2024 MAAC Tournament Preview & Conference Awards

CBB Review prepares you for every conference tournament leading up to Selection Sunday on Mar. 17. Up next: The MAAC Tournament.

Don’t try and discredit the MAAC Tournament! No one will forget when Saint Peter’s pulled off an Elite 8 run in 2022 and the Peacocks got to the Big Dance after winning the automatic bid from the MAAC Tournament.

This season, the Peacocks are one of the top teams, but as always, there are a few other teams that can make some noise in Atlantic City.

2024 MAAC Conference Awards

Player of the Year: Matt Balanc, Quinnipiac

Freshman of the Year: Jadin Collins, Marist

Transfer of the Year: Amarri Tice, Quinnipiac

Coach of the Year: Tom Pecora, Quinnipiac

First Team:

• G: Savion Lewis, Quinnipiac (8.1 PPG, 7.3 APG, 3.2 RPG, 1.3 SPG)
• G: Caleb Fields, Fairfield (16.1 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 2.4 APG, 1.5 SPG, 40.3 3P%)
• G: Matt Balanc, Quinnipiac (18.4 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 1.2 APG, 36.4 3P%)
• G: Jalen Leach, Fairfield (16.4 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 3.1 APG, 1.8 SPG, 39.0 3P%, 55.1 2P%)
• F: Mervin James, Rider (19.0 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 1.9 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.9 BPG, 52.5 FG%)

Second Team:

• G: Brycen Goodine, Fairfield (14.6 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 1.5 APG, 49.0 3P%, 51.8 FG%)
• G: Dakota Leffew, Mount St. Mary’s (17.4 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 3.9 APG, 1.6 SPG, 35.8 3P%)
• F: Corey Washington, Saint Peter’s (16.8 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 0.5 APG, 1.3 SPG, 50.8 2P%)
• F: Amarri Tice, Quinnipiac (13.3 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 0.8 APG, 1.9 SPG, 1.0 BPG, 35.9 3P%, 55.7 2P%)
• F: Greg Gordon, Iona (16.0 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 1.3 APG, 1.5 SPG, 54.8 FG%)

MAAC Tournament Simulation

First Round – Tues., Mar. 12

8. Mount St. Mary’s (13-18, 9-11) vs. 9. Canisius (13-17, 8-12) – 5:15 p.m. on ESPN+

The teams split the regular season series with Canisius winning at home just 11 days ago. Of course, a road loss by five points isn’t the worst thing in the world, but the Mountaineers also lost five of their last seven games to end the season. Unless Dakota Leffew has a huge game – which he’s more than capable of – I have the Golden Griffins moving on.

Mat’s pick: 9. Canisius

7. Iona (15-16, 10-10) vs. 10. Manhattan (7-22, 4-16) – 7:30 p.m. on ESPN+

One year removed from one of the best upsets in NCAA Tournament history, Tobin Anderson looks to lead Iona on a Cinderella run in the MAAC Tournament. Luckily, the Gaels start with Manhattan, who only won seven games all year. Unfortunately, one of those was by 17 points against Iona on Mar. 7. Iona’s hit a bit of a skid themselves, so this time, I like Anderson to finish on the other side of an upset.

Mat’s pick: 10. Manhattan

6. Niagara (15-15, 11-9) vs. 11. Siena (4-27, 3-17) – 9:45 p.m. on ESPN+

Niagara finished with a winning record in MAAC play and gets stuck playing at about 10 p.m. in the first round. Luckily, they’re playing Siena, which is virtually a win if the Purple Eagles don’t mess around. Funny enough, they did mess around and lose to the Saints, and at home of all places. Realistically, that game was a fluke. The Saints shot 63.6% from inside the arc and shot 16 more free throws. Unless this game becomes a foul fest too, Niagara will be marching on.

Mat’s pick: 6. Niagara

Quarterfinals – Wed., Mar. 13

1. Quinnipiac (23-8, 15-5) vs. 9. Canisius – 6:30 p.m. on ESPN+

Simply put, Quinnipiac has the best player in the conference and the best pure point guard in the conference. It’ll take a lot to slow them down. While Canisius has enough scoring – which was shown in a 20-point win over the Bobcats the first time around – a 25-point road loss on Feb. 4 shows Quinnipiac’s late-season surge. After starting 9-4, Quinnipiac is 14-4 since and moves one step closer to an automatic bid.

Mat’s pick: 1. Quinnipiac

2. Fairfield (20-11, 14-6) vs. 10. Manhattan – 9 p.m. on ESPN+

Jalen Leach and Caleb Fields form one of, if not the best backcourt in the MAAC. If that’s not difficult enough to guard, Brycen Goodine, who won the MAAC Sixth Player of the Year, provides bench scoring that virtually no other team in the conference has. Manhattan only averages 66.5 PPG, so I don’t see how they keep up with Fairfield’s scorers.

Mat’s pick: 2. Fairfield

Quarterfinals – Thur., Mar. 14

3. Marist (17-12, 12-8) vs. 6. Niagara – 6:30 p.m. on ESPN+

Considering Niagara arguably got screwed playing on the first day of the MAAC Tournament, at least they got a day off and play a Marist team they split with during the regular season. They played each other to end the MAAC season and Marist won by a single point. These teams are very even, but for me, it might come down to the free throw line. Niagara is 48th in the country, while Marist only made 68.8% of their FTA in the regular season. It’s a silly stat, but it often makes the difference in games.

Mat’s pick: 6. Niagara

4. Rider (15-16, 12-8) vs. 5. Saint Peter’s (16-13, 12-8) – 9 p.m. on ESPN+

Hats off to both teams for turning their seasons around in MAAC play. Rider went 3-8 in non-conference but found a way to get the 4-seed. The Peacocks also had a losing record out of conference but went 12-8 in the conference. Rider won both regular season contests though, including both teams’ season finales. Can history repeat itself? It’s hard to beat a team three times and we know the Peacocks can have some magic in March.

Mat’s pick: 5. Saint Peter’s

Semifinals – Fri., Mar. 15

1. Quinnipiac vs. 5. Saint Peter’s – 6:30 p.m. on ESPNews

The format of this conference tournament makes zero sense. Whoever wins the 4/5 seed matchup gets “rewarded” by not playing until Thursday night. Then, the winner has under 20 hours before facing the top seed in the MAAC, unless Quinnipiac goes down early. Also, at this point, the Bobcats wouldn’t have played since Wednesday night, so having that extra rest could be a huge payoff.

Mat’s pick: 1. Quinnipiac

2. Fairfield vs. 6. Niagara – 9 p.m. on ESPNews

Will Greg Paulus and Niagara continue their MAAC run? This tournament always provides upsets and after all, Niagara won both games against Fairfield in the regular season. I just said how beating a team three times is tough and when that team has Fairfield’s guards, it makes it even tougher. 7-footer Harlan Obioha would have to be a difference-maker for Niagara to pull off another upset.

Mat’s pick: 2. Fairfield

Championship – Sat., Mar. 16

1. Quinnipiac vs. 2. Fairfield – 7:30 p.m. on ESPNU

I didn’t plan on going chalk because the MAAC Tournament usually has some major upsets. Last year, the 10 and 11 seeds played in the second semifinal game. Still, either the one or two-seed have won this tournament each of the last two years.

This time around, I’m forecasting an all-Connecticut title game and if you can’t tell by now, I’m all in on Fairfield’s three-headed monster. Of course, Quinnipiac has been pretty dominant, but the Stags are the two-seed, so you can throw that argument out the window at this point.

Mat’s pick: 2. Fairfield