2023-24 Monmouth Basketball Preview: CAA Second Round
#8 Monmouth Hawks (17-14, 10-8 CAA) vs. #9 Campbell Camels (14-17, 8-10 CAA)
Saturday, March 9, 2024 - 12:00 p.m.
Entertainment & Sports Arena, Washington, DC
TV
FloSports
Play-by-Play: Matt Janus
Analyst: Monika Moore
Sideline: Karlie Smith
Radio
Monmouth Digital Network
Play-by-Play: Eddy Occhipinti
Analyst: Steve Bazaz
Quick Bullets
-Xander Rice was named to the CAA First Team, the 22nd First Team honoree in Monmouth's history across three leagues
-Jaret Valencia earned a spot on both the CAA All-Rookie and All-Defensive teams
-Monmouth is competing in its second ever CAA Tournament, going 1-1 last year
-MU has now finished over .500 in conference play in 9 of Rice's 13 seasons
-Monmouth tied a school record with a 13-game home winning streak this season, finishing 13-1 in West Long Branch
-Xander Rice has tied a program mark with five 30-point games this season
-Rice is the fourth Hawk ever to reach 600 points in a single season, and is 17 points shy of moving to third on that list
-Nikita Konstantynovskyi posted his sixth double-double of the season last time out
-King Rice is 10-10 in conference tourneys
-King Rice is the 19th active NCAA head coach with 200+ wins at one institution
A Monmouth Win Would...
-mark the 18th win of the season for Monmouth
-make MU 3-0 at neutral sites this season
-even King Rice's career record at 207-207
-give Monmouth its second win over Campbell this season
-advance MU to the CAA quarterfinals to take on #1 Charleston Sunday at noon
-be MU's 11th win in the calendar year of 2024 and second in March
-propel MU to four games over .500 overall at 18-14
-make Rice 11-10 in conference tournament games all times
-move the Hawks to 2-1 in CAA Tournament games
More Info on the All-Time Series
-Monmouth leads the all-time series 2-1 over Campbell
-Monmouth won the previous meeting this year in West Long Branch, 88-87
-In that game, Xander Rice scored 37 points including banking in the game-winner at the buzzer from half court |
-Monmouth scored eight points in the final nine seconds, and six in the final three seconds to win
-The teams previously had only met during the 1983-84 season, playing twice 13 days apart
-They split those two games, with Campbell winning 71-69 as part of the Olde Fayetteville Classic before Monmouth won in WLB, 77-73
-Campbell is in its first year in the CAA with Monmouth in its second. The teams previously shared a football league, the Big South, from 2018-21.
Notes from the Last Time Out
-Rice tied a program record with his fifth 30-point game of the season. Rich Pass (1984-85) and Corey Albano (1996-97) each had five.
-Rice currently ranks fourth in single-season scoring with 646 points, 17 behind Alex Blackwell in third.
-Monmouth had all five starters in double figures for the first time this season.
-Nikita Konstantynovskyi posted his sixth double-double of the year.
-Monmouth scored 53 points in the second half, their largest output in a half this season and most since 55 in the first half against Hampton in last years CAA Tournament
-MU clinched its ninth winning conference record under King Rice at 10-8 in the CAA.
-Monmouth will be the #8 seed in the CAA Tournament, three spots ahead of the preseason poll.
-Jakari Spence posted his fifth double-figure scoring game, all in CAA play.
-MU snapped a 12-game road losing streak and won its first CAA road game this season
-Monmouth outshot Elon, 50% to 41%.
-The Hawks shot 64.5% in the second half and 45.5% from three.
-MU was better off turnovers, 19-12
-The Hawks won the rebounding battle, 32-30.
-MU was dominant on the move, 19-3.
Next Up
-With a win, MU will play #1 Charleston on Sunday at 1pm on FloHoops/MDN.
