The 2018–19 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) men's basketball season began with practices in October 2018, followed by the start of the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season on November 6. Conference play started in January and concluded March 22, 2019. This season was the 38th season of MAAC basketball.
The MAAC season saw four teams spend considerable time being in first place; Rider, Monmouth, Canisius and Iona. Rider started MAAC play off strong, winning seven of their first eight MAAC games, and looking like they would prove the preseason #1 pick correct. But then a five-game losing streak left them at 7–6, and two games out of first place. Monmouth started the regular season 0–12 at one point, but rebounded when MAAC play started, posting a 9–4 conference mark by February 9. Then a four-game losing streak struck down the Hawks, knocking them out of first place. Canisius had a solid season, keeping up with Monmouth the whole way. Consecutive losses to Iona and Niagara late in the season struck down their first place hopes. Iona, which had won the MAAC Tournament three consecutive times coming into the season, started off 5–2, but like the others, a four-game losing streak left them at 5–6 in MAAC play. Sitting in sixth place, Iona found their new starting five combination, and reeled off seven straight wins to end the MAAC season, and take the regular season crown in 2019. It was the 11th MAAC regular season championship for the Gaels.
The 2019 MAAC tournament was held from March 7 through March 11 at the Times Union Center in Albany, New York. This marked the 20th time Albany has hosted the event. No. 1 seed Iona defeated No. 6 seed Monmouth in the championship game 81–60 to win the conference's automatic bid to the 2019 NCAA tournament. With the win, Iona became the first MAAC team to win four consecutive MAAC Tournament championships.
Quinnipiac was the first MAAC team of the season to see postseason action, as they accepted an invitation to participate in the 2019 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament, losing to NJIT 81–92 in the first round. Iona received a No. 16 seed in the NCAA Tournament Midwest Region, and faced No. 1 seed North Carolina in the first round on March 22, 2019. Iona led 38–33 at halftime, but despite Iona making 10 of 21 3-point tries in the first half, North Carolina started the second half on a 32–11 run to take control of the game, winning 88–73.
Head coaches
Coaching changes On March 5, 2018, Marist head coach Mike Maker was fired. He finished at Marist with a four-year record of 28–97. Marist hired Saint Peter's coach John Dunne as Maker's successor on April 3.
On April 10, 2018, Seton Hall assistant coach Shaheen Holloway was hired as the new head coach at Saint Peter's.
On April 13, 2018, Siena head coach Jimmy Patsos resigned amid an investigation regarding abusive conduct and financial improprieties within the program. On May 2, the Saints hired Mount St. Mary's head coach Jamion Christian for the job.
Coaches Team Head coach Previous job Year at school Overall record MAAC record MAAC Tournament championshipsCanisius Reggie Witherspoon Chattanooga(asst.) 3 0Fairfield Sydney Johnson Princeton 8 0Iona Tim Cluess LIU Post 9 4Manhattan Steve Masiello Louisville(asst.) 8 2Marist John Dunne Saint Peter's 1 1Monmouth King Rice Vanderbilt(asst.) 8 0Niagara Chris Casey LIU Post 6 0Quinnipiac Baker Dunleavy Villanova(asst.) 2 0Rider Kevin Baggett Rider(assoc. HC) 7 0Saint Peter's Shaheen Holloway Seton Hall(asst.) 1 0Siena Jamion Christian Mount St. Mary's 1 0 Notes: All records, appearances, titles, etc. are from time with current school only. Year at school includes 2018–19 season. Overall and MAAC records are from time at current school and are before the beginning of the season. Previous jobs are head coaching jobs unless otherwise noted.
