# 2018–19 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference men's basketball season

The 2018–19 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) men's basketball season began with practices in October 2018, followed by the start of the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season on November 6. Conference play started in January and concluded March 22, 2019. This season was the 38th season of MAAC basketball.
The MAAC season saw four teams spend considerable time being in first place; Rider, Monmouth, Canisius and Iona. Rider started MAAC play off strong, winning seven of their first eight MAAC games, and looking like they would prove the preseason #1 pick correct. But then a five-game losing streak left them at 7–6, and two games out of first place. Monmouth started the regular season 0–12 at one point, but rebounded when MAAC play started, posting a 9–4 conference mark by February 9. Then a four-game losing streak struck down the Hawks, knocking them out of first place. Canisius had a solid season, keeping up with Monmouth the whole way. Consecutive losses to Iona and Niagara late in the season struck down their first place hopes. Iona, which had won the MAAC Tournament three consecutive times coming into the season, started off 5–2, but like the others, a four-game losing streak left them at 5–6 in MAAC play. Sitting in sixth place, Iona found their new starting five combination, and reeled off seven straight wins to end the MAAC season, and take the regular season crown in 2019. It was the 11th MAAC regular season championship for the Gaels.
The 2019 MAAC tournament was held from March 7 through March 11 at the Times Union Center in Albany, New York. This marked the 20th time Albany has hosted the event. No. 1 seed Iona defeated No. 6 seed Monmouth in the championship game 81–60 to win the conference's automatic bid to the 2019 NCAA tournament. With the win, Iona became the first MAAC team to win four consecutive MAAC Tournament championships.
Quinnipiac was the first MAAC team of the season to see postseason action, as they accepted an invitation to participate in the 2019 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament, losing to NJIT 81–92 in the first round. Iona received a No. 16 seed in the NCAA Tournament Midwest Region, and faced No. 1 seed North Carolina in the first round on March 22, 2019. Iona led 38–33 at halftime, but despite Iona making 10 of 21 3-point tries in the first half, North Carolina started the second half on a 32–11 run to take control of the game, winning 88–73.

## Head coaches
### Coaching changes

On March 5, 2018, Marist head coach Mike Maker was fired. He finished at Marist with a four-year record of 28–97. Marist hired Saint Peter's coach John Dunne as Maker's successor on April 3.
On April 10, 2018, Seton Hall assistant coach Shaheen Holloway was hired as the new head coach at Saint Peter's.
On April 13, 2018, Siena head coach Jimmy Patsos resigned amid an investigation regarding abusive conduct and financial improprieties within the program. On May 2, the Saints hired Mount St. Mary's head coach Jamion Christian for the job.

### Coaches

| Team | Head coach | Previous job | Year at school | Overall record | MAAC record | MAAC Tournament championships |
| Canisius | Reggie Witherspoon | Chattanooga (asst.) | 3 | 39–28 | 25–13 | 0 |
| Fairfield | Sydney Johnson | Princeton | 8 | 107–125 | 62–72 | 0 |
| Iona | Tim Cluess | LIU Post | 9 | 182–92 | 112–40 | 4 |
| Manhattan | Steve Masiello | Louisville (asst.) | 8 | 116–110 | 72–62 | 2 |
| Marist | John Dunne | Saint Peter's | 1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1 |
| Monmouth | King Rice | Vanderbilt (asst.) | 8 | 117–112 | 60–38 | 0 |
| Niagara | Chris Casey | LIU Post | 6 | 51–110 | 33–65 | 0 |
| Quinnipiac | Baker Dunleavy | Villanova (asst.) | 2 | 12–21 | 7–11 | 0 |
| Rider | Kevin Baggett | Rider (assoc. HC) | 7 | 107–89 | 69–47 | 0 |
| Saint Peter's | Shaheen Holloway | Seton Hall (asst.) | 1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0 |
| Siena | Jamion Christian | Mount St. Mary's | 1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0 |
Notes:
* All records, appearances, titles, etc. are from time with current school only.
* Year at school includes 2018–19 season.
* Overall and MAAC records are from time at current school and are before the beginning of the season.
* Previous jobs are head coaching jobs unless otherwise noted.

