2023-24 Monmouth Basketball Gameday Preview: Game Fourteen
                                                                                     
Monmouth Hawks (7-6, 0-0 CAA) vs. Towson Tigers (7-6, 0-0 CAA)
Thursday, January 4, 2024 - 7:00 p.m. 
OceanFirst Bank Center, West Long Branch, NJ
 
TV
SNY/FloSports
Play-by-Play: Matt Harmon
Analyst: Dexter Henry

QUICK BULLETS
-Monmouth finished non-conference play 7-6, the fifth non-league winning record under King Rice
-Monmouth is entering its second season in the CAA
-This is the first of two meetings against Towson this season
-MU is playing its third home game in the last four contests
-This is Towson's first trip to West Long Branch since 2013
-MU leads the CAA in three-point percent
-The Hawks are 18th nationally in three-point percentage
-Xander Rice has taken the 18th most free throws in the nation to this point
-MU opens CAA play with three of the top five preseason selections in the league
-The Hawks have started the same lineup in all 13 games for the first time since 2013

A MONMOUTH WIN WOULD...
-top Monmouth's win total from 2022-23
-mark the eighth win of the season for Monmouth
-be MU's fifth home win of the season
-start Monmouth 1-0 in CAA play for the first time ever
-register as the 197th win of Rice's career
-hand Towson its seventh loss of the season
-be MU's third win in four games, all at home
-be MU's first win in the calendar year of 2024
-be Monmouth's first victory over Towson as a league member

MORE INFO ON THE ALL-TIME SERIES
-Towson leads the all-time series 3-1
-Only three of those meetings came as Division I opponents, with the teams meeting in February 1983, Monmouth's final season before turning DI
-The first matchup came on February 7, 1983 at Towson, a 76-59 Tigers win
-The teams met in 2014 in West Long Branch as part of the CBE Hall of Fame Classic, a Tigers win in OT despite Andrew Nicholas' six triples
-The teams met as non-conference foes in 2021, a Monmouth win after opening with a 17-0 and 24-1 lead
-The first matchup as CAA opponents came last season at Towson

NOTES FROM THE LAST TIME OUT
-MU finishes with a non-conference record over .500 for the fifth time under King Rice.
-Jack Collins made four threes for the third time this season.
-Abdi Bashir made multiple threes in a game for the 10th time this season.
-Monmouth finishes the calendar year 2023 with 13 victories.
-Konstantynovskyi scored in double figures for the third game in a row and sixth overall.
-Braedan Allen secured his first two career rebounds.
-Sam Fagan grabbed his first steal of the season.
-This was the first ever meeting between Monmouth and Oklahoma.
-MU is now 1-1 against the Big 12 this season.
-Monmouth was better off the bench, 10-9.
-The Hawks had 10 steals to Oklahoma's eight.
-MU led with 13:08 to go.
-The game featured 13 lead changes.

NEXT UP
-Monmouth will continue CAA play at home on January 8 against Northeastern
-The Hawks are 2-2 against Northeastern all time
-This will mark Monmouth's fourth home game in the last five contests
-The game will air nationally on CBS Sports Network