2021-22 Monmouth Basketball Game Seventeen Preview                                                                         

Monmouth Hawks (10-6, 2-3 MAAC) at Fairfield Stags (8-9, 2-4 MAAC)
Thursday, January 20, 2022 - 7:30 p.m.
Webster Bank Arena, Bridgeport, CT

TV
ESPN+
Play-by-Play: Bob Heussler
Analyst: Joe DeSantis

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

FAIRFIELD COVID-19 POLICIES
Per the city of Bridgeport, all spectators are required to wear masks at all times while inside Webster Bank Arena unless actively eating or drinking.

QUICK BULLETS
-Monmouth is playing its fourth game in seven days
-Monmouth is playing on the road for the third time in four games
-Monmouth will be halfway finished with their road league schedule after tonight's contest
-MU's three leading scorers are all averaging over 15 points per game
-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 Fairfield this season

A MONMOUTH WIN WOULD...
-mark Monmouth's 11th win of the season
-be MU's nation-leading eighth road win of the season 
-move the Hawks back to .500 in MAAC play at 3-3
-make Monmouth the second MAAC team to 11 victories
-be MU's 97th ever win in the MAAC
-snap a four-game losing streak
-mark Monmouth's 12th win as MAAC opponents against Fairfield
-be the Hawks third win in the last five over Fairfield
-mark MU's fifth win at Webster Bank Arena
-be MU's first regular season win over the Stags since March 4, 2020
-be MU's first win in 2022

NOTES FROM THE LAST TIME OUT...
-Monmouth had three players (Reynolds, Miller, Papas) score 20+ points, the first time that has happened under King Rice.
-George Papas moved into the top-10 in program history in made threes, passing Micah Seaborn with his 175th make
-MU topped the 80-point mark for the fourth time this season.
-George Papas' six assists mark a season high.
-Walker Miller posted his fourth 20+ point game of the season while Shavar Reyn olds notched his third and George Papas his fifth.
-This marked Monmouth's first overtime game of the season, and first since a March 4, 2021 win at Rider.
-Papas played 42:16, the most in a game in his career.
-Each team scored 38 points in the paint
-Monmouth was better on the move, 17-1
-MU generated 19 points off turnovers.
-The game saw nine ties and 12 lead changes.
-The Hawks matched a season low with seven turnovers.

MORE INFO ON THE ALL-TIME SERIES
-Monmouth leads the all-time series, 11-7
-In matchups as MAAC foes, MU leads 11-5
-Monmouth has won three of the last five
-This is the first regular season meeting between the schools since March 4, 2020
-The teams first met on December 13, 1994, a Fairfield win
-Fairfield is the only MAAC team MU did not play in the regular season in 20-21
-Monmouth won seven in a row in the series between 2015-17
-Monmouth is visiting Webster Bank Arena for the first time since February 4, 2020
-Monmouth and Fairfield met twice prior to MU joining the league, with those games coming in 1994 and 1995
-The teams will meet at Monmouth on February 4

THREE GUYS HIT 20
For the first time in 25 years, Monmouth had three players each score 20+ points in a game against Iona. In the overtime contest, Walker Miller had 22 while George Papas and Shavar Reynolds each had 21, marking the first time three Hawks did that in a game since January 17, 1996, an 82-77 win over Mount Saint Mary's inside Boylan Gym. In that contest, John Giraldo, Corey Albano and Quincy Lee all hit the 20-point mark.

PAPAS MOVING UP
George Papas passed former teammate and current student assistant Micah Seaborn in career three pointers made, knocking in his 175th against Iona. He is now 10th all time in career triples, and is six threes shy of Rahsaan Johnson's 181 in ninth.

FOSTER SAYS NO
Myles Foster's four blocks against Iona marked a career high and the most by a Hawk this season. The last Hawk with four rejections in a game was Nikkei Rutty, who had four last February in a win at Manhattan. 

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.  

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 in OT to Iona, with three Hawks netting 20+ points.

WHAT'S TO COME
Monmouth hosts Manhattan on Sunday at 2:00 p.m.