Atlantic City, NJ - No. 9 Manhattan (12-17) will take on No. 8 Fairfield (12-19) in the 2020 Hercules Tire MAAC Championship on Tuesday, March 10 at 5:00 pm.
Light Up The Sky
* Following the game, the Manhattan College Offices of Admissions, Alumni Relations, Athletics and Student Engagement will be hosting a "Light Up The Sky" Welcome Reception at One Atlantic atop the "Playground Piers" at Caesars on Tuesday from 6:30 pm-9:30 pm. During the event there will be a fireworks display to help kick off the 2020 MAAC Basketball Championships at 9:00 pm.
* Click HERE for more information.
Lucky Number 9
* No. 9 seeds have won their opening round games in each of the last three years, including advancing to the semifinals in 2018.
* Manhattan has been the No. 9 seed just one time, going 1-1 in 2010.
* No. 9 seeds hold an all-time record of 12-24, but have advanced to the quarterfinals seven times in the last 11 years.
Manhattan/Masiello In The MAAC Tournament
* The Jaspers are 28-33 with five MAAC titles.
* Head Coach Steve Masiello has a school-record 10 MAAC Tournament wins with two titles over eight previous trips to the event.
* Counting his time as an assistant, Masiello has been associated with four of the Jaspers' five titles and 15 of their 28 conference tournament victories.
Series/MAAC Tournament History With Fairfield
* Manhattan leads the all-time series by a 55-51 count.
* The teams will be meeting in the opening round of the MAAC Championship for the second-straight year and most recently met in the regular season finale.
* Fairfield, which claimed both regular season match-ups, holds a 6-4 advantage when squaring off in the conference tournament.
* Last year, the Jaspers defeated the Stags by a 57-53 count in the opening round of the 2019 MAAC Tournament behind a sophomore Christian Hinckson's career-high 16 points.
Paulicap Earns All-MAAC Third Team Honors
* Senior Pauly Paulicap was named to the All-MAAC Third Team on Monday after ranking among the MAAC leaders in scoring (10.0 ppg - 24th), rebounding (6.2 rpg - 6th), blocks (1.9 - 2nd) and field goal percentage (.493-6th).
* The 2018 MAAC Defensive Player of the Year is the first Manhattan student-athlete to garner All-MAAC honors since Zane Waterman and Rich Williams in 2018.
Defense Wins Games
* Under Masiello, received a three-year contract extension through 2023 on February 14, the Jaspers are 57-11 (.838) when holding teams to less than 60 points, 46-15 (.754) when registering double-figures in steals and 28-14 (.667) when turning the opposition over at least 20 times.
* Thanks to its outstanding defense, Manhattan ranks among the NCAA leaders in turnovers forced (15.1-49th), scoring defense (65.0 ppg-53rd) and blocks (4.0 bpg-72nd), steals (7.2 spg-87th).
More Pauly
* During MAAC play, Paulicap teamed up with sophomore Warren Williams to average a combined 20.4 ppg and 9.9 rpg.
* Paulicap notched his eighth career double-double (18 points, 11 rebounds) against Rider, and is averaging 11.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg and 2.4 bpg over his last 10 games.
* He posted his second five-block performance of the year at Monmouth and has now swatted at least five on eight occasions and is fourth in school history with 144 career rejections.
You Mean They're Just Sophomores
* Through 29 games, the sophomore fivesome of Elijah Buchanan, Tykei Greene, Hinckson, Samir Stewart and Williams have combined to account for 64.0 percent of Manhattan's offense (40.0 ppg) and 50.7 percent of the rebounding (17.5 rpg).
* The second-year students had a season-high 58 points in the win over Canisius, while shooting a blistering 64.5 percent (20-of-31).
S Squared
* Stewart scored a team-high 12 points in the most recent match-up with Fairfield and is averaging 8.6 ppg, 2.9 apg (10th MAAC) and 1.8 triples per game (15th MAAC), with the Jaspers holding a 15-3 record when he reaches double-figures in points in his career.
* He dropped a season-high 20 points in the first win over Quinnipiac, before going for 17 points with a career-high seven assists vs. Rider.
The Big Fella
* Williams averaged 11.5 ppg while shooting 64.3 percent (9-of-14) over two games against Fairfield, highlighted by a season-high 19 points back in January.
* He is averaging 8.6 ppg while ranking third in the MAAC in field goal percentage (.574), including 60.7 percent during MAAC play.
Eight Is Great
* Hinckson scored a season-high matching 14 points at Rider, after finishing up with 13 points at Monmouth, while becoming the eight different Jasper to pace the team in scoring this year.