## Preseason
### Preseason Coaches Poll

| Rank | Team |
| 1. | Rider (11) |
| 2. | Canisius |
| T3. | Iona |
| T3. | Quinnipiac |
| 5. | Monmouth |
| 6. | Marist |
| 7. | Fairfield |
| 8. | Manhattan |
| 9. | Niagara |
| 10. | Saint Peter's |
| 11. | Siena |
 first place votes

### Preseason All-MAAC teams

2018-19 MAAC Men's Basketball Preseason All-MAAC Teams :
| First Team | Second Team | Third Team |
| †Isaiah Reese – Canisius Rickey McGill – Iona Cameron Young – Quinnipiac Stevie Jordan – Rider †Dimencio Vaughn – Rider | Takal Molson – Canisius Roland Griffin – Iona Pauly Paulicap – Manhattan Brian Parker – Marist Frederick Scott – Rider | E.J. Crawford – Iona Deion Hammond – Monmouth Marvin Prochet – Niagara Rich Kelly – Quinnipiac Jordan Allen – Rider |
† denotes unanimous selection

### Preseason Player of the Year

| Recipient | School |
| Isaiah Reese | Canisius |

## 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 | – | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 |
| vs. Fairfield | 2–0 | – | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 |
| vs. Iona | 0–2 | 1–1 | – | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 |
| vs. Manhattan | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | – | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 |
| vs. Marist | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | – | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| vs. Monmouth | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | – | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 |
| vs. Niagara | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | – | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| vs. Quinnipiac | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | – | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 |
| vs. Rider | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | – | 0–2 | 1–0 |
| vs. Saint Peter's | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | – | 1–1 |
| vs. Siena | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | – |
| Total | 11–7 | 6–12 | 12–6 | 8–10 | 7–11 | 10–8 | 6–12 | 11–7 | 15–3 | 6–12 | 11–7 |

### 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.
| Week | Player of the week | Rookie of the week |
| November 12, 2018 | Brian Parker, Marist | Neftali Alvarez, Fairfield |
| November 19, 2018 | Marvin Prochet, Niagara | Neftali Alvarez (2), Fairfield |
| November 26, 2018 | Dimencio Vaughn, Rider | Jalen Pickett, Siena |
| December 3, 2018 | Jalen Pickett, Siena | Jalen Pickett (2), Siena |
| December 10, 2018 | James Towns, Niagara | Tyrese Williams, Quinnipiac |
| December 17, 2018 | Marvin Prochet (2), Niagara | Calvin Whipple, Fairfield |
| December 24, 2018 | James Towns (2), Niagara | Neftali Alvarez (3), Fairfield |
| December 31, 2018 | Evan Fisher, Siena | Jalen Pickett (3), Siena |
| January 7, 2019 | Rickey McGill, Iona | Jalen Pickett (4), Siena |
| January 14, 2019 | Cameron Young, Quinnipiac | Jalen Pickett (5), Siena |
| January 21, 2019 | Isaiah Reese, Canisius | Jalen Pickett (6), Siena |
| January 28, 2019 | Cameron Young (2), Quinnipiac | Jalen Pickett (7), Siena |
| February 4, 2019 | Cameron Young (3), Quinnipiac | Samir Stewart, Manhattan |
| February 11, 2019 | Evan Fisher (2), Siena | Jalen Pickett (8), Siena |
| February 18, 2019 | Cameron Young (4), Quinnipiac | Jalen Pickett (9), Siena |
| February 25, 2019 | Rickey McGill (2), Iona | Jalen Pickett (10), Siena |
| March 4, 2019 | E.J. Crawford, Iona | Jalen Pickett (11), Siena |

### Records against other conferences

2018–19 records against non-conference foes. Records shown for regular season only.
| Power 7 Conferences | Record |
| American | 0–3 |
| ACC | 1–4 |
| Big East | 0–4 |
| Big Ten | 0–1 |
| Big 12 | 0–2 |
| Pac-12 | 0–1 |
| SEC | 0–2 |
| Power 7 Total | 1–17 |
| Other NCAA Division I Conferences | Record |
| America East | 8–10 |
| A-10 | 2–8 |
| ASUN | 1–0 |
| Big Sky | 1–0 |
| Big South | 2–1 |
| Big West | 1–3 |
| CAA | 1–8 |
| C-USA | 0–3 |
| Horizon League | 0–3 |
| Ivy League | 6–7 |
| MAC | 0–3 |
| MEAC | 5–0 |
| MVC | 0–3 |
| Mountain West | 1–1 |
| NEC | 5–9 |
| OVC | 0–0 |
| Patriot League | 5–13 |
| Pacific West | 0–0 |
| SoCon | 0–0 |
| Southland | 0–1 |
| SWAC | 0–1 |
| The Summit | 1–0 |
| Sun Belt | 1–0 |
| WAC | 0–1 |
| WCC | 0–0 |
| Other Division I Total | 40–75 |
| NCAA Division I Total | 41–92 |

