2020–21 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference men's basketball season
Sports season
The 2020–21 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) men's basketball season began with practices in October 2020, followed by the start of the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season on November 25. Conference play started in December and concluded in March 2021. This season was the 40th season of MAAC basketball.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States , the MAAC revised their scheduling policy for conference games as follows:[ 3]
A 20-game double round robin conference schedule with five home series and five away series for each team.
A Friday/Saturday playing schedule at the same venue for both games, with 24 hours of spacing between the two contests. The men’s and women’s schedules will mirror each other so that the women’s program may be playing a team for a 2-game home series, with the men’s program playing the same opponent on the road - and vice versa in subsequent weeks.
Make up week retained for the second to last week of the season.
The use of the same officiating crew for both games of a series, when possible.
When teams are traveling, only institutional staff and student-athletes that are designated as Tier 1, along with Tier 2 Presidents, Athletic Directors, Senior Woman Administrators and key conference staff members are permitted entrance to a team’s facility.
Retained a ban on fan attendance at venues through December.
Approved the threshold for the minimum number of players available for the game to be contested as 8 counter (scholarship) players and at least one coach. The 2021 MAAC tournament was held from March 8 through March 13 at the Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey for the second year in a row. For this season, since it was official that not all MAAC teams would reach the originally scheduled 20 conference game mark, team seeding in the tournament was based on overall conference regular season wins – not including any third games scheduled between teams in lieu of non-conference opponents. A tiebreaker system to seed teams with identical conference records was also used.[ 4]
Head Coaches
Coaching changes
On March 13, 2020, Tim Cluess stepped down as head coach of the Iona Gaels due to health concerns.[ 5] Louisville coach Rick Pitino the Gaels' new head coach.[ 6]
Coaches
Notes:
All records, appearances, titles, etc. are from time with current school only.
Year at school includes 2020–21 season.
Overall and MAAC records are from time at current school and are before the beginning of the 2020–21 season.
Previous jobs are head coaching jobs unless otherwise noted.
Preseason
Preseason Coaches Poll
Rank
Team [ 7]
1.
Siena (11)
2.
Iona
T3.
Monmouth
T3.
Saint Peter's
5.
Manhattan
6.
Niagara
7.
Quinnipiac
8.
Fairfield
9.
Marist
10.
Canisius
11.
Rider
( ) first place votes
Preseason All-MAAC teams
2020-21 MAAC Men's Basketball Preseason All-MAAC Teams [ 7]
First Team
Second Team
Third Team
Majesty Brandon – Canisius
Asante Gist – Iona
Isaiah Ross – Iona
Warren Williams – Manhattan
Tyrese Williams – Quinnipiac
Jesus Cruz – Fairfield
Raheem Solomon – Niagara
Jacob Rigoni – Quinnipiac
Daryl Banks – Saint Peter's
Doug Edert – Saint Peter's
† denotes unanimous selection
Preseason Player of the Year
Recipient
School
†Jalen Pickett
Siena
