
• Loyola – Dropped a heartbreaker on Senior Day as New Hampshire hit a shot with 0.7 seconds remaining for a 61-60 decision. Senior forward Jawan Wright continued his fine play of late with his third straight double figure outing with 10 points. Junior guard Jamal Barney returned after a six game absence and scored 16 points. Greyhounds entertain Canisius and Manhattan and already know they have drawn the Jaspers in next week’s MAAC tournament in Albany.
• Manhattan – Split the week losing to Fairfield and defeating Towson in the BracketBuster. Junior guard Rico Pickett averaged 17.5 PPG, 4.0 RPG over the two game stretch. Manhattan opened the Towson game with a 20-0 run in arguably their best performance of the season. Senior forward Brandon Adams had a career high 18 points. Jaspers dished out 22 assists and shot 53% from the field in that  win over Towson.
• Marist – Lone game was a 66-65 to UC Irvine in the BracketBusters. Marist is 2-3 in those BracketBuster games. Trip to California was a homecoming for freshman guard Devin Price and sophomore guard Mike Taylor. Price enjoyed the trip with a career high 18 points which included four three pointers. Freshman guard Candon Rusin scored 10 points and has double digits in five straight games.
• Niagara – Won their third straight and five of the last six, defeating Wisconsin-Milwaukee 85-79. Niagara has now won four straight BracketBuster games.  Anthony Nelson scored 10 straight down the stretch to pull out the win at UMW. Nelson finished with 14 points, 9 assists and 8 rebounds while Tyrone Lewis buried six first half treys on the way to a 23 point performance.
• Rider – Dropped an overtime BracketBuster game at Hofstra. The game featured Charles Jenkins of Hofstra, last years’ MET Player of the Year, who scored 31 points. Rider countered with MAAC POY candidate Ryan Thompson with a career high 38 points, 6 assists and 6 rebounds. Thompson has come on strong down the stretch averaging 25.4 PPG the last seven games. Broncs have won five of those last seven and finish up at home hosting Siena and Canisius their last two regular season contests.
• St. Peter’s – Went 1-2 for the week but are still in a good position. Peacocks can finish as high as third and no lower than fifth depending on what happens the last two games. The lone victory was on the road where the Peacocks used a 19-4 second half run to stop the Greyhounds 69-61. In between were home losses to a surging Rider club and a BracketBuster against Buffalo. Wesley Jenkins and Nick Leon (outside) and Ryan Bacon (inside) continued their fine play for John Dunne’s club.
• Siena – Dropped a BracketBuster game of note at Butler 70-53. The 53 points were Siena’s lowest in a single game in over two years. Saints have lost have lost all four of their games to top 50 opponents. The contest with nationally ranked Butler was Siena’s last opportunity to put themselves into at large consideration for the NCAA tournament, should they fail to win the MAAC tournament. Clarence Jackson paced Siena, who led Butler 31-28 at the half, with 24 points.  Ryan Rossiter has been the most consistent Saint the last two months averaging double figures in scoring (14.3) and rebounding (10.7).

Ray Floriani of College Chalktalk is the RTC correspondent for the MAAC and NEC conferences.

JERSEY CITY, NJ – During a timeout at the Canisius-St.Peter’s game, the PA announcer was putting an advertising pitch in for the upcoming MAAC postseason tournament in Albany. “See who will emerge as the MAAC men’s and women’s champions in 2010,” the announcer said.  At which yours truly remarked to a press row neighbor, ‘Siena and Marist.’ The neighbor chuckled but didn’t disagree.

The Marist women are a clear cut favorite but that’s another story. On the men’s side Siena is ahead of the pack. It’s ‘their championship to lose’  as they say and not because it is being contested on their Times-Union homecourt. Siena is extremely talented, battle-tested and well-coached. A very imposing combination indeed.

