Game 32
#4 Monmouth vs. #5 Canisius
2015 MAAC Tournament Quarterfinals
Date: Saturday, March 7, 2015
Time: 2:30 p.m.
Location: Albany, N.Y. | Times Union Center
Broadcast: ESPN3 | WatchESPN app
Audio: Shore Sports Network [WOBM-AM 1160 & 1310]
Talent: Eddy Occhipinti '06 & Steve Bazaz '07
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Twitter: @MonmouthBBall | #FlyHawks | #MAACHoops
Live Stats
Monmouth-Canisius Series History:
• Saturday's game marks just the fifth all-time meeting between Monmouth and Canisius, which started last season when the Hawks joined the MAAC.
• Following its third straight win, Monmouth now leads the series 3-1 after sweeping this year. Monmouth rallied from 13 points down to defeat the Griffs on January 2 at the KAC, and defeated Canisius 44-40 at home in early February.
• Last season the two teams split the series, with each team winning on its home court.
Blue & White Bits:
• For a second straight season, the Hawks outdid their preseason prognostication, as Monmouth was selected sixth in this year's Preseason MAAC Coaches Poll and finished in a tie for third, claiming the No. 4 seed in the league's postseason.
• Monmouth had two players named to all-conference teams in 2015, as sophomore guard Justin Robinson was named First Team All-MAAC, and junior guard Deon Jones was added to the All-MAAC Third Team.
• Robinson's selection to the First Team was Monmouth's first first team all-conference pick since Blake Hamilton earned the distinction in both 2004 and 2005. Robinson is Monmouth's ninth Division I player to earn the accolade, marking the 16th first team all-league pick in Monmouth's DI history.
• Monmouth, under fourth year head coach King Rice, finished the 2014-15 regular season with a 17-14 record and a 13-7 mark in MAAC play (after finishing 5-15 in the MAAC last year). The 17 wins is a career-high for the head coach, and the most single-season wins for the program since 2005-06, while Rice's overall record now stands at 50-76 (18-22 in the MAAC).
• Monmouth clinched a Championship First-Round bye in the 2015 MAAC Tournament, locking up a guaranteed top-five seed.
• As the No. 9 seed last year, Monmouth lost in the Opening Round of the MAAC Tournament at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Mass. Entering Saturday, Monmouth's all-time MAAC Tournament record is 0-1. The Hawks went 21-17 in 21 appearances in the Northeast Conference Tournament from 1988-2012, winning four championships (1996, 2001, 2004, 2006) and advancing to four NCAA Tournaments.
• Monmouth currently has three players in action who have seen action in over 100 career games in Max DiLeo, Andrew Nicholas and Brice Kofane.
• Monmouth was selected sixth in this year's Preseason MAAC Coaches Poll, while junior guard Deon Jones was named to the Preseason All-MAAC Third Team.
• Senior guard Andrew Nicholas became the 20th player in Monmouth's Divsion I history to score 1,000 career points behind his 24-point performance against Towson (11/23), in which he tied a career-high with six made three-pointers.
• The guard duo of Jones and Andrew Nicholas combined for 939 points last season, which tied for the sixth-highest combined single-season point total in program history.
• In 2014-15, Monmouth returns 88.9% of its scoring (1964/2208) from a season ago, and 82.0% of its minutes played.
• Monmouth's returning sophomores combined for 77 starts, 833 points (26.0 ppg), 223 assists (6.9 apg) and 402 rebounds (12.6 rpg) as rookies in the Blue & White.
• On Monday, December 8, Justin Robinson was named the MAAC Player of the Week, Monmouth's first MAAC Player of the Week recipient in its program/conference history. Last season, Josh James was named the MAAC Rookie of the Week twice.
Believe. Compete. Succeed.
