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Siena (18-10, 14-5) at Monmouth (18-12, 12-7) – 7:00 PM EST (ESPN+)
Tonight’s UTR Game of the Day takes us to the Jersey Shore for the regular season finale in the MAAC for both teams – the Siena Saints hit the road to West Long Branch to take on the hometown Monmouth Hawks. Siena is the hottest team in the league with wins in eight straight games and 11 out of their last 12. The Saints clinched at least a tie for first place thanks to a 77-55 win at home on Senior Day against Niagara; they can win the league outright along with the #1 seed with a win tonight (or a Saint Peter’s loss). Jalen Pickett is averaging over 15 points a game and is hitting 38.9% (56-for-144) from 3-point territory.
Monmouth comes into tonight in 3rd place in the conference; a win tonight would clinch the #3 seed for the Hawks. (Even if they tie for Saint Peter’s in the standings, the Peacocks would own the tiebreaker for 2nd.) Should they lose, Rider would own the tiebreaker and Monmouth would be the #4 seed in the conference tournament in Atlantic City. The Hawks have not trailed in their last two games – in wins over Manhattan and Fairfield, they have led for 78 out of a possible 80 minutes. Both Deion Hammond (16.0 PPG) and Ray Salnave (14.6 PPG) lead the way for Monmouth.
OTHER NEWS NOTES AND GAMES
-Houston, who has the strongest case for a bid out of the American, lost on the road to UConn. The loss in and of itself isn’t that bad, but Houston’s resume is rather flimsy when compared to other teams that are ranked in the top 25. It wouldn’t shock me at all if they don’t end up in the top half of the bracket.
-Stanford needed a strong finish. What they did not need was a loss at Oregon State, but that’s what happened. The game at Oregon this weekend could end up making the difference of whether or not they make it into the field.
-Wichita State lost on the road to Memphis. They are suddenly in danger of falling outside the bubble if they can’t shore things up and pick up a few more wins.
-Arizona State lost their third straight game. This one was kind of a surprise as they went down at home to a Washington team that had really been struggling. ASU still looks to be inside the bubble, but if they lose their last game to Wazzu and then lose their first conference tournament game they will be sweating a little bit.
–Survival Board Update: 284 teams remain alive entering today. In addition to conference tournament play, Dartmouth can be eliminated in the Ivy League with a loss AND a win by either Brown or Penn.
-WAKE FOREST AT NC STATE (ACC). NC State remains squarely on the bubble and needs to hold serve in this one.
-RICHMOND AT DUQUESNE (Atlantic Ten). Richmond is also squarely on the bubble. A win tonight puts another decent win on their resume, and a loss could keep them on the wrong side of the fence.