2021-22 Monmouth Basketball Game Eleven Preview

Monmouth Hawks (8-2, 2-0 MAAC) at Yale Bulldogs (6-6, 0-0 Ivy)
Tuesday, December 14, 2021 - 7:00 p.m.
John J. Lee Amphitheater, New Haven, CT

TV
ESPN+
Play-by-Play: Justin Gallanty
Analyst: Frank Maturo

RADIO
Monmouth Digital Network
Play-by-Play: Eddy Occhipinti

YALE COVID-19 POLICIES
Yale University Athletics announced protocols for attending varsity sports this winter. Yale will open its venues at 75-percent capacity to fully vaccinated fans who show proof of their COVID-19 vaccination card and valid ID. This policy takes effect immediately. Fans will be welcomed at John J. Lee Amphitheater by following these guidelines: Proof of vaccination (actual card or photo) and a photo ID. Vaccination and ID cards reviewed by arena staff upon arrival. Youth ages 11-and-under are not permitted. Masks must be worn indoors at all times. No outside food and no in-venue concessions. 

QUICK BULLETS
-Monmouth comes off its second high-major win of the season and eighth under King Rice Sunday at Pitt
-MU ranks 15th nationally in free throw percentage at 79.4% as a team 
-Monmouth has won eight of its last nine games 
-Shavar Reynolds was named the MAAC Player of the Week on Monday after averaging 19.5 ppg last week 
-All four of Monmouth's fifth-year seniors are scoring in double figures 
-Monmouth is currently 48th in the NCAA's NET rankings
-George Papas is currently 15th in the country in three-point field goals attempted

A MONMOUTH WIN WOULD
> mark Monmouth's ninth win of the season
> give the Hawks a 9-2 start for the first time since 2016-17
> mark MU's nation-leading seventh true road victory this season
> be King Rice's ninth win over an Ivy League foe
> mark MU's second victory in a row
> be MU's second win ever over Yale
> signify the Hawks second win in two tries at Yale
> make MU the second MAAC team to reach nine wins this season
> mark the 14th win over an Ivy in program history
> Be Monmouth's seventh non-league win, tied for the third most in program history
> be the 170th of Rice's head coaching career
> be the 1,016th win in program history

NOTES FROM THE LAST TIME OUT
> Monmouth knocks off its second high-major opponent of the season and eighth under King Rice.
> MU picks up its second win over an ACC opponent under Rice (Notre Dame, 2015).
> Monmouth won its sixth true road game of the season, the most in the country.
> MU opens a season 8-2 for the first time since 2016-17.
> The Hawks won their seventh non-conference game, tied for the second most in program history
> The Hawks topped Pitt for the first time in school history.
> Klemen Vuga made his first basket of the season, a first-half three.
> George Papas' five assists tie a season-high.
> This marked Monmouth's first ever road win at an ACC program.
> Monmouth was outrebounded for the first time this season.
> MU outshot Pitt 40% to 34%.
> The Hawks limited the Panthers to 15% from three.
> MU led the final 38:10 of the contest.

NOTES ON THE ALL-TIME SERIES
> Monmouth and Yale are meeting for the second time ever
> The Hawks and Bulldogs are meeting for the first time since 2018
> Monmouth and Yale have split two meetings all time, with the road team winning each matchup
> King Rice is 8-7 in games against Ivy opponents at MU
> This is MU's first trip to Yale since 2017
>  In the 2017 meeting, Austin Tilghman tallied the second ever triple-double for a Hawk and first by an MU guard finishing with 11 points, 14 rebounds and 15 assists
>  The last meeting in 2018 saw a late Yale run secure the win for the Bulldogs
>  In 2018, MU was led by 15 Ray Salnave points and 12 rebounds from Mustapha Traore
>  George Papas and Marcus McClary have played in every game against Yale in program history, while Nikkei Rutty played in the 2018 contest

MOST NON-LEAGUE WINS
Monmouth is looking for its seventh non-conference victory this year, a number that would tie the 2016-17 group for third most in program history. The record belongs to the 1990-91 Hawks who won nine times out of the league, while the 1991-92 and 2015-16 teams each won eight non-league games, with the 15-16 group adding another non-league win in the postseason NIT over Bucknell.