Preseason
Preseason Coaches Poll
RankTeam 1. Rider (11) 2. Canisius T3. Iona T3. Quinnipiac 5. Monmouth 6. Marist 7. Fairfield 8. Manhattan 9. Niagara 10. Saint Peter's 11. Siena
() first place votes
Preseason All-MAAC teams
2018-19 MAAC Men's Basketball Preseason All-MAAC Teams First Team Second Team Third Team †Isaiah Reese – Canisius Rickey McGill – Iona Cameron Young – Quinnipiac Stevie Jordan – Rider †Dimencio Vaughn – Rider Takal Molson – Canisius Roland Griffin – Iona Pauly Paulicap – Manhattan Brian Parker – Marist Frederick Scott – Rider E.J. Crawford – Iona Deion Hammond – Monmouth Marvin Prochet – Niagara Rich Kelly – Quinnipiac Jordan Allen – Rider
† denotes unanimous selection
Preseason Player of the Year Recipient SchoolIsaiah ReeseCanisius
MAAC regular season
Conference matrix This table summarizes the final head-to-head results between teams in conference play. CanisiusFairfieldIonaManhattanMaristMonmouthNiagaraQuinnipiacRiderSaint Peter'sSienavs. Canisius – 0–2 2–0 1–0 1–1 0–2 2–0 0–2 1–1 0–1 0–2vs. Fairfield 2–0 – 1–1 1–1 0–2 2–0 1–1 1–0 1–0 1–1 2–0vs. Iona 0–2 1–1 – 0–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 0–2 0–1 1–1vs. Manhattan 0–1 1–1 1–0 – 2–0 2–0 0–2 1–1 1–1 0–2 2–0vs. Marist 1–1 2–0 1–1 0–2 – 0–1 0–1 1–1 2–0 2–0 2–0vs. Monmouth 2–0 0–2 1–1 0–2 1–0 – 1–0 2–0 1–1 0–2 0–2vs. Niagara 0–2 1–1 1–1 2–0 1–0 0–1 – 1–1 2–0 2–0 2–0vs. Quinnipiac 2–0 0–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 0–2 1–1 – 1–1 0–2 0–1vs. Rider 1–1 0–1 2–0 1–1 0–2 1–1 0–2 1–1 – 0–2 1–0vs. Saint Peter's 1–0 1–1 1–0 2–0 0–2 2–0 0–2 2–0 2–0 – 1–1vs. Siena 2–0 0–2 1–1 0–2 0–2 2–0 0–2 1–0 0–1 1–1 –Total11–76–1212–68–107–1110–86–1211–715–36–1211–7
Player of the week Throughout the regular season, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference offices named player(s) of the week and rookie(s) of the week. Week Player of the week Rookie of the weekNovember 12, 2018Brian Parker, MaristNeftali Alvarez, FairfieldNovember 19, 2018Marvin Prochet, Niagara Neftali Alvarez (2), FairfieldNovember 26, 2018Dimencio Vaughn, RiderJalen Pickett, SienaDecember 3, 2018Jalen Pickett, SienaJalen Pickett (2), SienaDecember 10, 2018James Towns, NiagaraTyrese Williams, QuinnipiacDecember 17, 2018Marvin Prochet (2), NiagaraCalvin Whipple, FairfieldDecember 24, 2018James Towns (2), NiagaraNeftali Alvarez (3), FairfieldDecember 31, 2018Evan Fisher, SienaJalen Pickett (3), SienaJanuary 7, 2019Rickey McGill, IonaJalen Pickett (4), SienaJanuary 14, 2019Cameron Young, QuinnipiacJalen Pickett (5), SienaJanuary 21, 2019Isaiah Reese, CanisiusJalen Pickett (6), SienaJanuary 28, 2019Cameron Young (2), QuinnipiacJalen Pickett (7), SienaFebruary 4, 2019Cameron Young (3), QuinnipiacSamir Stewart, ManhattanFebruary 11, 2019Evan Fisher (2), SienaJalen Pickett (8), SienaFebruary 18, 2019Cameron Young (4), QuinnipiacJalen Pickett (9), SienaFebruary 25, 2019Rickey McGill (2), IonaJalen Pickett (10), SienaMarch 4, 2019E.J. Crawford, IonaJalen Pickett (11), Siena
Records against other conferences 2018–19 records against non-conference foes. Records shown for regular season only.
