Enter your email and we'll send you exclusive predictions and analysis. Cruz is clearly a talented player, but he is wildly inconsistent. Jones serves as an anchor in the paint on both ends of the floor, a guy who can clean the glass, block shots, and give his team competent post scoring on the block. Jan 2, 2021 #1 Just a bit of fun - what do you predict will happen in 2021 for Apple? Because of this, SPU was voted 9th in the preseason MAAC poll and started the year ranked 314th in KenPom. Though he was a low usage player in 2019-20, Ings showed flashes of his potential, particularly off ball screens where he could use his quickness to get to the hole. By. All eyes will be on Jalen Pickett, the reigning MAAC POY and one of the best players in the country at any conference level. But rest assured, this is still the best defensive team in the MAAC and one of the best defensive teams in the mid-major realm – that means a ton in college basketball and is enough to vault them into the top four of the conference standings this year. Case in point, Fairfield played Manhattan four days apart to close out the 2019-20 season; in the first game Cruz poured in 21 PTS on 8/11 shooting, in the second he managed just 6 PTS on 2/9 shooting. 2020-21 promises to be more of the same with three starters transferring out – Masiello will rely on several newcomers to make his team competitive in his 10th season. The third starting guard spot will likely be awarded to one of the newcomers. The worst his Broncs have finished in conference play in eight seasons is T-7th, and Rider has only finished below .500 twice during his tenure. Brown is a burlier post player whose strength will be a nice complement to Shema’s more finesse game. Defensively, Iona is going to look WAYYYY different than it did under Cluess. Nearly everyone returns from last year’s squad, which means we can likely expect Niagara to have another quite potent offense paired with a porous defense. Defensively, the loss of big man Mustapha Traore will sting, but Rice’s squad should continue to be one of the nation’s best at forcing turnovers. The Broncs were the 4th best offense in the MAAC last season and featured an uptempo attack with a heavy emphasis on rim attack and getting to the foul line. He’ll be missed greatly by Iona and the entire college basketball landscape. Everyone else on the Broncs roster is a freshman, and none have a truly impressive recruiting pedigree. Estrada handled most of the ball handling duties last year, so his transfer really hurts – sophomore guard Matthew Lee, junior CG Dallas Watson, and Murray State transfer Noah Kamba will be looked upon to provide some semblance of ball security in the backcourt. 1 seeds in Andy Katz's latest March Madness bracket predictions for the 2021 NCAA tournament. Unlike most young 7+ footers, Shema can handle the ball, shoot from the outside, and run the floor. Enoh is the one to watch of this group; he played nearly every game for the Tigers as a freshman before barely seeing the floor as a sophomore and sitting out last season with the Red Foxes. German freshman Dwayne Koroma is a 3/4 tweener, a skilled lefty who can impact the game on both ends of the floor. Frankly, I’m not sure who scores for this team. Friday, February 12: TIME (ET) MATCHUP: TV: RESOURCES: 1:00 PM He ranked 4th in the MAAC in OR% two years ago and even started experimenting with a three-point shot. Free $60 Account Sign Up . This would be a top three MAAC team with Kelly and Marfo, but its ceiling is 4th without their services. Dunne’s defenses are almost always better than his offenses, and that was the case with last year’s Marist squad as well. Defense is Manhattan’s bread and butter. Original poster. Vuga is a big Slovenian forward with perimeter skills who could contribute right away. In his place stepped Greg Paulus, famed Syracuse quarterback who also dabbled in basketball at Duke. Marist was one of the best pick-n-roll and post-up defenses in the country last season on a PPP basis. The Hawks ranked 19th in the country in offensive APL and relied heavily on transition to power their scoring attack. With KC Ndefo returning, among others, there’s plenty of reason to believe the Peacocks can be this dominant on the defensive end of the floor in 2020-21. He’ll look to improve upon woeful shooting splits this year. He’ll need to shoot well to hold off freshman Jalen Leach for playing time – Leach was a big-time scorer in HS and could carve out minutes immediately in a rather thin Fairfield backcourt. Fixture: Texas Tech Red Raiders vs Texas Longhorns - NCAA Men's Basketball Date & Time: Wednesday, January 13, 2021, 9 PM ET Venue: Frank Erwin Special Events Center, Austin, Texas With Halloween just around the corner, the return of college basketball is looming. Warren