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David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
Can Siena cap off a strong season with a tournament berth? Can Monmouth finally end a streak of heartbreak? Or will Iona write the same old story even with an unusual season and a new coach and qualify for the big dance yet again?
All seem like viable possibilities in a season that saw almost every MAAC team significantly affected by COVID. Though Siena crossed the regular season finish line with the best record, neither they nor any team appears dominant enough to be a lock for the tourney crown.
The MAAC chose a different path than most in choosing to seed by total wins instead of by win percentage or even metric-adjusted win percentage. In doing so, a team like Iona, who owns a share of the second best winning percentage. is vastly under-seeded, perhaps, due to a couple of large COVID delays that notably caused its coach to call for the postponement of the season. They could face teams like Siena earlier than they would under normal circumst
Marist looks to sweep Siena
January 30, 2021 GMT
McCann Center, Poughkeepsie, New York; Sunday, 3 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Marist goes for the season sweep over Siena after winning the previous matchup in Poughkeepsie. The teams last played each other on Jan. 30, when the Red Foxes shot 41.2 percent from the field while limiting Siena to just 36.8 percent en route to a one-point victory.
FABULOUS FRESHMEN: Marist’s Jordan Jones, Ricardo Wright and Hakim Byrd have collectively accounted for 44 percent of the team’s scoring this season and have scored 41 percent of all Red Foxes points over the last five games.
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Siena looks to extend streak vs Marist
January 28, 2021 GMT
McCann Center, Poughkeepsie, New York; Saturday, 1 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Siena looks for its sixth straight win in the head-to-head series over Marist. Siena has won by an average of 7 points in its last five wins over the Red Foxes. Marist’s last win in the series came on Dec. 29, 2017, a 63-58 win.
FABULOUS FRESHMEN: Marist’s Jordan Jones, Ricardo Wright and Hakim Byrd have collectively accounted for 45 percent of the team’s scoring this season, including 43 percent of all Red Foxes points over the last five games.
TAKE IT UP A NOTCH: The Saints have scored 66.6 points per game against MAAC opponents thus far, an improvement from the zero per game they recorded over zero non-conference games.JUMPING FOR JALEN: Jalen Pickett has connected on 34.4 percent of the 32 3-pointers he’s attempted. He’s also made 78.9 percent of his foul shots this season.