-Monmouth is looking to extend its winning streak to eight games for the first time since the 2016-17 season
-MU opened 2-0 in the MAAC for the first time since 2016-17 and third time ever since joining the league
-Monmouth is taking on its first current Big East opponent since playing at SHU in '17
-MU has won five in a row in non-league play for the first time since 2015
-All four of Monmouth's fifth-year seniors are scoring in double figures
-Monmouth is third in the nation in free throw percentage
-The Hawks are 25th nationally in 3pt%
-Monmouth is looking to match the best start in school history at 8-1 (1990-91)
> mark Monmouth's eighth win in a row
> give the Hawks an 8-1 start for the first time since 1990-91
> continue the Hawks longest win streak since a 17-game run in 2016-17
> be
King Rice's second win over a Big East opponent ever
> mark Monmouth's sixth road win in a row
> match the best start in program history at 8-1
> be MU's first ever win over St. John's in four tries
> mark the eighth win over a high-major program under
King Rice> make MU the second MAAC team to reach eight wins this season
> be the second win over a high-major this season (Cincinnati)
> be the first team in the nation to reach six true road wins this season
> be the 169th of Rice's head coaching career
> be the 1,015th win in program history
NOTES FROM THE LAST TIME OUT
> Monmouth opened up 2-0 in MAAC play for the first time since 2016-17 and third time ever.
> MU swept the Western New York swing for the first time since 2016-17 and third time ever.
> The seven-game winning streak the Hawks are on is the longest since 2017.
> MU has won five consecutive road games for the first time since 2017.
> The Hawks have won six in a row over Canisius.
> Monmouth has won twice in a row at the Koessler Athletic Center.
>
George Papas posted his first career double-double with a career best 11 rebounds.
> Shavar Reynolds scored in double figures for the sixth straight game.
> MU's 56% from the field is a season best, and tops since shooting 58.7% against Canisius on December 28, 2020.
NOTES ON THE ALL-TIME SERIES
> Monmouth and St. John's are meeting for the 4th time ever
> The Hawks and Red Storm are meeting for the first time since 2013
> Monmouth is 0-3 all-time against SJU all time
>
King Rice is 1-6 in games againt Big East opponents all time
> The teams first met in 1985 at St. John's, a 98-58 SJU victory
> MU and SJU met on opening night 1990 as part of the Lapchick Tournament, an 85-60 St. John's win
> The 1990 loss to SJU was Monmouth's only defeat in the first nine games of the season, leading to the best start in school history which MU is looking to match tonight
>Â Rice's only matchup with St. John's came in 2013, a 10-point St. John's victoryÂ
> Justin Robinson led Monmouth in the 2013 meeting with 15 points as a true freshman
ROAD WARRIORS
Monmouth leads the nation in road victories with five. There is only one team with as many as four (Chattanooga) with the next highest having three. MU has won five of its six 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
George Papas earned his second MAAC Player of the Week honor this season on Monday after averaging 19.5 points in the Western NY sweep last weekend. He posted his first career double-double at Canisius, grabbing a career-best 11 rebounds, and is the first Hawk since Austin Tilghman in the 2017-18 season to earn multiple Player of the Week honors in one year.
HIGH-MAJOR VICTORY
Monmouth won its seventh game over a high-major opponent under
King Rice earlier this season, topping the University of Cincinnati on the road 61-59. Rice moved to 2-0 against AAC opponents after topping Memphis in 2016, and now has wins over UCLA, USC, Notre Dame, Rutgers and Georgetown to go with the two AAC wins.
NEVER OUTREBOUNDED
Through eight games, Monmouth has yet to be outrebounded this season. MU holds the second best rebounding margin in the MAAC at +4.2, and have topped their opponent on the boards six times and matched them twice thus far.Â
MCCLARY'S BEST BASKETBALL
Graduate senior guard
Marcus McClary is putting together one of the best stretch-es 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.Â
AMONG THE BEST IN THE NATION
Monmouth is currently third nationally in free throw percentage, shooting 81.5% from the foul line through eight games. MU has shot over 90% from the stripe in three of eight games. MU led the country through seven games before a rare off day from the line at Canisius.Â
BEST START SINCE 1990
Monmouth has opened up the season 7-1 for the first time since the 1990-91 season when Wayne Szoke's squad was 8-1 to open the year. A win tonight would match the best start in the history of the program.Â
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 on Sunday, 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.
WELCOME WALKER
Graduate center
Walker Miller has burst onto the scene after playing four seasons as a walk on at North Carolina. Miller has scored in double figures in every game but one, and is MU's leading rebounder at over seven per game. He posted his best rebounding performance at MU by grabbing 12 at Saint Joseph's and comes off his top scoring game in his career, netting 24 at Canisius.Â
LAST TIME OUT
Monmouth beat Canisius behind 24 points from
Walker Miller and a double-double from
George Papas to sweep the weekend and open conference play with a 2-0 mark.Â
WHAT'S TO COME
The Hawks head to Pittsburgh for a date with the ACC's Panthers Sunday night at 7:00 p.m.
