-The teams met for the first time in 1982.
-Monmouth and Iona have played 17 times in MAAC competition.
-MU has won three of the last five.
-Monmouth is 4-4 all time in New Rochelle, and 4-3 as MAAC opponents.

HAMMOND BREAKS THE THREE-POINT RECORD
Deion Hammond set the Monmouth career record for made three pointers on February 6 at Manhattan, when he knocked in a three as the shot clock expired at the 6:01 mark of the second half. His 261st three moved him past Dave Calloway on the all-time list, with Calloway as the only player to hold the record previously as he was part of the program right at the introduction of the three-point line. Calloway held the record for 30 years before Hammond moved past him.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK FOR #2

Melik Martin was named the MAAC Player of the Week following the Manhattan series in which he was a half rebound shy of averaging a double-double for the two games. He posted a double-double in the second game with 14 and 10 after going for 18 and nine the prior night. Martin is putting together the best stretch of basketball in his career, coming off his first career double-double on 1/30 against Niagara with 14 points and 11 rebounds. In the last eight games, he has scored in double figures seven times (and netted nine points in the one he fell short of doubles vs. Quinnipiac), and is averaging 15.6 points, 7.1 rebounds, has 10 steals and is shooting 51.1% from the field. Martin has made a whopping 47 field goals in the last eight contests, including 14 triples, and has blocked three shots while dishing out 14 assists.

THESE SENIORS
In the February 6 win over Manhattan, all four Monmouth seniors scored in double-figures and accounted for 52 of the 71 points in the victory. For the season, Monmouth's four seniors (Hammond, Papas, Martin, McClary) have scored 727 of MU's 1,168 total points. All three Hawks averaging double digits are seniors, while McClary is the teams leading rebounder.

BIG MAN NIKKEI

Nikkei Rutty blocked a career high four shots in the win over Manhattan on February 6, the most in a game by a Hawk since the final game of the 2018-19 regular season, when Mustapha Traore had four rejections at Manhattan. Rutty also grabbed 11 rebounds in the game, tied for the most boards in a single game by a Hawk so far this year.

THE MAAC STANDINGS

In this unique season, it does not appear every MAAC team will play in 20 conference games, meaning the tiebreaker rules set forth preseason as a possibility will be placed into effect. Such rules place emphasis on total wins, placing the Hawks in first place by virtue of their 10 league wins, two more than second-place Siena's eight.

WE PLAY FAST 

According to basketball analytics website KenPom.com, Monmouth plays at the fourth fastest pace in the nation. Monmouth posts 75.7 possessions per game, scoring them in the top-four nationally based on an estimate of the tempo (possessions per 40 minutes) a team would have against the team that wants to play at an average D-I tempo. The next fastest team in the league ranks as Quinnipiac, who is 43rd in tempo at 71.4 possessions per contest. There are only four MAAC teams in the top 200, with Canisius at 100 and Rider at 172 joining MU and QU.

100 STARTS FOR #3 
Deion Hammond became the 10th player in program history to start 100 games when he got the nod at Niagara on 1/30.  Hammond has started 49 games in a row for the Hawks and 82 of the last 83, only missing the start in the 2019 MAAC quarterfinal win over Quinnipiac in which he played 29 minutes off the bench.

ASSIST-TURNOVER RATIO
The Hawks this season are plus in the assist-turnover category, dishing out 223 assists next to 206 turnovers. MU ranks second in the MAAC in the category at +1.08. Monmouth posted 23 assists to just nine turnovers in a win over Niagara on 1/29, marking a pair of milestones. The plus-14 is the best in a single game for MU under King Rice, while the 23 assists is the most since Rice's second season, when the Hawks opened the season with 25 helpers in a win over Hofstra on November 9, 2012. Point guard Samuel Chaput is by far the league leader in assist-turnover, posting 50 assists-21 turnovers, a +2.38 marker. 

DEION AMONG NCAA ACTIVE CAREER LEADERS
Deion Hammond is 16th in the NCAA in made three-pointers among active players at 261, and 13th among active players in three-pointers attempted with 724. His 1,536 total points is also 40th among active players. 

MYLES THE POINT GUARD
Freshman point guard Myles Ruth has impressed early, with Monmouth ripping off seven of eight wins since he was inserted as the starter. In nine of 15 contests this year, he has grabbed multiple steals. He has contributed in all facets of the game, scoring a career-best eight points and grabbing a career-high four steals in two of the last four games. He is shooting 50% from the field from the point guard spot, and 45.5% from beyond the arc. 

HAWKS, PAPAS LIST AMONG NATIONAL THREE-POINT LEADERS 

Monmouth is 19th in the country in three-point percentage at 38.5%, having made 124 of 322 attempts. This is the best mark in the MAAC, and sits behind undefeated Baylor. Individually, George Papas is 10th in the country in three-point shooting at 44.8%, shooting 39-87 from deep. His numbers also lead the MAAC, and he is one of just eight players in the top 10 to have played in more than six games. Papas' 37 makes are also 58th in the country and tops in the MAAC, and he is one of 10 players nationally to make 9 or more threes in a game, doing so on opening night against Hofstra. Two players have made 10 in a game, with eight others tying Papas' nine.

MAAC WEEKEND UPDATE 
Through seven weekends of MAAC play, Monmouth has picked up four sweeps and won the opening game six times in seven tries. The Blue and White have only dropped a pair of games once, doing so just after the New Year at Siena.