## Postseason
### MAAC Tournament

* 2019 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Basketball Tournament, Times Union Center, Albany, New York
| First round Thursday, March 7 ESPN3 | First round Thursday, March 7 ESPN3 | First round Thursday, March 7 ESPN3 | Quarterfinals Friday/Saturday, March 8/9 ESPN3 | Quarterfinals Friday/Saturday, March 8/9 ESPN3 | Quarterfinals Friday/Saturday, March 8/9 ESPN3 | Semifinals Sunday, March 10 ESPN3/ESPNU | Semifinals Sunday, March 10 ESPN3/ESPNU | Semifinals Sunday, March 10 ESPN3/ESPNU | Championship Monday, March 11 ESPN2 | Championship Monday, March 11 ESPN2 | Championship Monday, March 11 ESPN2 |
| | | | 1 | Iona | 73 | | | | | | |
| | | | 9 | Saint Peter's | 71 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Marist | 68 | 9 | Saint Peter's | 71 | | | | | | |
| 9 | Saint Peter's | 71* | | | | | | | | | |
| 9 | Saint Peter's | 71* | | | | 1 | Iona | 73 | | | |
| | | | | | | 5 | Siena | 57 | | | |
| | | | 4 | Rider | 81 | | | | | | |
| | | | 5 | Siena | 87 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | 1 | Iona | 81 |
| | | | | | | | | | 6 | Monmouth | 60 |
| | | | 2 | Canisius | 69* | | | | | | |
| | | | 7 | Manhattan | 65 | | | | | | |
| 7 | Manhattan | 57 | 7 | Manhattan | 65 | | | | | | |
| 10 | Fairfield | 53 | | | | | | | | | |
| 10 | Fairfield | 53 | | | | 2 | Canisius | 59 | | | |
| | | | | | | 6 | Monmouth | 73 | | | |
| | | | 3 | Quinnipiac | 92 | | | | | | |
| | | | 6 | Monmouth | 98 | | | | | | |
| 6 | Monmouth | 76 | 6 | Monmouth | 98 | | | | | | |
| 11 | Niagara | 72 | | | | | | | | | |
* denotes number of overtimes

### NCAA Tournament

| Seed | Region | School | 1st Round |
| 16 | Midwest | Iona | L 73–88 vs. (1) North Carolina – (Columbus) |
Game summary
* TBS
* March 22, 2019 9:30 pm
* Recap
No. 16 Iona 73, No. 1 North Carolina 88 :
| Scoring by half: 38–33, 35–55 |||
| Pts: McGill – 26 Rebs: Ristanovic – 6 Asts: Gist – 5 Gist – 17 pts | Pts: Johnson – 21 Rebs: Maye – 9 Asts: Johnson & White – 4 Little– 19 pts |
| NCAA Tournament first round |||
* Nationwide Arena Columbus, OH Attendance: 19,426 Referees: Don Daily, Jose Carrion, Todd Austin

### CollegeInsider.com Tournament

| School | 1st Round |
| Quinnipiac | L 81–92 at NJIT – (Newark, NJ) |
Game summary
* n/a
* March 18, 2019 7:00 pm
* Recap
Quinnipiac 81, NJIT 92 :
| Scoring by half: 33–37, 48–55 |||
| Pts: Young – 29 Rebs: Marfo – 11 Asts: Kelly – 6 Young – 8 reb, 2 stl | Pts: Cooks – 34 Rebs: Diakite – 9 Asts: Gibbs – 7 Gibbs – 15 pts |
| CIT First Round |||
* Wellness and Events Center Newark, NJ Attendance: 777 Referees: Mike Kitts, Donnie Eppley, Rob Rorke

## Honors and awards
### MAAC Awards

2018-19 MAAC Men's Basketball Major Individual Awards :
| Award | Recipient(s) |
| Player of the Year | †Cameron Young, Sr, G, Quinnipiac |
| Coach of the Year | Tim Cluess, Iona |
| Rookie of the Year | †Jalen Pickett, Fr, G, Siena |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Jonathan Kasibabu, Sr, F, Fairfield |
| Sixth Player of the Year | Ryan Funk, Sr, G/F, Marist |
2018-19 MAAC Men's Basketball All-Conference Teams :
| First Team | Second Team | Third Team | Rookie Team |
| †Cameron Young, Sr, G, Quinnipiac Rickey McGill, Sr, G, Iona Jalen Pickett, Fr, G, Siena E.J. Crawford, Jr, G/F, Iona Takal Molson, So, F, Canisius | Rich Kelly, So, G, Quinnipiac Stevie Jordan, Jr, G, Rider Tajuan Agee, Jr, F, Iona Marvin Prochet, Sr, F, Niagara Evan Fisher, Sr, F, Siena | Brian Parker, Sr, G, Marist Davauhnte Turner, Sr, G, Saint Peter's Malik Johnson, Jr, G, Canisius Frederick Scott, So, F, Rider Diago Quinn, Sr, C, Monmouth | †Jalen Pickett, Fr, G, Siena Neftali Alvarez, Fr, G, Fairfield Tyrese Williams, Fr, G, Quinnipiac Warren Williams, Fr, F, Manhattan Sloan Seymour, Fr, F, Siena |
† denotes unanimous selection