Marist at Iona, 2:00 PM Eastern, No TV
The Manhattan Jaspers have won four straight games heading into their contest at Rider this afternoon. Their four game winning streak ties them with two other teams for the longest current winning streak among MAAC teams. The second of those three teams is the Iona Gaels, the host team for today’s UTR Game of the Day. Iona enters the contest at 10-2 in conference and 17-6 overall, good enough for a two game loss column lead in the conference standings and to be ranked among the top Under the Radar teams in the country. They are the only top 100 team in the MAAC, and are so in RPI, BPI and KenPom ratings. The Gaels are led by David Laury and A.J. English, both of whom will be looking to help the Gaels extend their conference lead this afternoon.
The third team that is on a four game winning streak is a team with only 5 wins on the entire season. After starting the year 1-18, and starting MAAC play 0-9, the Marist Red Foxes are now tied for being the hottest team in their conference. Marist’s four consecutive wins includes a sweep of their Buffalo trip (at Niagara and at Canisius) for the first time in school history. The Red Foxes resurgence is being led by Chavaughn Lewis who has scored 25, 22, 35, and 24 points in each of his team’s last four games respectively. If he continues to play at this high of a level, and continues to get the help he needs from his teammates, the Red Foxes actually will have a chance to pull off the major upset at Iona today, continue to climb the MAAC standings, and continue to build on one of the more amazing mid-season turnarounds we have seen from a team in quite some time.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-MICHIGAN AT INDIANA (Big Ten). Michigan has just been crippled with injuries and although at times they’ve still looked like a good team, they have a long way to go to even get into the discussion this year. Indiana is cruising right now and if they hold serve and win the games they’re supposed to win they should be alright.
-MARYLAND AT IOWA (Big Ten). Both these teams look like tournament teams, but Maryland has been slipping lately, and Iowa has room for improvement, so it’s a big game for both teams.
-WASHINGTON AT OREGON STATE (Pac Twelve). With such a poor record since losing a key player, Washington is most likely going to not even be close to the bubble by the time the season is over. Oregon State probably won’t be either, but they are very much improved and have several winnable games ahead of them. Making the NIT would be a huge accomplishment.
-OHIO STATE AT RUTGERS (Big Ten). Ohio State is in the rankings, but their profile still needs improvement. Any type of road win would help.
-SAN DIEGO STATE AT BOISE STATE (Mountain West). San Diego State is safe, but they don’t have many wins on their profile as good as this one on the road would be, so it’s a big game for them.
-USC AT STANFORD (Pac Twelve). I think Stanford is right on the bubble, and will really be in trouble if they drop this one at home.