For today’s News, Notes and (a few) Highlighted Games – CLICK HERE
For Jon Teitel’s interview with former Canisius All-American Johnny McCarthy – CLICK HERE
Rider (12-8, 6-4) at Monmouth (12-8, 6-3) – 1:00 PM EST (ESPN+)
Today’s UTR Game of the Day takes us to the Hawks’ Nest along the Jersey Shore where the hometown Monmouth Hawks will host the Rider Broncs in a matchup of leading contenders in the MAAC. Rider comes into the game with a three-game winning streak in league play, yet you get the sense that this team really hasn’t completely clicked. The Broncs’ best wins in league play are against Saint Peter’s and Quinnipiac, although this will be their first matchup with Monmouth. Four players average double figures for Rider – they are led by Dimencio Vaughn (13.7 PPG/6.6 RPG) and Tyere Marshall (13.0 PPG/7.7 RPG).
Monmouth comes into today tied with Quinnipiac for the conference lead but only a half game ahead of Rider, Siena and Saint Peter’s in the conference standings. The Hawks have gone a perfect 6-0 against the bottom of the league so far, but have losses in all three games so far against teams in the top 5 – road games at Siena, Quinnipiac and Saint Peter’s. This will be their first home game against a league contender, though. Deion Hammond (16.4 PPG) and Ray Salnave (14.6 PPG) alone account for nearly half of Monmouth’s offensive production this season.