MAAC Regular Season
Conference matrix
This table summarizes the final head-to-head results between teams in conference play.
Canisius
Fairfield
Iona
Manhattan
Marist
Monmouth
Niagara
Quinnipiac
Rider
Saint Peter's
Siena
vs. Canisius
1–1
1–1
2–0
0–2
0–2
1–1
vs. Fairfield
1–1
1–1
1–1
1–1
2–0
1–1
1–1
1–1
2–0
vs. Iona
1–1
1–1
0–2
1–0
0–2
vs. Manhattan
1–1
1–1
2–0
2–0
0–2
1–1
1–1
2–0
2–0
vs. Marist
1–1
1–1
0–2
2–0
1–1
0–2
1–1
1–1
1–1
vs. Monmouth
0–2
2–0
0–2
0–2
1–1
0–2
0–2
1–1
2–0
vs. Niagara
0–2
2–0
1–1
1–1
1–1
1–1
2–0
1–1
vs. Quinnipiac
2–0
1–1
0–1
1–1
2–0
2–0
1–1
0–2
1–1
vs. Rider
1–1
2–0
1–1
1–1
2–0
1–1
2–0
1–1
2–0
vs. Saint Peter's
2–0
1–1
0–2
1–1
1–1
0–2
1–1
1–1
1–1
vs. Siena
1–1
0–2
0–2
1–1
0–2
1–1
0–2
1–1
Total
7–5
7–11
6–3
6–12
10–8
12–6
7–9
7–10
5–13
10–8
12–4
Player of the week
Throughout the regular season, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference offices named player(s) of the week and rookie(s) of the week.[ 8]
Week
Player of the week
Rookie of the week
November 30, 2020
Fousseyni Drame, Saint Peter's
Tymu Chenery, Quinnipiac
December 7, 2020
Isaiah Ross , Iona
Nelly Junior Joseph , Iona
December 14, 2020
Ant Nelson, Manhattan
Hakim Byrd, Marist
December 21, 2020
Isaiah Ross (2), Iona
Nelly Junior Joseph (2), Iona
December 28, 2020
Isaiah Ross (3), Iona
Nelly Junior Joseph (3), Iona
January 4, 2021
Marcus Hammond, Niagara
Ricardo Wright, Marist
January 11, 2021
Manny Camper , Siena
Aidan Carpenter, Siena
January 18, 2021
Jordan King, Siena
Colin Golson, Jr., Siena
January 25, 2021
Dwight Murray, Jr., Rider
Ricardo Wright (2), Marist
February 1, 2021
Kobi Nwandu, Niagara
Ricardo Wright (3), Marist
February 8, 2021
Melik Martin, Monmouth
Luis Kortright, Quinnipiac
February 15, 2021
Elijah Buchanan, Manhattan
Nelly Junior Joseph (4), Iona
February 22, 2021
Malek Green, Canisius
Luis Kortright (2), Quinnipiac
March 1, 2021
Manny Camper (2), Siena
Luis Kortright (3), Quinnipiac
March 8, 2021
Jalen Pickett , Siena
Ricardo Wright (4), Marist
Records against other conferences
Records against non-conference foes for the 2020–21 season. Records shown for regular season only.
Postseason
MAAC Tournament
First Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Championship 1
Siena
52
9
Iona
55
8
Quinnipiac
48
9
Iona
72
9
Iona
70
5
Niagara
64
4
Marist
62
5
Niagara
67
9
Iona
60
7
Fairfield
51
2
Monmouth
60
7
Fairfield
79
7
Fairfield
59*
10
Manhattan
58
7
Fairfield
52
3
Saint Peter's
47
3
Saint Peter's
75
11
Rider
58
6
Canisius
76
11
Rider
78
* denotes number of overtimes
NCAA Tournament
Game summary
No. 15 Iona 55, No. 2 #5 Alabama 68
Scoring by half: 32–33, 23–35
Pts :Rebs :Asts :3 tied – 2Pts: H. Jones – 20Rebs: Petty, Jr. – 7Asts: Ellis – 3 NCAA tournament first round
Honors and awards
MAAC Awards
2020-21 MAAC Men's Basketball Major Individual Awards [ 11] [ 12]
Award
Recipient(s)
Player of the Year
Manny Camper, Sr, G Siena
Coach of the Year
King Rice, Monmouth
Rookie of the Year
Nelly Junior Joseph , F, Iona
Defensive Player of the Year
KC Ndefo , Jr, G, Saint Peter's
Sixth Player of the Year
Malek Green, Jr, F, Canisius
2020-21 MAAC Men's Basketball All-Conference Teams [ 13] [ 14]
First Team
Second Team
Third Team
Rookie Team
†Manny Camper, Sr, G, Siena
†Deion Hammond, Sr, G, Monmouth
†KC Ndefo, Jr, G, Saint Peter's
Jalen Pickett , Jr, G, Siena†Isaiah Ross , Sr, G, Iona
Marcus Hammond, Jr, G, Niagara