* He narrowly missing the first triple-double (9 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists) in school history in the first win over Quinnipiac, and ranks among the MAAC leaders in steals (1.6 spg-4th) and rebounding (5.3 rpg-12th).
#GoGreene
* Greene averaged a team-best 10.2 ppg (23rd MAAC) and 4.9 rpg (19th MAAC), was the Jaspers' lone MAAC Player of the Week honoree this season after averaging 17.0 ppg and 6.0 rpg over the Jaspers' Western New York sweep.
* He converted the winning layup with 1.7 seconds to play at Quinnipiac, after scoring a career-high 25 points at Hofstra, on 10-of-17 shooting (5-for-5, 3pt).
* Greene notched his third career 20-point performance vs. Saint Peter's, finishing with 21 points, and is averaging 11.6 ppg and 4.7 rpg over his last seven.
EB Claims Battle Of The Bronx MVP
* Buchanan scored 15 points with seven rebounds in the victory at Fordham to earn 'Battle of the Bronx' MVP honors, before hitting for a career-high 18 points against Western Michigan,
Welcome Back
* After missing the previous 26 games due to injury, junior Ethan Lasko scored three points with two rebounds and two steals at Rider in a career-high 16 minutes of action.
Pauly Doing Pauly Things
* Paulicap appeared on SportsCenter for the for the second time this year on February 10, turning up at No. 6 after his block at Quinnipiac, and was previously cited with the No. 4 play for the December 22 for a rejection against Hofstra.
Manhattan Celebrates 1994-95 Team
* Members of the 1994-95 Manhattan Men's Basketball team that won a school-record 26 games, earned the first-ever MAAC at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament and defeated nationally ranked Oklahoma were recognized at halftime of the Jaspers' win over Niagara.
* Former Head Coach and current ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla, players and other staff members of one of the best teams in league history were on hand for the event, which bridged over eight decades of Jaspers.
* Click HERE for the full recap.
Jaspers Topple Iona
* The Green & White defeated Iona by a 72-49 count, with the 23-point margin of victory representing the biggest win since an 81-54 decision over Eastern Kentucky on December 22, 2016.
* The 49 points represent the least allowed by Manhattan and fewest scored by Iona this year.
What's Up Bud?
* Junior Nehemiah Mack scored a season-high 15 points, on the strength of a career-high three pointers in the win over Iona.
* Mack hit a pair of huge free throws in the final 30 seconds in the win at Quinnipiac, and is shooting 46.4 percent (13-of-28) from deep over his last 10 games.
* The Pennsylvania native handed out a career-high six assists, against no turnovers at URI, and has a 3.33 assist/turnover ratio, including 3.58 (43/12) during MAAC play, and is averaging 2.3 apg.
Reynolds Goes Off At Marist
* Senior Tyler Reynolds scored a career-high matching 23 points at Marist came on 7-of-13 shooting from deep.
* Most recently, he finished up with 11 points against Fairfield and led the way in the win over Siena with 16 points.
* The Syracuse native also drained the game-winning three pointer at Fordham with 4.2 seconds to play.
20/20 Vision
* Greene, Paulicap, Reynolds and Stewart have all scored at least 20 points in a game this year.
Getting Defensive
* Thanks to the defensive success, the Jaspers have overcome second half double-digit deficits in victories over UAlbany, at Elon and at Fordham.
* Over the last five minutes/OT of 10-point games, the Jaspers are shooting 44.6 percent (50-of-112) from the floor, while limiting the opposition to 37.7 percent (43-of-114).
Manhattan Topples Elon
* The Jaspers posted a 69-64 win over the Phoenix, rallying from an early 17-point deficit.
* Masiello picked up his 130th career win and is fourth in the all-time annals.
* Manhattan outscored Elon 61-39 over the final 27-plus minutes and scored on 13 of its last 15 possessions.
Second-Half Success
* After halftime this year, the Jaspers are averaging 34.0 ppg while shooting 41.8 percent from the floor, including 32.2 percent from long range, compared to just 28.6 ppg, on 37.8 percent shooting, and 29.3 percent from deep in the opening stanza.
Mas=Success
* Masiello is one of just seven Division I coaches that is 42 or younger with two conference titles and two trips to the NCAA Tourney, while posting a school-record 10 MAAC Tournament wins.
* Masiello has led Manhattan to a 139-148 (.484) record, including going 88-84 (.512) during MAAC play, over his nine seasons.
* At Draddy Gymnasium, Masiello holds a sterling 68-44 record (.607) and with one more win will be the all-time winningest coach in Draddy Gymnasium history.