Williams will be the primary big man with Paulicap no longer in the picture. The full schedule follows the recently announced basketball schedule model, which is adjusted to accommodate changes and potential disruptions due to the … 07-01-2021. All that aside, this is a fantastic hire for the Gaels. This will be the norm for Iona under Pitino – he’ll reel in talented class after talented class and eventually have this program among the best mid-majors in the country. In a conference where teams beat up on each other, MAC Basketball could go to form or be completely chaotic. Outlook: The class of the MAAC in 2019-20, Siena blew past preseason expectations winning the conference outright after being picked 6th to start the year. A little polishing around the edges and a little weight could make him into one of the best frontcourt players in the MAAC. His biggest improvement point will continue to be his FT shooting – last season he converted 58.7% of his attempts from the charity stripe, up from 49.6% his freshman year. Papas is one of the best offensive players on the roster and provided a nice spark to the Hawks off the bench last season. The Ohio State basketball team is currently ranked twenty-first in the NCAA AP Top 25, and just outside of the Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll. As said earlier, it’s very likely we see Monmouth run almost exclusively 4-guard lineups, but the Hawks do have a bit more depth up front than normal this season. Patrick Beilien (John’s son) was hired to coach the Purple Eagles in March 2019 following the end of the season but resigned just seven months later due to personal reasons. Daryl Banks III, Doug Edert, and Matthew Lee – all sophomores – likely start for the Peacocks. Baker Dunleavy has a fun-to-watch offensive style, but he’s yet to prove he can put a competent defense onto the court. Outlook: The Jay Young era kicked off last season in Fairfield, CT following eight so-so years under Sydney Johnson. The Red Foxes had the 5th best defense in the league last season, forcing turnovers at a high rate and controlling the glass effectively. The Bobcats administer very little pressure and instead prefer to sit back in a matchup-y 2-3 zone that opposing offenses had no trouble picking apart in 2019-20. Henderson is a talented scoring wing who doubles as one of Canisius’s better on-ball defenders. 5, 2021. Point guard Corey McKeithan could play a role in year one – he’s very talented, quick, and has a good handle. He’s the heir to Kevin Marfo, and while he won’t bring the same impact on the boards, he’ll provide more rim protection and function as a dangerous PnR lob threat. Bottom Line: Saint Peter’s is not a sexy team. The remainder of the season is simulated a large number of times, and the resulting seeds are used to simulate the MAAC tournament. Lining up Chavez next to Gist and Ross would give Iona a potent three-pronged three-point attack. Jan. 11, 2021 Updated: Jan. 11, 2021 5:57 p.m. Facebook Twitter Email The Siena men’s basketball program swept more than its two-game series at Fairfield this weekend. Witherspoon had good offenses his first two years at the helm of Canisius – and his Buffalo squads were usually solid on this end as well – but the past two seasons have been disastrous. Outlook: Manhattan had an up-and-down year in 2019-20, looking to be a competent mid-major squad one game and a dumpster fire the next. Outlook: Marist was the worst team in the MAAC last season, which wasn’t too much of a surprise given extreme player turnover and the lack of experience across the roster. Somewhere between 4th and 8th seems about right, with a heavier emphasis towards the upper-half of the league standings. 2021 MAAC tournament dates: March 9th-13th, 2021. Cintron, a Longwood transfer, will need a waiver to compete immediately. He uses his quickness to slice and dice through the defense and does more damage attacking the cup than he does shooting the three. Key Returners: Asante Gist, Isaiah Ross. McGuire is a point forward of sorts who ranked 2nd on the team and 4th in the MAAC in assist rate least season. Hitchon was Canisius’s highest used player when he saw the floor last season; he’s a very good offensive big man who can stretch the floor or drive the lane. Follow @Quade1095 Follow @Q30Sports The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference hosted its basketball preseason awards show last Thursday on ESPN3, which means college basketball is right around the corner. Iona Gaels (5-3) vs Saint Peter's Peacocks (6-5) ... January 17th at Hynes Athletic Center for an NCAA basketball matchup in the MAAC. mid-range jumpers and contested shots, was also a big part of the offensive problem at large, as were turnovers and a lack of interest in the offensive glass. Ebube missed most of