The MAAC basketball tournament has been dominated in recent seasons by Iona. With Rick Pitino in his first season at the helm, can the Gaels claim yet another championship? Or will top-seed Siena reign supreme on the Atlantic City boardwalk and book a spot in the NCAA Tournament? The following contains the MAAC Tournament bracket and schedule, as well as a preview of what we can expect to see.
Be sure to visit our College Basketball Conference Tournaments Hub for more Champ Week coverage!
MAAC Conference Standings
| Team | Conference Record | Overall Record | Tournament Outlook |
| Siena | 12-4 | 12-4 | 1 seed |
| Monmouth | 12-6 | 12-7 | 2 seed |
| St. Peter’s | 10-8 | 13-10 | 3 seed |
| Marist | 10-8 | 12-8 | 4 seed |
| Niagara | 7-9 | 8-10 | 5 seed |
| Canisius | 7-5 | 7-5 | 6 seed |
| Fairfield | 7-11 | 7-16 | 7 seed |
| Quinnipiac | 7-10 | 9-12 | 8 seed |
| Iona | 6-3 | 8-5 | 9 seed |
| Manhattan | 6-12 | 7-12 | 10 seed |
| Rider | 5-13 | 5-16 | 11 seed |
MAAC Tournament Schedule
Dates: March 8-13
TV: ESPNU, ESPNEWS, ESPN+
Site: Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall — Atlantic City, NJ
Byes: Top 5 get single
Most Recent Champion: Iona
MAAC Tournament Bracket
First Round
- (11) Rider 78, (6) Canisius 76
- (7) Fairfield 59, (10) Manhattan 58 (OT)
- (9) Iona 72, (8) Quinnipiac 48
Quarterfinals
- (9) Iona 55, (1) Siena 52
- (7) Fairfield 79, (2) Monmouth 60
- (3) St. Peter’s 75, (11) Rider 60
- (5) Niagara 67, (4) Marist 62
Semifinals
- (7) Fairfield 52, (3) St. Peter’s 47
- (9) Iona 70, (5) Niagara 64
Championship
- (9) Iona 60, (7) Fairfield 51
Iona advances to NCAA Tournament
MAAC Conference Breakdown
As mentioned in the opening, Iona has dominated the MAAC basketball tournament in recent years. The Gaels have won the last four MAAC Tournament titles and five of the last seven. The only other team to win the MAAC championship in those seven years was Manhattan. The Jaspers won back-to-back titles in 2014 and ‘15.
Five of the 11 MAAC basketball teams rank in the top 200 in the College Basketball Net, led by Siena at No. 136. Iona (154), Monmouth (158), St. Peter’s (178) and Canisius (185) round out the list of five. While Siena may be the top seed in the MAAC Tournament, they did not have the best scoring offense or defense in league play this year. Monmouth topped the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference with 76.9 points scored per game while St. Peter’s was the league’s best scoring defense at 62.0 points allowed per contest. Siena did lead the MAAC in scoring margin by nearly three whole points at +5.1.
The MAAC basketball preseason poll correctly tabbed Siena as the top team in the conference. From there, it’s hard to compare how teams finished relative to the predictions. With the MAAC choosing to set its tournament seeding with respect to the number of games teams played, how teams finished in standings win percentage does not necessarily indicate their seeding for the tournament. Despite having the second-best win percentage in league play as they were projected to, Iona is seeded ninth for the tournament due to only playing nine league games. Canisius was an overachiever relative to preseason projections. The Golden Griffins are the 6-seed in the MAAC Tournament and finished fourth in the standings after being picked to finish tenth.