Notes and Milestones

• St. Peter’s overtime win over Canisius on Super Bowl Sunday earned the Peacocks a 4-0 sweep of Niagara and Canisius for the first time in program history.
• Siena’s Ronald Moore scored the 1000^th point of his career in the win over Iona. This marks the second straight season Siena has three 1000-point scorers on the floor the same time.
• The win over Canisius was St. Peter’s’ second OT win of the season. The last season that happened was during 2005-06 when the Peacocks won three of four extra session meetings.
• Frank Turner became the sixth player in Canisius history to attempt 600 free throws. Turner hit the charity stripe mark in the loss at Niagara.
• Iona hit the 18-win mark for the 19^th time in the program’s 70-year history. The Gaels hit double digits in conference wins for the 13^th time in 29 MAAC seasons.
• The schedule for ESPN’s BracketBusters is set. Rider at Hofstra is a ‘rematch’ from the days both schools were in the old East Coast Conference. Arguably the marquee matchup of the MAC schools (see full schedule below) is Siena at Butler on Saturday February at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Player of the Week: Alex Franklin (F) , Siena – Scored 23 points and added 7 rebounds in Siena’s win over Iona. Franklin was 7 of 9 from the field and 9 for 12 from the line.

Rookie of the Week: Derek Needham (G), Fairfield – Needham scored 20 points, his second straight 20-point outing, in the win over St. Peter’s. He added 5 rebounds and four steals in 37 minutes in that contest.

Team Breakdowns

• Canisius – Dropped three games last week. Included were losses at Iona, Niagara and St. Peter’s. The game at St. Peter’s was an overtime contest. Turnovers were the story as the Griffins committed 64 for the three games, including 22 against St. Peter’s. Frank Turner continued his fine play and the senior guard tied the game at St. Peter’s with a coast to coast trip that ended with a buzzer-beating driving layup.
• Fairfield – Earned their 10^th home win of the season with a victory over St. Peter’s. Last time the Stags reached double figures in home wins was  the 1995-96 season when they eventually went to the NIT. After allowing 88 points to Rider two games prior, Fairfield held St. Peter’s to a season-low 46 points. Defense has been a key as the Stags have allowed less than 60 points in nine of its sixteen wins this season. Anthony Johnson, the MAAC leader in blocked shots, rejected eight against St. Peter’s.
• Iona – Took two of three with the lone blemish a loss to Siena, something everyone in the MAAC is experiencing these days. The loss to the Saints snapped the Gaels’ eight-game win streak, their longest in a decade. Junior Alejo Rodriguez narrowly missed his fourth straight double-double in the win over Marist. Sophomore guard Scott Machado contributed steady scoring with a carreer high 24 points at Siena followed by 17 at Marist.
• Loyola (MD) – Swept a road weekend for the first time in three years with wins at Rider and Manhattan. Greyhounds had five double figure scorers against Rider. It was the first time since January 2009 the Greyhounds performed that feat as no Loyola player attempted more than eight shots in the contest. Loyola clicked on both ends at Rider as they shot 54% for the game while holding the Broncs to eight field goals  in the second half. Shane Mack collected his first MAAC double-double in that game with a 12 point, 12 rebound outing.
• Manhattan – Split two conference games last week. Senior guard Darryl Crawford led the way with 20 points and 4 rebounds in a win over Marist. The win snapped a seven-game losing streak and was the Jaspers’ first since January 8^th. Manhattan dropped a tough 62-56 decision to Loyola on Super Bowl Sunday. Crawford and Rico Pickett shared scoring honors with 19 apiece against Loyola. Pickett still paces MAAC scorers with 20.9 PPG in MAAC play.
• Marist – Dropped both of their conference games. Freshman guard Candon Rusin led the Red Foxes both games in scoring and had a weekly high mark of 17 points in the loss to Iona.  Rusin has hit a three pointer in 21 of Marist’s 24 games this season. Junior forward Keory Bauer who tends to favor the perimeter, used his 6’9 frame underneath to pull down 10 rebounds against Iona. Marist plays four of its last five regular season games away from home. Their final home game is a February 26 meeting with St.Peter‘s.
• Niagara – Used defense to defeat rival Canisius 66-54. Niagara held the Golden Griffins to 4 of 15 shooting, forced nine turnovers and blocked three shots the final ten minutes. Anthony Nelson scored all of his 17 points in the second half for Niagara. Bilal Benn pulled down 11 rebounds in the win.
• Rider – Justin Robinson scored 19 points in the loss to Loyola. Robinson and teammate Ryan Thompson are the two leading free throw shooters in the MAAC. Rider had five players in double figures against Loyola. The Broncs play four of their last five games at home.
• St. Peter’s – Bounced back from a loss at Fairfield to defeat Canisius in overtime at Yanitelli Center. The Peacocks are guaranteed a .500 MAAC record for the first time in four years. Their 14 wins is the most by a Division I school in the state of New Jersey. Wesley Jenkins led the way against Canisius with 25 points  and 10 rebounds while Darius Conley also added a double-double with 10 points and 11 boards.
• Siena – Captured a showdown with Iona 88-68 before a sold out Times-Union Center. Win pushed the home court win streak to 33 games, second longest in the country. Ryan Rossiter has posted a double-double in eight of his last nine games and the junior forward has done it thirteen times this season. Since the New Year six Player of the week awards have been cited. Alex Franklin winning the most recent makes it four out of six for the Saints.

