Monmouth at Quinnipiac, 7:00 PM Eastern, quinnipiacbobcats.com
For out latest Under the Radar video podcast, CLICK HERE.
Welcome to December, the month of holiday parties, college football bowl games and . . . conference play in hoops??? Well, not really. For most teams, conference play does not start until January, but the Metro Atlantic is an exception. With a 20 game conference regular season, the MAAC gets things going early with a couple of games for each team this weekend. It all starts tonight with a pair of games, Fairfield at Rider and our Under the Radar Game of the Day, Monmouth at Quinnipiac.
Monmouth captured the nation’s attention last year with the antics of their Bench and huge wins against the likes of UCLA, USC, Notre Dame and Georgetown. This season, the Hawks are out to a 4-2 start, though none of their wins are even close to the level of the ones they picked up last year. A heartbreaking last second loss at South Carolina and a tough 21-point loss at Syracuse are their only results against power conference teams. Justin Robinson and Chris Brady have led the way so far for the Hawks. Robinson picked up his first career double-double with 14 points and 10 assists last time out in a win over Holy Cross, while Brady added 21 points in that game. Also keep an eye on Micah Seaborn who dropped 25 points in a win over South Carolina State.
Quinnipiac has been off to a rough start so far this season, entering play tonight at only 1-4. Their losses have been respectable, including Seton Hall and Gonzaga, while their win was also solid, over an Indiana State team that has played a lot better than their record to date. Mikey Dixon scored 21 points off the bench to lead the team in the Indiana State win and help the Bobcats capture seventh place in the Advocare Invitational. Abdulai Bundo added a double-double in that game with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Also keep an eye on Chase Daniels who has registered double-digit rebounds twice already this season, including a double-double against Seton Hall. All three players will need to step up their games again tonight in order to beat one of the favorites in the MAAC in the conference regular season opener.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-VERMONT AT SOUTH CAROLINA. I know this is a buy game, but Vermont is off to a 6-2 start and we believe they’re one of the frontrunners in the America East.
-FLORIDA AT NORTH FLORIDA. This is what you call a winnable road game. It’s not nearly as easy as winning at home, but it’s still a game Florida is likely to win. And even if they don’t, it’s hardly the end of the world. Indiana lost at Fort Wayne and they seem to be doing just fine.
-CINCINNATI AT IOWA STATE. This is a quality OOC match up between two likely tournament teams. They played last year and it was a thriller. Cincinnati is still looking for a big signature win, and this would certainly qualify. Iowa State is very good, and they’re especially tough to beat at home.
BUY GAMES
-Lees McRae (nondiv1) @ East Tennessee State
-Columbia @ Seton Hall
-Montana State @ Utah
-Mississippi Valley State @ Gonzaga