2024-25 Monmouth Basketball Gameday Preview: CAA Tournament Second Round

Monmouth Hawks (12-19, 10-8 CAA) vs. Hofstra Pride (15-17, 6-12 CAA)
Saturday, March 8, 2025 - 8:30 p.m.
CareFirst Arena, Washington, DC

TV
FloCollege
Play-by-Play: Dave Ryan
Analyst: Mack McCarthy

RADIO
Monmouth Digital Network/Varsity Network App
Play-by-Play: Jackson Heil
Analyst: Steve Bazaz

QUICK BULLETS
-Monmouth has won seven of its last 10
-MU has now matched or outperformed its preseason poll pick in 10 of 14 seasons under King Rice, including this year
-Abdi Bashir enters the tournament with 10 more threes than anyone in the country and is sixth in total points in the NCAA
-Bashir was named All-CAA First Team
-Jack Collins is 26 points from 1,000
-Bashir is four threes from tying the CAA record of 125 in a season
-MU has won a game in the CAA Tournament in each of its first two years
-Monmouth's T5 finish in the CAA standings is its best in three years in the league, improving each season
-King Rice is 12-11 in conference tournaments in his 14th season at MU
-Rice has 10 .500+ league marks in 14 yrs.
-The Hawks defeated Hofstra on an Andrew Ball three with 22.3 seconds remaining in their only meeting of 24-25

A MONMOUTH WIN WOULD...
-mark the 13th win of the season for Monmouth
-make the Hawks 13-19 this season
-be Monmouth's third straight season winning its opening CAA Tournament game
-mark wins in eight of the last 11 for the Hawks 
-advance Monmouth to the CAA quarterfinals Sunday to play #3 Charleston
-make MU 2-0 over Hofstra this season
-be the 220th win of King Rice's career
-be Monmouth's fourth win in the last five
-make King Rice 13-11 in conference tournaments
-mark Rice's eighth league quarterfinal appearance and second in a row

MORE INFO ON THE ALL-TIME SERIES
-Monmouth and Hofstra are meeting for the 17th time ever
-The teams have split 16 meeting, 8-8
-The two squads have split four contests as CAA foes
-Monmouth won the only meeting this season, 68-62, coming from 16 points down to win it on Andrew Ball's three with 22.3 seconds
remaining
-Hofstra is Monmouth's longest common opponent, dating back to 2017, as the Pride were MU's only non-conference opponent during
the COVID-shortened 2020 season
-Monmouth has won two straight over Hofstra
-This is the Hawks first time facing off with Hofstra in the CAA Tournament

NOTES FROM THE LAST TIME OUT
-Monmouth finishes 10-8 and sixth in the CAA, the highest the Hawks have finished in three seasons in the league.
-MU was picked eighth, and has now matched or outperformed its preseason pollselecti on in 10 of 14 seasons under King Rice.
-Cornelius Robinson III matched a career high with 10 rebounds.
-Nine different Hawks scored in the game.
-Bashir extended his NCAA lead with three made threes, and now has 121 on the year, four shy of the CAA all-time record.
-Jack Collins moved into ninth alone on the all-time rebounding list and is one shy of eighth. 
-Dok Muordar matched a career-best with four blocks. 
-Monmouth was better on second-chance points, 16-10.
-The Hawks topped points in the paint, 26-24.
-The game featured eight ties and 18 lead changes.

NEXT UP
-With a win, Monmouth will advance to take on #3 Charleston in the CAA quarterfinals on Sunday at 8:30 p.m. That game would
air on FloCollege and on the radio via the Monmouth Digital Network and Varsity Network App.