2021-22 Monmouth Basketball Game Sixteen Preview

Monmouth Hawks (10-5, 2-2 MAAC) vs. Iona Gaels (14-3, 6-0 MAAC)
Tuesday, January 18, 2022 - 7:00 p.m.
OceanFirst Bank Center, West Long Branch, NJ

TV
ESPN3
Play-by-Play: Eddy Occhipinti
Analyst: Dave Calloway

MONMOUTH COVID-19 POLICIES
Monmouth University has announced its campus-wide indoor event COVID-19 policies.
 
The following policies are in effect until further notice:

1.    All fans 18 and over are required to provide proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test administered by a doctor's office or a clinic within 72 hours of the event time for indoor Athletic events. Home test kit results will not be accepted.
2.    All event audiences must wear a mask that completely covers the nose and mouth of the participant. Face shields are not acceptable. This includes fans from 2-17 years of age.
3.    Athletic events held in the OceanFirst Bank Center will be permitted to have food in the stands as long as masks remain on when the participant is not actively consuming food or beverages. Masks must be worn otherwise.
 
Men's and women's basketball season ticket holders will be mailed (and emailed) instructions on how to obtain a vaccine credential which will require them to show their vaccine cards once and receive a credential to speed up entrance to events. Season ticket holders who are not vaccinated will need to show proof a negative test within 72 hours of the event for every event attended.
 
Additionally, there will be separate entrances for students, season ticket holders and the general public. More information on those locations will be available on MonmouthHawks.com

QUICK BULLETS
-Monmouth is returning home for the first time in 26 days
-Monmouth has won nine of its last 10 at home dating to last season
-MU is playing for the third time in five days after a 23-day layoff between December 22 and January 14
-All four of Monmouth's fifth-year seniors are averaging in double figures
-George Papas has earned two MAAC Player of the Week honors this season while Shavar Reynolds has one as well
-Monmouth is ranked #21 in this week's CollegeInsider Mid-Major Top 25
-George Papas was named to the Lou Henson Award Watch List
-MU's eight non-league wins tied for the most ever in school history
-This is MU's first matchup with Iona this season

A MONMOUTH WIN WOULD...
-mark Monmouth's 11th win of the season
-be MU's fourth home win of the season 
-move the Hawks over .500 in MAAC play at 3-2
-be MU's 10th home W in the last 11 home contests
-make Monmouth the second MAAC team to 11 victories
-be MU's 97th ever win in the MAAC
-snap a three-game losing streak
-mark Monmouth's ninth win as MAAC opponents against Iona
-be the Hawks third straight win over Iona in West Long Branch
-be MU's first win in 2022

NOTES FROM THE LAST TIME OUT...
-Shavar Reynolds scored in double figures for the 13th time this season.
-Myles Ruth knocked in his first three-pointer since opening night at Charlotte.
-Tahron Allen's 18 minutes marked a career-best.
-Myles Ruth netted his second career double-digit game, and first this season.
-Jack Holmstrom converted his first point of the year from the foul line.
-Mateo Delmoral made his first appearance of the season.
-13 Hawks saw action, the most this season.
-MU was better off the bench, 19-17.
-Marist shot 48% to Monmouth's 29%.
-Jao Ituka led all scorers with 28 points for Marist.

MORE INFO ON THE ALL-TIME SERIES
-Iona leads the all-time series, 13-8
-In matchups as MAAC foes, Iona leads 11-8
-Monmouth has won the last two matchups with Iona in West Long Branch
-This is Iona's first trip to WLB since January 5, 2020
-The teams first met on December 7, 1982, an Iona win
-The teams have met in two MAAC title games (2016, 2019)
-Monmouth swept Iona in 2016-17, the first MAAC team at the time to sweep a Tim Cluess coached Iona squad
-This is the first meeting between King Rice and Rick Pitino in West Long Branch
-MU is 4-4 all time against the Gaels at home
-Monmouth and Marist met twice prior to MU joining the league, with those games coming in 1982 and 1985
-In the last seven meetings, six of them have seen a team reach 80 points
-This game is a rescheduled contest of the originally scheduled January 9th meeting 
-The teams will meet at Iona on Super Bowl Sunday on February 13 later this season

PAPAS EARNS SPOT ON PRESTIGIOUS LIST
George Papas was named to the Lou Henson Award Watch List, awarded to the National Mid-Major Player of the Year. Papas is the second ever Hawk to earn a spot on the list, joining program all-time leading scorer Justin Robinson, who won the award in 2017. Papas is one of two MAAC players on the list (Nelly Junior Joseph - Iona) and one of just two players from the state of New Jersey (Jaelin Llewellyn - Princeton).

ROAD WARRIORS
Monmouth leads the nation in road victories with seven despite not playing for over three weeks. There are only three teams with as many as six (Chattanooga, Navy, Eastern Washington). MU has won seven of its 11 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.

LONG LAYOFF, QUICK TURNAROUND
Monmouth is playing in its third game in five days after playing its first game in 23 days, dating back to December 22 against Hofstra. That marked the longest time between games in one season in the program's Division I history. MU is now in the midst of four games in seven days, playing every other day from January 14-20.

BEST START IN SCHOOL HISTORY
Monmouth's 10-2 start was the best in the program's Division I history dating back to the 1983-94 season. MU had previously started 9-2 in 1990-91, and went to 10-2 for the first time as a DI program before falling to Hofstra on December 22.

TYING A RECORD IN WINS
The Hawks tied the program record with eight non-conference wins, set three times (2015-16, 1991-92, 1990-91). The 2015-16 group did beat nine non-league opponents, with the ninth coming in the postseason NIT over Bucknell.

MID-MAJOR TOP 25
Monmouth continued its rise up College Insider's Mid-Major Top 25, finding their way into the top-10 prior to the Hofstra game at #10. Monmouth currently sits 21st in the ranking. MU broke into the rankings at #21 in late November and moved to #17 before going up to as high at 10. MU spent the entirety of the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons in the poll prior to re-entering this season, and during 2016, reached the #1 spot.

PAPAS REACHES 30
With his 30-point outing against Colgate, George Papas became the fifth player in Monmouth history to record four or more games of 30+ points, joining MU legends Rahsaan Johnson (6), Alex Blackwell (9), Rich Pass (5) and Corey Albano (5). Papas has reached 30 twice this season, both at home, in addition to 32 vs. Hofstra last season and another 32 at Canisius in 2020. Papas has the most 30+ point games under King Rice, passing Justin Robinson, who had three. 

FREE THROW SHOOTING
MU currently ranks 10th nationally in free throw shooting, and led the nation in the category through seven games. MU is at 79.1% from the stripe, and have been over 80% in a single game seven times and over 90% on three separate occasions. Papas, Reynolds and Miller are all over 85% from the foul line this season. 

HELPING OUT
Monmouth's 17 assists in the win over Colgate is the most they have had in a single game this season, and the most since going for 21 in a win at Manhattan on February 6, 2021. Shavar Reynolds led the way with a career-high nine helpers.

CLEANING THE GLASS
Monmouth posted one of their best rebounding games under King Rice in the win at Yale, topping the Bulldogs on the glass by 16, the highest rebounding margin in a game since a November 2017 win at Lehigh. Walker Miller led the way with nine,
while Nikkei Rutty added eight. Overall this season, Monmouth has been out-rebounded as a team in just four of 15 games. 

HIGH-MAJOR WINS
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.

LAST TIME OUT
Monmouth fell at Marist, with Myles Ruth posting his first double-digit scoring game of the season with 11 points.

WHAT'S TO COME
Monmouth closes a four games in seven days stretch Thursday at Fairfield.