SCOUTING THE STAGS
Fairfield puts three players in double figures with a fourth just shy, and are led by two first-year Stags in Landon Taliaferro and Neftali Alvarez. Jonathan Kasibabu is averaging 11.5 points and 7.9 rebounds per game.

SERIES NOTES
-Monmouth leads the all-time series 8-5.
-Since becoming MAAC foes, Monmouth leads the series 8-3.
-Monmouth lost twice to Fairfield last season for the first time ever.
-After a win on 2/7/14, Monmouth won seven in a row over the Stags up until last February.

MOVING OVER .500 IN THE MAAC
Monmouth is over .500 in conference play for the first time since the 2016-17 season finale at Iona, a Hawks win that moved MU to 18-2 in league play. MU is currently 3-2 after two straight wins.

RUTHERFORD LOCKING DOWN ON DEFENSE
Nick Rutherford helped lock down one of the top freshmen in the MAAC in Jalen Pickett in the Hawks' win over Siena. The guard entered at the 12:50 mark of the first half after Pickett knocked down his first four shots, all from three. From that point forward, Pickett went 1-for-11 from the field and turned it over six times. Rutherford finished the night with six points, a career-best in a Hawks uniform eight rebounds, two assists and four steals in 33 minutes.

FRESHMAN EMERGING
Sam Chaput has taken on an increased role for Monmouth since the New Year's Eve contest against Penn, with King Rice crediting Chaput for part of the Hawks' win over Siena. He knocked in a three and scored seven points in 25 minutes, including corralling a long rebound off a late missed free throw and running the clock down to 1.1 seconds before he was caught and fouled. 

OVERTIME GAMES
In the last two seasons, Monmouth has played five overtime games, with four of them ending in a different number of sessions. MU played Penn to four overtimes and Siena to three last season, before beating Penn in a single OT earlier this year and playing double overtime at Quinnipiac. MU beat Siena in OT to move to 3-2 in league play.

120 WINS FOR KING RICE
Monmouth Head Coach King Rice picked up his 120th career win over Manhattan, the fifth Monmouth coach to reach that mark all time. His 100th career win also came over the Jaspers, coming at Draddy Gym. 

LOCKING DOWN AT HOME
Monmouth is giving up 46.5 points per game at home against MAAC opponents this season, holding both Saint Peter's and Manhattan under 50 points. Against the Jaspers, MU allowed just two two-point field goals in the opening half.