MID-MAJOR TOP 25
Monmouth moved up four spots in the most recent Mid-Major Top 25, posted by CollegeInsider. MU moved up to 17th in the latest ranking after entering a week ago in the 21st slot. MU is one of just two MAAC schools in the ranking (Iona). This marks the first time the Hawks re-enter the poll after spending the entirety of the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons in it.

ROAD WARRIORS
Monmouth leads the nation in road victories with six. There is only one team with as many as five (Chattanooga) with the next highest having four. MU has won six of its eight road contests this season. The 2015-16 Hawks led the nation in road and road/neutral wins, finishing with 13 true road wins and 17 away from home.

ANOTHER PLAYER OF THE WEEK NOD
Shavar Reynolds earned his first MAAC Player of the Week honor this season on Monday after averaging 19.5 points in contests at St. John's and Pitt last week. Reynolds is the third Player of the Week for MU this season, joining backcourt mate George Papas who has captured the honor twice.

HIGH-MAJOR VICTORIES
Monmouth won its seventh and eighth games over high-major opponents under King Rice this season, topping the University of Cincinnati on the road 61-59 and Pitt by a 56-52 count. Rice moved to 2-0 against AAC opponents after topping Memphis in 2016, and picked up his second win over the ACC after topping Pitt to go along with beating Notre Dame in 2015. He now has wins over UCLA, USC, Notre Dame, Rutgers and Georgetown to go with the two AAC and ACC wins.

FIRST TIME OUTREBOUNDED
Through 10 games, Monmouth was just outrebounded for the first time this year at Pitt in a win. MU holds the second best rebounding margin in the MAAC at +3.4, and have topped their opponent on the boards seven times and matched them twice thus far. 

MCCLARY'S BEST BASKETBALL
Graduate senior guard Marcus McClary is putting together one of the best stretches of his career to begin his final campaign. Entering this season, McClary's career best in single-game scoring was 15 points, a number he has already topped three times this year, including 24 points (20 in the second half) in a key win at St. Joe's before carrying the Hawks with 18 in the upset win at Cincinnati, 14 of them coming in the second half. McClary has cracked double figures six times.

STARTING 2-0 IN LEAGUE PLAY
Monmouth opened 2-0 in MAAC play with a sweep of Niagara and Canisius. This marks the third time MU has ever opened 2-0 in the MAAC and first since 2016-17. Monmouth was one of three teams in the league to win both games on the first weekend, joining Fairfield and Iona. 

BLOCKING SHOTS
MU deflected a season-high eight shots at Canisius, with three players coming away with multiple rejections. On the weekend, MU blocked 11 shots, with the surprise coming in point guard Myles Ruth, who had swats in both contests.

BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK KEY WINS
MU's win at St. Joe's marked the first ever true road win over an Atlantic 10 oppo-nent in school history. The Hawks topped SJU by 12 for King Rice's third win over an A10 school and the first on the road. Monmouth then beat Princeton at home to knock off a Tigers team that had already stunned high-major schools on the road in Oregon State and South Carolina. The Hawks won their third critical matchup in a row by topping Cincinnati who had already beaten a ranked Illinois team.

STIFLING SECOND HALF DEFENSE
The second-half lockdown against Princeton was one one of MU's best defensive halves of the King Rice era. The Hawks allowed just 18 points on 24.1% shoot-ing, including just 2-12 (16.7%) from three and surrendered just three foul shots in the period. The Tigers made just one layup in the final 8:48, a basket with 59 seconds left in a game that was already decided. MU then locked up Cincinnati in the second half to just 23 points and 14.3% from deep in the final 20 minutes. The Hawks gave up just 22 points in the second half at Niagara.

AMONG THE BEST IN THE NATION
Monmouth is 15th ninth nationally in free throw percentage, shooting 79.2% from the foul line through 10 games. MU has shot over 90% from the stripe in three of eight games. MU led the country through seven games in foul shooting percentage.

LAST TIME OUT
Monmouth topped another high-major program under King Rice, using 17 George Papas points and 14 more from Shavar Reynolds to knock off the ACC's Pitt Panthers Sunday night. MU led by 17 at the half and held on for the program's first ever true road win at an ACC opponent.

WHAT'S TO COME
The Hawks head home for the first time since Thanksgiving Eve to take on Colgate on Sunday at 2:00 p.m.