Power 7 ConferencesRecordAmerican0–3ACC1–4Big East0–4Big Ten0–1Big 120–2Pac-120–1SEC0–2Power 7 Total1–17Other NCAA Division I ConferencesRecordAmerica East8–10A-102–8ASUN1–0Big Sky1–0Big South2–1Big West1–3CAA1–8C-USA0–3Horizon League0–3Ivy League6–7MAC0–3MEAC5–0MVC0–3Mountain West1–1NEC5–9OVC0–0Patriot League5–13Pacific West0–0SoCon0–0Southland0–1SWAC0–1The Summit1–0Sun Belt1–0WAC0–1WCC0–0Other Division I Total40–75NCAA Division I Total41–92
Postseason
MAAC Tournament
2019 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Basketball Tournament, Times Union Center, Albany, New York
* denotes number of overtimes
NCAA Tournament
Seed Region School 1st Round 16 Midwest Iona L 73–88 vs. (1) North Carolina – (Columbus) Game summary
CollegeInsider.com Tournament
School 1st Round QuinnipiacL 81–92 at NJIT – (Newark, NJ) Game summary
Honors and awards
MAAC Awards 2018-19 MAAC Men's Basketball Major Individual Awards Award Recipient(s)Player of the Year†Cameron Young, Sr, G, QuinnipiacCoach of the YearTim Cluess, IonaRookie of the Year†Jalen Pickett, Fr, G, SienaDefensive Player of the YearJonathan Kasibabu, Sr, F, FairfieldSixth Player of the YearRyan Funk, Sr, G/F, Marist
2018-19 MAAC Men's Basketball All-Conference Teams First Team Second Team Third Team Rookie Team †Cameron Young, Sr, G, Quinnipiac Rickey McGill, Sr, G, Iona Jalen Pickett, Fr, G, Siena E.J. Crawford, Jr, G/F, Iona Takal Molson, So, F, Canisius Rich Kelly, So, G, Quinnipiac Stevie Jordan, Jr, G, Rider Tajuan Agee, Jr, F, Iona Marvin Prochet, Sr, F, Niagara Evan Fisher, Sr, F, Siena Brian Parker, Sr, G, Marist Davauhnte Turner, Sr, G, Saint Peter's Malik Johnson, Jr, G, Canisius Frederick Scott, So, F, Rider Diago Quinn, Sr, C, Monmouth †Jalen Pickett, Fr, G, Siena Neftali Alvarez, Fr, G, Fairfield Tyrese Williams, Fr, G, Quinnipiac Warren Williams, Fr, F, Manhattan Sloan Seymour, Fr, F, Siena
† denotes unanimous selection
2018–19 Season final statistic leaders
Scoring leaders Name Points per game Cameron Young (Quinnipiac) E.J. Crawford (Iona) Takal Molson (Canisius) Davauhnte Turner (Saint Peter's) Evan Fisher (Siena)
Rebound leaders Name Rebounds per game Tajuan Agee (Iona) Kevin Marfo (Quinnipiac) Jonathan Kasibabu (Fairfield) Marvin Prochet (Niagara) Tyere Marshall (Rider)
Assist leaders Name Assists per game Jalen Pickett (Siena) Rickey McGill (Iona) Malik Johnson (Canisius) Rich Kelly (Quinnipiac) Stevie Jordan (Rider)
Block leaders Name Blocked shots Dominic Robb (Niagara) Samuel Idowu (Saint Peter's) KC Ndefo (Saint Peter's) Diago Quinn (Monmouth) Jalen Pickett (Siena)
Steal leaders Name Steals Rickey McGill (Iona) Jalen Pickett (Siena) Nick Rutherford (Monmouth) Stevie Jordan (Rider) Malik Johnson (Canisius)
3PT % leaders Name 3FG 3FGA 3FG% Cameron Young (Quinnipiac) Landon Taliaferro (Fairfield) Marvin Prochet (Niagara) Ryan Funk (Marist) Sloan Seymour (Siena)
References
External links MAAC website