Upcoming…The BracketBusters

February 19 –

• William and Mary-Iona

February 20 –

• Siena-Butler
• New Hampshire-Loyola
• Buffalo-St.Peter’s
• Towson-Manhattan
• Fairfield-Vermont
• Rider-Hofstra
• Marist-UC Irvine
• James Madison-Canisius
• Niagara-Wisconsin Milwaukee

Ray Floriani of College Chalktalk is the RTC correspondent for the MAAC and NEC conferences.

LYNDHURST, NJ – Hard to believe the race is near the midway point. Siena is ahead and the favorite. Following closely are a group of teams in second through eighth that are fairly even and jockeying to move up. Among that group Fairfield, Iona and Niagara are considered at this point the best to make it interesting for the long run . Can’t write off Rider while St. Peter’s, Canisius and Manhattan are also in the mix.

From the board room…

Bob McCloskey Insurance group has signed a marketing agreement with the MAAC. The organization is a national leader in the sports insurance and marketing areas. Part of the agreement stipulates the McCloskey group will sponsor a postgraduate scholarship to one male and female MAAC student-athlete each year. Rich Ensor, the MAAC commissioner,  is excited about the venture noting, “it is particularly important that the agreement provides scholarship support for postgraduate studies for MAAC student-athletes who are known for their success on the playing fields and the classroom.”  Here are the standings.

A tempo free look at offensive efficiency. The mark is simply points per possession multiplied by 100. The average possessions per game for the respective team is noted in the first column. This includes all games. The figures are from conference games only. Again, stats are courtesy of Basketball State.

Milestones

• Wesley Jenkins of St.Peter’s became the program’s 28^th 1,000 point scorer. Jenkins hit the mark in his 71st career game.
• Tyrone Lewis has scored  over 1,600 points and is eighth on Niagara’s all time list.
• To date Anthony Nelson of Niagara has handed out over 430 assists.
• Senior guard Frank Turner needed three rebounds to become the first player in school history to score 1,500 points while adding 500 rebounds and 500 assists,
• Nick Leon of St. Peter’s has passed the 900-point mark and is soon to join the school’s 1,000 point list.

MAAC Player of the Week: Edwin Ubilies, Sr, G/F, Siena – Averaged 23 points for the week while shooting 61% from the field. Came off the bench to score a game-high 25 points in a first place showdown with Niagara.

Rookie of the Week: Derek Needham, Fr, G, Fairfield – Averaged 17 points in a 2-1 week for the Stags. The highlight was a career high 28 points in a game at Niagara. Needham also scored 10 of the Stags final 11 points in a win at Loyola.

