Game 33
#4 Monmouth vs. #1 Iona
2015 MAAC Tournament Semifinals
Date: Sunday, March 8, 2015
Time: 4:30 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-Iona Series History:
• Sunday's game marks just the seventh all-time meeting between Monmouth and Iona, the fifth contest as members of the MAAC, and the first in the postseason.
• Iona leads the all-time series 4-1, which began during the 1982-83 season.
• The two schools met once each during the 82-83 and 84-85 campaigns.
• Iona, the 2014 MAAC Regular Season Champions, won both meetings last season, by an average of 18.5 points, but the Hawks and Gaels split the season series this year, with the squads winning on their home courts.
• Monmouth won at home 92-89 (season-high in points scored for the Hawks) in early December, and dropped a 1-point decision at Iona in late February.
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 now 18 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.
