The boys over at Ballin’ Is a Habit went over 2,500 miles to watch college basketball. I commend them on this incredible journey. Thankfully though I live in New York City, most definitely one of if not the greatest city in the world. It’s also so incredibly densely populated that there are always college basketball games happening during the season. Saturday I’m going to attempt to take advantage of what the city has to offer and attend three games in one day.
Category: MAAC
Rough draw for MAAC in BracketBusters
Let’s be honest, the top of the MAAC caught absolutely zero breaks in the ESPN BracketBusters. Iona is playing on TV, but its a no-win home game against Nevada. Also, if you looked at RPI and accomplishments before the pairings were announced it was quite logical to assume that either Loyola (MD) or Manhattan would get a marquee home game on television as well. Look at the schedule and you’ll find none of it.
Tempo-free MAAC: Definite Tiers
Iona, Loyola (MD) and Manhattan played five out of their six games last week against the bottom tier of the MAAC and poor Niagara. As you might’ve guessed all that meant was a bunch of losses for St. Peter’s, Marist and Canisius and a continued tie at the top of the standings at 9-2. Even Iona’s victory over Fairfield on Friday night was pretty comfortable, so the tempo-free MAAC doesn’t look much different than it did a week ago.
Scott Machado steadies Iona’s ship
When Iona faced a tough moment tonight the Gaels asked star point guard Scott Machado to take over and make big plays down the stretch. He responded with six key points in the final three minutes to help Iona hold off Fairfield and save the Gaels from another late collapse.
Tempo-free MAAC: Just a couple close losses
Sure, it’s painful when a team loses, especially a team like Iona, which came into the season with such high expectations, but it’s also not the end of the world. Two close losses have brought Iona back to the pack in terms of the season standings, but the Gaels are heads and shoulders above every MAAC team when you take a look at the tempo-free standings.
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Manhattan escapes Niagara’s upset bid
With 8:46 remaining in the game Niagara’s Juan’ya Green went up for a fast break layup when he was met at the rim by Manhattan freshman Emmy Andujar who blocked the ball into the arms of Kidani Brutus. The Jaspers got the ball out on the fast break and George Beamon finished a three-point play on the other end. It was a five-point swing and the biggest sequence of a difficult 71-64 home win for Manhattan.
MAAC Similarity Scores: Can Iona be Cornell?
The top of the MAAC has four talented teams. The question for each though is how good can they be? Similarity scores help us tease that out a little bit. While it is still early in the season, enough games have been played that the four factors are beginning to stabilize and we can get a good sense of what a team will look like. That allows us to take a long look at similarity scores and find out what a team’s ceiling (or floor) might be. I took a look at the similarity scores for the 2012 versions of Iona, Manhattan, Loyola (MD) and Fairfield through January 17. The comparisons might surprise you.
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Tempo-free MAAC: Iona still in drivers seat
Iona may have lost a last-second game to Manhattan, but the Gaels are definitely still the team to beat in the MAAC. Iona is the top team in the league in efficiency margin, but it comes with a bit of a caveat, the Gaels have also played one of the easiest schedules in the conference thus far this season. Compare that with Manhattan. The Jaspers have played the third hardest conference schedule thus far. That’s by far the hardest schedule of any contender thus far. It also makes me think that the Jaspers, and their impressive defense, are for real.
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Boyd and Beamon pick up weekly awards
It’s Monday and that means it’s award time! Julian Boyd and George Beamon both picked up Player of the Week awards from their respective conferences this week after leading their teams to perfect records during the week.
8 Fateful Minutes
With 7:58 remaining Iona held a convincing 65-48 lead over Manhattan. The Gaels were rolling, but it was all about to unravel. From then on the Jaspers outscored the Gaels 27-7 and delivered the final knockout on Emmy Andujar’s banked in last-second three over Scott Machado. The 75-72 loss dealt a serious blow to Iona’s at-large hopes and made the MAAC title race a little more interesting.
“I think our guys took it way too complacent and they thought the game was over again and it’s a struggle with this team keeping their concentration and their motivation,” said Iona head coach Tim Cluess. “We’re really struggling with it and I have to do a better job of finding a way to motivate them better than I have been because this is happening way too often.”
During the final eight minutes every Manhattan player on the floor scored. Rhamel Brown, once the third-string center for the Jaspers, led the way with nine points, two boards, two blocks and a rebound during the final minutes. Brown’s two blocks on Mike Glover after the Jaspers cut the lead to seven helped Manhattan hold onto the momentum and seal the game.
“At that point in the game it was do or die,” Brown said. “We just played our hardest. We wanted it more than Iona. They’re a great team. They’re really competitive. They never gave up, but in the end the team that wanted it more got the win.”
Brown finished with 17 points, 11 boards and three blocks in 30 minutes.
“He’s a guy that dominates the game without having to score,” said Manhattan head coach Steve Masiello. “I’m so proud of him. He’s a joy to coach.”
Besides his game-winner, Andujar showed his versatility for the Jaspers as well. The freshman forward is often the best player on the floor for Manhattan. As Iona jumped out to a 39-22 first half lead that certainly wasn’t the case. Andujar played only seven minutes in the first half as he struggled with foul trouble. While the stat sheet said he had just one turnover, he also had some defensive miscues and didn’t grab a single board during the first 20 minutes. He grabbed four during the final eight minutes of the game. In another big rivalry game the young freshman was once again able to settle into a rhythm. Overall he finished with 17 points, six boards and three assists in 25 minutes.
“I got in foul trouble, but I have teammates that help me be confident,” Andujar said. “I knew I was going to get it in the second half and I just kept my head in the game. Even though we were down a lot, with our style of play that we play I know we’re going to comeback and make our run.”
The Iona offense, which had looked unstoppable was stilted in the closing moments. Machado was brilliant for most of the game with 16 assists and just one turnover, but his 3-10 shooting prevented him from taking over the game. The senior point guard missed four shots down the stretch. Part of that seemed to be related to fatigue. While Manhattan forced just 11 Iona turnovers, during most of the second half the Jaspers forced Machado to work hard to cross the timeline with double teams and pressure. As a team the Gaels missed 11 shots down the stretch.
“This isn’t a wake up, this is a disgrace,” Cluess said.
Mike Glover scored his 1,000th point during the game in just his 54th contest with the Gaels, but it came in a bittersweet moment. Glover scored 18 points and grabbed eight boards. He missed just two free throws, but they were two key ones down the stretch. He also was contained by Brown in the final moments.
The loss will force people to concentrate on some of Iona’s flaws instead of its obvious strengths. The Gaels shot just nine free throws in the game and allowed Manhattan to grab 13 offensive rebounds. But what must be more frustrating for Cluess is that his team literally gave the game away. Those eight minutes will stay burned in the record for the rest of the season. They’ll haunt this team moving forward and continue to impact the MAAC until the end of the season.
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