last year after turning in a solid 2018-19 season. With Burns out of the picture, Young could man the starting five spot all season long in 2020-21. Winning the MAAC Championship also depends on the dynamics of the 2021 MAAC bracket. The system is there for this team to be successful, the players just need to execute. Crisler is a stretch forward who will compete for starts with Ngalakulondi if eligible. He’s quick off the dribble and should fit the Marist system well. However, the Jaspers were in fact light years better than their 2018-19 squad despite finishing with a similar conference record – per KenPom Manhattan finished 51 spots higher nationally last season. Quinnipiac spaces the floor offensively and shoots as many threes as humanly possible. Canisius vs. Quinnipiac line, picks: Proven computer model reveals picks for Friday's MAAC college basketball matchup The SportsLine Projection Model has simulated the meeting between the Golden Griffins and Bobcats 10,000 times and released its results Predictions Basketball 6 january 2021 . Manhattan vs. Quinnipiac odds, line: 2021 college basketball picks, Jan. 8 predictions from proven model ... while the Jaspers (2-3) are 1-3 in MAAC play and 1-0 on the road. First NCAA tournament bracket predictions of 2021 Share NCAA.com's Andy Katz is out with his first March Madness tournament bracket of 2021 … There were some reports suggesting that Adam Silver & Co may scrap the All-Star game this season because of the absence of fans. Preview and Prediction, Head to Head (H2H), Team Comparison and Statistics. Neither, of course, were efficient offensively, but there’s plenty of hope for improvement in just their second collegiate seasons. He’ll be one of Fairfield’s key frontcourt subs alongside freshmen Supreme Cook and Jacob Edokpayi and Rice transfer Zach Crisler (if eligible). 6’7” wing Dontrell McQuarter and 6’4” guard Jeremiah Pope should both compete for starting gigs in a wide-open Bronc rotation. With plenty of production left behind, Ings is a good candidate to put up a double-figure scoring average while taking on the lion’s share of point guard responsibilities. JUCO transfer Raheim Sullivan should play a key role this year in the backcourt with his ability to handle the rock and score. Previous 7 Days | Feb 11 - Feb 17 | Next 7 Days. MAAC Schedule - Feb 11, 2021 - Feb 17, 2021. Bottom Line: Quinnipiac is destined for another finish in the middle of the MAAC. Bad offense paired with good defense? Solomon is a solid offensive player who will look to improve his efficiency in 2020-21. At the very least, Shema should provide shot-blocking after ranking 9th in the NJCAA in blocks last season. The offensive glass was the only saving grace for a team that couldn’t find water if it fell out of a boat – that and the free throw line, which SPU desperately clung to, ranking 16th in the country in percentage of points scored from the charity stripe. Top College Basketball Picks Friday, January 22nd (2021) by Mike Spector January 22, 2021 While Fridays are typically the least exciting day from a power conference standpoint, the Big Ten and Big East are whetting our appetites with two key matchups heading into the weekend. White is a better rebounder than Hitchon and the team’s best (only?) Freshman Bol Akot, who received offers from Towson and St. Bonaventure in addition to Quinnipiac, looks to be a promising point guard of the future. When not in zone, Quinnipiac was still decimated by ball screens, ranking 2nd to last in the country in PPP allowed to a PnR ball handler, and when in zone the Bobcats were consistently burned from downtown and by cuts in the soft spots in the middle of the floor. Nwandu is a DII transfer who followed Beilein over from Le Moyne – he brings needed size and athleticism to the fold. Lee likely takes on the PG duties with Estrada’s departure, a scary thought after he posted a 30.5% turnover rate as a freshman. Pope averaged 19.3 PPG while shooting 40.7% from deep on 214 attempts at his JUCO last season. Key Returners: Elijah Buchanan, Samir Stewart, Warren Williams, Nehemiah Mack, Romar ReidKey Losses: Pauly Paulicap, Tykei Greene, Christian Hinckson, Tyler Reynolds, Michael OkaforKey Newcomers: Anthony Nelson (Seton Hall), Jason Douglas-Stanley (George Mason), Marques Watson (JUCO), Nick Brennen (JUCO), Samba Diallo (UMass), Arkel Lamar (UMBC). But they have put those to rest now. Witherspoon’s other ball handling options include junior Jordan Henderson, JUCO transfer Ahamadou Fofana, and freshman Asa Beyah. While he is a capable ball handler, Buchanan is just 21.8% for his career from downtown on a whopping 110 attempts. He’s very skilled and could carve out a spot in Holloway’s rotation if the other guards on the roster fail to cut down on costly turnovers. Manhattan Jaspers