Dwight Murray, Jr., Jr, G, Rider
Kobi Nwandu, Sr, F, Niagara
George Papas, Sr, G, Monmouth
Jacob Rigoni, Sr, F, Quinnipiac
Darryl Banks III, So, G, Saint Peter's
Malek Green, Jr, F, Canisius
Jordan King, So, G, Siena
Melik Martin, Sr, F, Monmouth
Ant Nelson, Jr, G, Manhattan
Warren Williams, Jr, F, Manhattan
Hakim Byrd, Fr, G, Marist
†Tymu Chenery, Fr, G/F, Quinnipiac
†Nelly Junior Joseph, Fr, F, Iona
†Luis Kortright, Fr, G, Quinnipiac
†Ricardo Wright, Fr, G, Marist
† denotes unanimous selection
All-MAAC tournament team
2021 MAAC Men's Basketball All-Championship Team [ 15]
Raheem Solomon, Niagara
KC Ndefo, Saint Peter's
Jake Wojcik, Fairfield
Taj Benning, Fairfield
Berrick Jeanlouis, Iona
Isaiah Ross, Iona
MVP Asante Gist, Iona
Completed for 2020–21 season [ 16] [ 17]
Scoring leaders
Rk
Player
PTS
PPG
1
Isaiah Ross (Iona)
332
18.4
2
Deion Hammond (Monmouth)
336
16.8
3
Dwight Murray (Rider)
364
15.8
4
Kobi Nwandu (Niagara)
292
14.6
5
Manny Camper (Siena)
240
14.1
Rebound leaders
Rk
Player
REB
RPG
1
Manny Camper (Siena)
165
9.7
2
Nelly Jr. Joseph (Iona)
135
7.5
3
Warren Williams (Manhattan)
146
7.3
4
Malek Green (Canisius)
91
7.0
5
Fousseyni Drame (Saint Peter's)
174
7.0
Field goal leaders (avg 5 fga/gm)
Rk
Player
FG
FGA
PCT
1
Jackson Stormo (Siena)76
116
.655
2
Nelly Jr. Joseph (Iona)
81
136
.596
3
Jordan Jones (Marist)
78
132
.591
4
Warren Williams (Manhattan)
88
155
.568
5
Jacco Fritz (Canisius)
30
56
.536
Assist leaders
Rk
Player
AST
APG
1
Jalen Pickett (Siena)
67
4.8
2
Dwight Murray (Rider)
95
4.1
3
Manny Camper (Siena)
62
3.6
4
Asante Gist (Iona)
57
3.6
5
Matthew Lee (Saint Peter's)
89
3.6
Block leaders
Rk
Player
BLK
BPG
1
KC Ndefo (Saint Peter's)
91
3.64
2
Seth Pinkney (Quinnipiac)
51
2.32
3
Jordan Jones (Marist)
40
1.90
4
Nelly Jr. Joseph (Iona)
29
1.61
5
Warren Williams (Manhattan)
32
1.60
Free throw leaders
Rk
Player
FT
FTA
PCT
1
Asante Gist (Iona)
74
83
.892
2
Jacob Rigoni (Quinnipiac)
67
78
.859
3
Dwight Murray (Rider)
67
78
.859
4
Jake Wojcik (Fairfield)
76
89
.854
5
Taj Benning (Fairfield)
74
88
.841
Steal leaders
Rk
Player
STL
SPG
1
Berrick JeanLouis (Iona)
40
2.2
2
Miles Ruth (Monmouth)
36
1.8
3
Elijah Buchanan (Manhattan)
33
1.7
4
Samir Stewart (Manhattan)
24
1.5
5
Savion Lewis (Quinnipiac)
21
1.5
Three point leaders
Rk
Player
3P
3PA
%
1
Brendan McGuire (Quinnipiac)
19
42
.452
2
Allen Powell (Rider)
37
84
.440
3
Ryan Myers (Iona)
19
44
.431
4
Dwight Murray (Rider)
35
84
.417
5
Jordan Henderson (Canisius)
21
51
.412
Individual statistic NCAA Top 100 leaders
Scoring
Isaiah Ross, Iona (18.4/game): 57th Rebounding
Manny Camper, Siena (9.7/game): 22nd Field Goal Percentage (minimum avg 5 made per game)
KC Ndefo, Saint Peter's (127–252 .504): 82nd Assists per game
Jalen Pickett, Siena (4.8/game): 57th Blocks per game
KC Ndefo, Saint Peter's (3.64/game): 1st (3rd in total blocks)
Seth Pinkney, Quinnipiac (2.32/game): 22nd
Jordan Jones, Marist (1.90/game): 39th
Nelly Jr. Joseph, Iona (1.61/game): 65th
Warren Williams, Manhattan (1.60/game): 68th Free Throw Percentage (minimum avg 2.5 made per game)
Asante Gist, Iona (74–83 .891): 16th
Dwight Murray, Jr., Rider (67–78 .859): 49th
Jacob Rigoni, Quinnipiac (65–76 .855): 53rd
Jake Wojcik, Fairfield (76–89 .853): 57th
Taj Benning, Fairfield (74–88 .840): 80th Steals per game
Berrick JeanLouis, Iona (2.22/game): 18th
Miles Ruth, Monmouth (1.80/game): 66th