* He has won two MAAC Titles, advanced to title game three times, claimed two Metropolitan Coach of the Year awards with a pair of 20-win campaigns. Masiello has also participated in the NCAA Tournament in 13 of his 24 seasons as a player or coach, including being a part of eight conference champions and one National Title.
* Masiello has a career collegiate record of 500-294 (.630) with one National Title, two National Championship Game appearances, two Final Fours, six Elite Eight berths, eight conference championships, 13 NCAA Tournament appearances and 15 20-win seasons.
Fairfield Notes
* The Stags took both regular season match-ups thanks to shooting 55.6 percent from the floor, including 57.1 percent from long range.
* Fairfield is paced by the quartet of Landon Taliaferro (12.3 ppg), Jesus Cruz (11.2 ppg), Taj Benning (9.8 ppg, 4.6 rpg) and Vincent Eze (8.0 ppg, 5.8 rpg).
* Taliaferro averaged 21.5 ppg over two games against Manhattan, with Cruz checking in with 12.5 ppg.
For Starters
* The Jaspers improved to 75-39, all-time, in season openers thanks to a season-opening 13-0 spurt and five double-digit scorers in an 85-74 wire-to-wire win over Delaware State.
Pretty, Pretty Good
* Ticket holders for all remaining basketball home games will now be able to receive 20 percent off in-restaurant orders on game days at Italian eatery Bella Notte by showing tickets to that day's contest. Bella Notte is located in central Riverdale on Johnson Avenue. This promotion covers all weekday and weekend games including Sunday Brunch, which starts at Noon. Click HERE for more information
Preseason All-MAAC Recap
* Paulicap and Williams were each named to the 2019-20 Preseason All-MAAC Third Team, while Manhattan was tabbed fifth as a team.
The Returners
* Manhattan's returners have scored all but 68 points this year.
* The Jaspers bring back a MAAC-best 86.5 percent of their scoring, 85.4 percent of their rebounding and 83.3 percent of their assists.
DYK
* Manhattan was one of 20 teams in the Division I ranks to not lose a transfer, returning 14 letterwinners, including 10 scholarship student-athletes.
Newcomers
* Joining the Jaspers this year are junior Michael Okafor, freshman Adam Cisse and classmate Romar Reid.
What Is A Jasper?
* The unique nickname of Manhattan College's athletic teams, the Jaspers, comes from one of the College's most memorable figures, Brother Jasper of Mary, F.S.C., who served as the College's athletic director in the late 19th century. One of the greatest achievements of Brother Jasper was that he brought the then little-known sport of baseball to Manhattan College and became the team's first coach. Since Brother Jasper was also the Prefect of Discipline, he supervised the student fans at Manhattan baseball games while also directing the team itself. During one particularly warm and humid day when the college was playing a semi-pro baseball team called the Metropolitans, Brother Jasper noticed the Manhattan students were becoming restless and edgy with the team coming to bat in the seventh inning of a close game. To relieve the tension, Brother Jasper called timeout and told the students to stand up and stretch for a few minutes until the game resumed. Since the College annually played the New York Giants in the late 1880's and into the 1890's at the old Polo Grounds, the Manhattan College practice of the "seventh inning stretch" spread into the major leagues, where it has now become a time-honored custom practiced by millions of fans annually.
This Is Manhattan College
* Why is Manhattan College in the Bronx? Our campus was originally located in Manhattan at the intersection of 131st Street and Broadway. In 1923, Manhattan College moved to its present Riverdale location in order to accommodate a growing student body. But with more than 60 years of history established as Manhattan College, the institution decided to retain the name despite the geographic misnomer.
* 17 alumni are members of the prestigious National Academy of Engineering — an impressive number for an institution the size of Manhattan College.
* Alumni include Rudy Giuliani '65, former mayor of New York City; James Patterson '69, best-selling author; and Raymond Kelly '63, former commissioner of the NYPD.
* Manhattan is one of only 182 remaining colleges founded in the United States before the Civil War.
This Is Manhattan Basketball
* Manhattan has three wins in NCAA Tournament play, defeating West Virginia (1958), Oklahoma (1995) and Florida (2004).
* The Jaspers have won five MAAC Tournament titles in the last 25 years (1993, 2003, 2004, 2014, 2015).
* Manhattan received an at-large berth in 1995 and defeated Oklahoma before falling to Arizona State.
* Was the first team in NCAA history to a win a game in Europe, defeating Holy Cross 70-54 on December 1, 2017 as part of the inaugural Belfast Classic.
Up Next
With a win, Manhattan will play top-seeded Siena on Wednesday, March 11 at 7:00 pm.