at Saint Peter's Peacocks 1/30/21: College Basketball free preview, analysis, prediction, odds and pick against the spread. De Sousa is a versatile wing who would compete for starts if able to play. This article explores the 10 predictions from Wood Mackenzie analysts about what to expect in 2021 and one additional thought for the more distant future: 1) Strong oil demand growth will lift prices Everyone else on the roster will be factors in Holloway’s backcourt / wing rotation – SPU played the most bench minutes in the country last season and it wasn’t even that close. George Mason transfer Jason Douglas-Stanley will provide more perimeter shooting, as will JUCO transfer Nick Brennen who shot 39.5% and averaged 12.3 PPG for his college last year. Edison, N.J. (Sept. 22, 2020) – The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) today officially announced its 2020-21 Men’s Basketball season schedule. Henderson is a shooter who possesses good size on the perimeter. Anyone who has followed it has seen HUGE returns. Holloway quickly proved just how wrong we all were about his Peacocks and ended the season ranked 194th and 2nd in the MAAC. The “1” in Dunne’s 4-out / 1-in attack will oftentimes be senior center Jordan Jones, a burly, long big man with solid post skills. Carm brings back two of the best players in the league to go with a transfer class brimming with potential. Harried was a regular starter as a freshman but desperately needs to improve on his .413 / .239 / .569 (2P / 3P / FT) shooting split to see that type of run this year. Rebounding absolutely killed the Eagles – opposing teams destroyed Niagara on the glass and bullied them in the paint. Dallas Watson played a ton early in the year before being relegated to a more bench-centric role – he hasn’t posted an O-rating over 80.0 in two seasons and is in danger of falling deeper down the pecking order. Zion Tordoff, a good rebounder, Henry Makeny, an Australian forward, and Victor Enoh, a Memphis transfer, round out the Marist frontcourt rotation. Rounding out Quinnipiac’s guard rotation will be junior Tyree Pickron and freshmen Luis Kortright and Tymu Chenery. Monmouth’s aggressive style of play results in copious amounts of fouls but it also creates transition opportunities. 1 seeds in Andy Katz's latest March Madness bracket predictions for the 2021 NCAA tournament. Canisius loses Malik Johnson to graduation, its point guard who played the 4th most minutes in the country in 2019-20, but brings back nearly everyone else for what should be a better season. Ngalakulondi will add spacing to the floor with his ability to knock down an open three – he’ll also chip in with the shot-blocking, defensive, and rebounding efforts this season. For starters, Pitino brings in a ridiculous recruiting class for MAAC purposes highlighted by three top 100 JUCO prospects and a solid cadre of freshmen. Traore is the tallest player on the roster, a skinny 6’11” shot blocker extraordinaire who once swatted 15 shots in high school (though competition was highly suspect). New Rochelle will reap the benefits of having a big-name coach, bringing in top-notch recruits and much attention to its storied mid-major program. Printed from TeamRankings.com - © 2005-2021 Team Rankings, LLC. Iona Gaels. He’s a very mobile and versatile big whose offensive potential is quite high, however, defensively Fritz needs to really improve after getting consistently dismantled on post-ups as a freshman. Starting next to van Eyck will be either much-hyped JUCO transfer Osborn Shema or New Mexico State transfer Robert Brown. Dutch sophomore Jacco Fritz earned MAAC All-Rookie honors last year after putting up impressive finishing numbers and a solid offensive rebounding rate. Steve Masiello enters his 10th year as head coach in Riverdale; he enjoyed overwhelming success his first four seasons, taking the Jaspers to two NCAA Tournaments and turning his squad into a perennial MAAC contender. Hammond earned 1st Team All-MAAC honors after ranking 3rd in the league in scoring last year, and he’s ranked 4th in each of the past two years in the MAAC in percentage of team shots taken. Edert was also a member of the MAAC All-Rookie squad and one of the two Peacocks to post an O-rating over 100.0 He’s a pure shooter who knocked down 44.2% of his triple tries last season. Further, from a KenPom perspective, Baggett’s worst Rider team ranked 223rd – he consistently has his program around the 160 – 220 range, and though this might truly be his worst team in nine years, we shouldn’t expect a colossal fall past that range in 2020-21. Given that the Purple Eagles were the worst rebounding team in college basketball, making outside shots was a must to win ball games, which they did on a near-nightly basis. Both Kyle Lowry and Bradley Beal have