Elijah Buchanan, Manhattan (1.74/game): 76th Three-point percentage (minimum 1.5 made per game)
Isaiah Ross, Iona (46–120 .383): 55th
Team statistic NCAA rankings
of 340 Division I teams [ 18]
Canisius
Fairfield
Iona
Manhattan
Marist
Monmouth
Niagara
Quinnipiac
Rider
Saint Peter's
Siena
Scoring/game
195 (70.4)
332 (61.8)
172 (71.3)
322 (63.4)
321 (63.4)
63 (76.0)
311 (64.7)
263 (67.5)
262 (67.5)
325 (63.2)
259 (67.6)
Defense/game
199 (71.2)
68 (66.7)
58 (66.1)
85 (67.2)
27 (63.6)
269 (74.3)
48 (65.2)
134 (69.0)
265 (74.0)
9 (61.5)
22 (63.0)
FG%
305 (.408)
323 (.398)
169 (.441)
337 (.378)
243 (.426)
260 (.422)
308 (.407)
315 (.401)
239 (.427)
317 (.400)
68 (.459)
FG% defense
254 (.452)
190 (.437)
26 (.402)
130 (.424)
11 (.391)
98 (.420)
131 (.424)
8 (.389)
284 (.462)
4 (.386)
42 (.408)
Three Point %
318 (.296)
276 (.315)
128 (.346)
339 (.264)
292 (.310)
61 (.363)
283 (.313)
240 (.323)
105 (.352)
244 (.322)
138 (.343)
Free Throw %
174 (.709)
218 (.695)
60 (.744)
290 (.665)
248 (.683)
179 (.707)
178 (.707)
236 (.687)
89 (.733)
213 (.697)
307 (.657)
Scoring margin
217 (-0.8)
276 (-4.9)
91 (5.2)
257 (-3.8)
204 (-0.2)
158 (1.7)
212 (-0.5)
224 (-1.5)
294 (-6.5)
159 (1.7)
106 (4.6)
Rebound margin
246 (-1.9)
160 (0.8)
47 (4.7)
199 (-0.6)
168 (0.4)
252 (-2.1)
307 (-4.5)
285 (-3.7)
215 (-0.8)
127 (1.8)
107 (2.3)
References
^ "2020-21 Basketball Tiebreakers" (PDF) . MAAC Sports . Retrieved January 19, 2021 .^ "2020-21 Men's Basketball Standings" . MAAC Sports . Retrieved February 16, 2021 .^ "MAAC Council of Presidents Revises 2020-21 Basketball Scheduling Policy for COVID-19 Impacted Season" . MAAC Sports . Retrieved November 11, 2020 .^ "MAAC Men's Basketball Schedule Update" . MAAC Sports . Retrieved February 8, 2021 .^ "Iona's Cluess steps down to focus on health" . ESPN.com . March 13, 2020. Retrieved March 25, 2020 .^ "Rick Pitino returns to college hoops as Iona coach" . ESPN.com . March 14, 2020. Retrieved March 25, 2020 .^ a b "Siena Selected as Unanimous Men's Basketball Preseason Favorite; Jalen Pickett Named Unanimous Preseason Player of the Year" . MAAC Sports . Retrieved November 5, 2020 .^ "Athlete Awards" . MAAC Sports . Retrieved January 1, 2020 .^ Connors, Kevin (January 6, 2022). "Loyola Chicago Ramblers lead Kevin Connors' weekly Mid-Major Top 10" . ESPN.com . Retrieved January 9, 2022 . ^ "Iona, Rick Pitino back in NCAA Tournament as 15-seed, will play SEC champion Alabama" . lohud.com . Retrieved March 14, 2021 .^ "Siena's Manny Camper Named Player of the Year, Saint Peter's Ndefo, Canisius' Green and Iona's Joseph Take Home Awards" . MAAC Sports . Retrieved March 10, 2021 .^ "King Rice Named "The Rock" MAAC Coach of the Year" . MAAC Sports . Retrieved March 10, 2021 .^ "MAAC Announces 2020-21 Men's Basketball All-MAAC Teams" . MAAC Sports . Retrieved March 8, 2021 .^ "MAAC Announces 2020-21 Men's Basketball All-Rookie Team" . MAAC Sports . Retrieved March 8, 2021 .^ "Iona Wins the 2021 MAAC Men's Basketball Championship" . MAAC Sports . Retrieved March 13, 2021 .^ "2020-2021 Men's Basketball - Overall Statistics" . MAAC Sports . Retrieved December 30, 2020 .^ "Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Statistics" . ESPN.com . Archived from the original on January 31, 2021. Retrieved January 24, 2021 .^ "NCAA College Men's Basketball DI Stats" . ncaa.com . Retrieved March 24, 2021 .
External links
Teams Tournament & awards Seasons
