SCOUTING THE GAELS
Four Gaels score in double figures, led by a pair of First Team All-MAAC performers in Rickey McGill and EJ Crawford. Iona has won three straight MAAC titles, and won the league's regular season title this year.

IONA HEAD COACH TIM CLUESS
Tim Cluess is in his ninth season with the Gaels, leading Iona to three consecutive NCAA Tournaments. He has 198 wins to his credit with Iona.

HAWKS AT NEUTRAL SITES
Monmouth is 3-3 at neutral sites this season, dropping all three games at the Myrtle Beach Invitational to #13 West Virginia, Valparaiso and Cal State Fullerton back in November before topping Niagara, Quinnipiac  and Canisius in this MAAC Tournament.

IONA AT NEUTRAL SITES
Iona is 2-3 at neutral sites this season, with both wins coming this weekend in the MAAC Tournament.

SERIES NOTES
-MU and Iona have played 16 times overall, and 14 times since the teams have both competed in the MAAC.
-MU has won four of six with the Gaels.
-The road team won each matchup a season ago, while the home team won both this season.
-Monmouth and Iona met in consecutive MAAC Tournaments, playing in the 2015 semifinals and 2016 title game. This is the third time they will compete in the tourney, the most times MU has played a team in the MAAC postseason.

HISTORY WITH IONA
The Hawks and Gaels have played some classic contests in just six seasons together in the league, with Iona leading the MAAC matchups between the pair 8-6. They met in the 2015 MAAC Semis and 2016 MAAC Finals, both Iona wins, before MU became the first team to sweep a Tim Cluess-led Iona team in 2016-17. This season, it was Ray Salnave's finish with 1.1 seconds to go that downed the Gaels after a frantic comeback.

LOOKING TO BE THE FIRST SINCE 2002
With a win tonight, Monmouth will become the first MAAC team since the 2002 Siena Saints to win the conference tournament while having to win four games. The Saints were the #7 seed that season, while MU holds the sixth spot. 

SECOND YEAR IN A ROW FOR THE 6 SEED
For the second consecutive season in the MAAC Tournament, the #6 seed is playing on Monday night for a shot at the title. Last season, sixth-seeded Fairfield won three games en route to the final game before falling to Iona.

HAWKS NCAA TOURNAMENT EXPERIENCE
Monmouth is bidding to secure the program's first NCAA Tournament berth since 2006, and first since King Rice took over in 2011. The Hawks have four NCAA bids in school history, beginning in 1996 (#13 seed, lost to #4 Marquette). MU was a #16 seed in 2001, falling to #1 Duke, and a #15 seed in 2004, losing to Mississippi State. The 2006 Hawks went to Dayton and beat Hampton before falling to #1 Villanova in Philadelphia.

GUARDING THE THREE
The Hawks defense did a masterful job against Canisius shooting the three in the MAAC semifinals, allowing a season low three triples and holding the Griffs to a defensive season best 15% from beyond the arc. Canisius was limited to 1-10 (10%) in the second half, and no Canisius player netted more than one three.

HOLDING TEAMS UNDER 60
Monmouth has held seven teams under 60 points this season, and are 7-0 in those games. The Blue and White have allowed three teams to hit exactly the 60-point mark, and have gone 1-2 in such contests.

MCCLARY'S TOURNAMENT EMERGENCE
After going the first 55 games of his career without scoring in double figures, Marcus McClary has done it four times in the last month-plus, including in the last two games of the MAAC Tournament. He netted his career-best vs. Quinnipiac with 14, and followed that with 10 against Canisius. 

OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION
Monmouth's 98 points in the quarterfinal win over Quinnipiac marked the most for MU this season, and was 14 more than the previous high of 84 at Iona on January 3rd. It was the most points the Hawks netted since a 102-point outburst in a regular season win over Siena on February 13, 2017 in a game also played at the Times Union Center. The 50 first-half points the Hawks scored was their highest output in a half this season, while the 48 in the second tied their best second half of the year. The Hawks made 35 field goals and shot 55.6%, both season bests.

BACK TO THE SEMIFINALS
Monmouth appeared in its fourth MAAC semifinal in six seasons in the league, and have qualified for the semis in four of the last five seasons. MU is 2-2 in semifinal rounds, falling to Iona in 2015 before topping Fairfield in 2016 and losing to Siena in 2017. The second semifinal win in MU's MAAC history came vs. Canisius on Sunday. 

LAST TIME IN THE FINAL
MU last appeared in the MAAC Finals in 2016, the only appearance in a MAAC Championship Game for MU. The Hawks fell to Iona by a 79-76 count despite a 20-point, 7-7 field goal shooting performance from Je'lon Hornbeak. Deon Jones and Chris Brady grabbed nine boards apiece, but AJ English had 19 points for the Gaels.

FINISHING BUSINESS
All three of Monmouth's MAAC Tournament wins have come over teams they were unable to beat in the regular
season. MU went 0-5 in the regular season against their three MAAC Tourney foes before going 3-0 this week against them. MU fell to Niagara by 27, and dropped a pair to both Canisius and Quinnipiac during the regular schedule.

SEVEN IN DOUBLE FIGURES
Monmouth put seven players in double figures in the quarterfinals win for the first time this season and first time in the King Rice era. Seven of Monmouth's nine players to see minutes in the game scored in double figures, and eight of the nine made a field goal. 

CAREER HIGHS FOR RUTHERFORD, TRAORE, MCCLARY
Three Hawks netted their career highs in the QF win over Quinnipiac, with Mustapha Traore leading the way with 19 on a career best eight made field goals. Marcus McClary also topped a career best with 14, and Nick Rutherford's 11 were the most for him in a Monmouth uniform. Rutherford's overall career best is 16, doing so while with Florida Atlantic in November 2016 against UT Martin.