Team Breakdowns

• Canisius – Pair of league wins over Iona and Marist raised the Griffs to 3-2 in the MAAC. Three of Canisus’ last five opponents have failed to hit the 60-point mark. Senior Frank Turner continues to be the main scoring threat. Not just at Canisius either as he leads the MAAC with a 17 PPG norm. Junior Elton Frazier put  up big numbers against Marist with 25 points (career high) and 10 rebounds.
• Fairfield – Stags won two of three and remain unbeaten at home. They are 5-0 at the Arena at Harbor Yard and 3-0 at their on campus Alumni Hall. Yorel Hawkins had a 34 consecutive free throw streak end. It started back on December 5^th. Derek Needham has been the leading scorer but the freshman guard has handed out almost 100 assists to date. Anthony Johnson had 27 in a win over Manhattan.
• Iona – The Gaels split on the week losing to Canisius and defeating Rider. Scott Machado continued his torrid scoring as the sophomore guard averaged 20.5 PPG for the two games. A key factor in the win over Rider was the play of junior forward Alejo Rodriguez who had a career high 17 rebounds. That is the highest individual total in the MAAC this season. Sophomore Rashon Dwight has four double-digit scoring efforts. All came since his insertion into the starting lineup nine games ago.
• Loyola (MD) – After a four-game win streak the Greyhounds dropped games to the MAAC’s two leading teams, Siena and Fairfield. Loyola was faced to play three halves without leading scorer Brett Harvey who had appeared in 109 consecutive contests. Harvey didn’t dress for Siena and missed a half against the Stags after an injur from a hard foul. Harvey, in fact, was fouled with one second left in the half. Junior guard Jamal Barney picked up the scoring slack in Harvey’s absence.
• Manhattan – Tough stretch of one win in three outings with the losses by a combined total of four points. Jaspers led Rider by 16 only to fall on a tip in with less than ten seconds remaining.  Junior guard Rico Pickett had a very impressive three game stretch averaging 24 PPG. Pickett had a career high 29 points in a narrow loss to Fairfield on Sunday. The lone win, a decisive 76-53 conquest of St.Peter’s last Friday.
• Marist – Dropped all three games, losing to St.Peter’s and Canisius as well as a non-league meeting with Princeton. Freshmen led in scoring each of the three outings. No surprise as 59% of the Marist point production has come from freshmen. Candin Rusin, a freshman guard, has been hitting well beyond the arc. Overall, youth and the reliance on the perimeter have made the going tough in Poughkeepsie.
• Niagara – Bilal Benn and Tyrone Lewis continue to excel. Benn is averaging a double-double (14.9 PPG, 10.3 RPG) and only Ohio State’s Evan Turner averages more points, rebounds and assists than the Niagara senior. In a two-OT loss at St.Peter’s Lewis had four at halftime and finished with 27 points. His trey with just under two seconds left forced OT. In the extra sessions he continued to be a dangerous scoring factor scoring 11 of his 27 points.
• Rider – Dropped a home game to Iona. Previously the Broncs had captured 26 of their last 31 at home. They get a quick opportunity to avenge that loss as they travel to New Rochelle to face the Gaels on MLK day. There’s not an official category but Junior Mike Ringgold has more offensive rebounds (70) than anyone else in conference. He had a huge one on a tip in with 6 seconds to go that allowed Rider to edge Manhattan in Riverdale. Justin Robinson leads the MAAC in free throw shooting (.905) but his consecutive streak of made charity tosses ended at 26. Final rebounding note… junior Novar Gadsen is the only MAAC player with over 100 (104) defensive boards.
• St. Peter’s – Defeated Marist, lost at Manhattan and came home for a thrilling two-OT win against Niagara. Latter win was significant as St. Peter’s was coming off their worst effort in over a year per coach John Dunne. Nick Leon paced St. Peter’s with 29 points while Wesley Jenkins added 27. Ryan Bacon continues to contribute solid inside play for the Peacocks. Interesting weekend to watch as St. Peter’s travels to Rider on Friday and hosts Loyola Sunday.
• Siena – Win over Canisius on Monday was their 30^st straight at the Times Union Center.  Saints have won 30 of their last 32 against MAAC schools. Edwin Ubiles is scoring and accurate. He’s hitting 54% from the field over the last eight games. Continued excellence at the points is another strong spot for the Saints. Ronald Moore leads the nation with 8.6 APG and in the last 48 games had one outing with more turnovers than assists. Beside leading the MAAC in categories as scoring, scoring margin, field goal percentage… Siena leads in attendance with 7,772 fans  per game at the Times Union Center.

Upcoming games

January 16

• Niagara at Iona
• Siena at Fairfield

January 18

• Rider at Iona
• Canisius at Fairfield

January 22

• St.Peter’s at Niagara
• Rider at Canisius
• Iona at Manhattan

January 23

• Loyola at Marist

January 24

• St.Peter’s at Canisius
• Fairfield at Iona
• Siena at Manhattan
• Rider at Niagara