Game 32
#9 Monmouth Hawks (11-20, 5-15 MAAC) vs.
#8 Rider Broncs (13-16, 9-11 MAAC)
• Thursday, March 6, 2014 • 5:00 p.m.
• Springfield, Mass. • MassMutual Center
2014 MAAC Basketball Championships
#MAACachusetts
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Monmouth-Rider Series History:
• Thursday's game will be the 41st meeting between Monmouth and Rider in men's basketball, as the Broncs hold a 25-15 lead all-time.
• Rider won both of the regular season meetings this year, by single digits.
• Once both members of the NEC, Monmouth and Rider had met every year in non-conference action since 1997-98, prior to meeting as leauge foes again this season.
• Rider has won the last eight meetings between the cross-state rivals.
2013-14 Season Head-to-Head Results:
12/5: Rider 89, Monmouth 83 (West Long Branch)
1/26: Rider 77, Monmouth 71 [ot] (Lawrenceville)
Rider Men's Basketball
Rider Roster
Rider Schedule and Results
BLUE & WHITE BITS:
• Third-year Monmouth head coach King Rice guides the Hawks into their first season in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) in 2013-14. The Hawks, who spent 26 seasons in the NEC, captured four league titles in the NEC and secured four NCAA Tournament berths (1996, 2001, 2004, 2006).
• The Hawks, picked 11th in the MAAC Preseason Coaches Poll this year, have clinched the #9 seed in the upcoming MAAC Tournament and will play the to-be-determined #8 seed on Thursday, March 6 at 5 p.m., at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Mass.
• Rice has guided his team against five nationally-ranked teams since taking over the Monmouth program to start the 2011-12 campaign.
• With its victory over Binghamton on December 3, 2012, Monmouth posted its 400th Division I win in program history.
• This year's MU roster features no seniors, four juniors and a total of 12 underclassmen. In addition, the roster includes 14 first- or second-year players in the program. Monmouth's roster features the most freshman of any school in the MAAC.
• At the start of the season, the Hawks featured a total of just nine years of collegiate playing experience on the roster.
• Monmouth's season-opening road win at Hofstra was the program's first road win to open a season in the school's Division I history.
• Behind his 13-point performace at Hofstra, junior Andrew Nicholas eclipsed the 500-point mark in his MU career, and remains the Hawks' leading total point scorer on the roster, while classmate Max DiLeo leads the program in career games played.
• The Hawks' 13-point comeback in the win at Hofstra to open the year, eclipsed the highest comeback in any win of last season. Four times last year, MU rallied from seven points down to secure a win. The Hawks have now comeback from double-digit deficits in six of their 10 wins this year (deficits of 13, 13, 11, 13, 10, 14).
• Freshman Josh James was named the season's first MAAC Rookie of the Week on November 11, 2013. It was Monmouth's first-ever MAAC Basketball Weekly Award. The guard repeated as MAAC Rookie of the Week on December 2.
• Three times this season Monmouth has been featured on SportsCenter's Top 10 plays, as Deon Jones (#3 vs. MVSU), Tyrone O'Garro (#4 vs. Rider) and Andrew Nicholas (#10 vs. Canisius) were all highlighted.
@MonmouthBBall • #FlyHawks • #BelieveCompeteSucceed