been part … Returning in the backcourt is 6’5” junior Elijah Buchanan and 6’0” point guard Samir Stewart. Like most of his mentor’s squads, Jay Young’s Stags were far better on the defensive end of the floor last season than on the offensive. Pitino’s defenses pressure the hell out of opposing teams – he’ll throw in an aggressive fullcourt man press and drop back into a harassing 2-3 matchup zone. He’ll handle the ball most of the time and double as one of Manhattan’s best on-ball defenders on the other end. This is an athletic team who added even more athleticism in the offseason, so defense *should* improve in 2020-21 – also it’s highly unlikely opposing MAAC teams will shoot 77.1% from the foul line against them again. Defensively, this will be one of the best squads in the conference – unfortunately that can only take you so far. Autumn Johnson predicts what the 2021 NCAA women's college basketball bracket just might look like when the field of 64 is revealed March 15. Dunleavy played for and coached under Jay Wright at Villanova, so it’s no surprise he derives his offensive style from his mentor. Statistical data provided by Gracenote. Key Returners: Christian Ings, Ajiri Ogemuno-Johnson, Allen PowellKey Losses: Stevie Jordan, Dimencio Vaughn, Fred Scott, Tyere Marshall, Willy Nunez, Kimar Williams, Tyrei RandallKey Newcomers: Rodney Henderson (CSUN), Dontrell McQuarter (JUCO), Jeremiah Pope (JUCO), Lawrence Foreman, Nehemiah Benson, Jordan Smalls, Corey McKeithan, Jaelen McGlone, Dwight Murray Jr. (Incarnate Word)***, Malachi De Sousa (Albany)***, *** Dwight Murray Jr. and Malachi De Sousa are awaiting waivers to become immediately eligible. Below we listing a today's Basketball matches list with predictions. 2021 Recruiting Rankings The Formula where c is a specific team's total number of commits and R n is the 247Sports Composite Rating of the nth-best commit times 100. In the halfcourt Rice will continue with his preferred 4-out, 4-guard lineups and look to space the floor for wing drivers and post touches. Give it a try, it's free! Foster boards and scores – he has great touch around the bucket and should develop into a good defender down the road. When opposing teams broke through this pressure, they were met by a frontcourt unit that shut down shot opportunities – SPU ranked #1 in the MAAC in eFG% defense and #1 in block rate. Seniors George Papas and Marcus McClary will each be in the mix for starter’s minutes on the wing. Junior guard Tyrese Williams is likely the leading candidate to fill the primary ball handler role, but Dunleavy could also opt to start 6’1” sophomore Savion Lewis and play Williams more off the ball. Ross, formerly of UMKC, led the MAAC in eFG% and TS% last season after shooting a ridiculous 47% from three-point land in league play. For all of Cluess’s offensive genius, his defenses often ranged from below average to outright poor. Rice has a ton of options on how to fill out the remainder of his starting five and overall rotation. But the coaching fiasco wasn’t the only weird phenomenon to happen to Niagara in 2020-21. The Jaspers have finished between 6th and 8th in the league standings four out of the last five years and promise to do the same this season. The Peacocks were DOMINANT on this end in MAAC play, posting a defensive rating of 91.5, which would have been the 15th best mark in the country had SPU continued that pace throughout non-conference play. Defense will need to improve this season for Siena to truly be nationally elite at the mid-major level. UConn vs. Providence odds, lines: Advanced computer college basketball model releases predictions for Big East matchup SportsLine's projection model generated selections for Wednesday's Big East Conference contest between the Huskies and Friars . King averaged 14.5 PPG and shot 41.9% from deep last season; he’s a skilled big man who can run the floor, score in the post, and shoot the three. Though his playing time was limited overall, he started two games for the Pirates last season and in those two contests averaged 11.0 PPG and 5.5 APG. Cook has an awesome name, but he’s still a bit raw offensively. Majesty Brandon is probably the most likely to take on primary ball handling responsibilities, but he is much better served as an off-ball attacker where he can really use his scoring ability to his advantage. Fousseyni Drame ranked 4th in the MAAC in OR% and 6th in steal rate last season while Hassan Drame ranked 5th in the MAAC in both OR% and DR%. Kuakumensah is an undersized forward who improved greatly last season – he has some offensive talent and is a better floor spacing option than Kratholm in the frontcourt. Partnering with Camper in the frontcourt will be 6’9” sophomore Kyle Young, Rhode Island transfer Dana Tate, and Detroit transfer Harrison Curry.