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2009 MAAC Men’s Basketball Tournament Predictions

Written March 5, 2009 by Jason Lowry

maac basketball The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) men’s basketball tournament is set to start this Friday night from the Time Union Center in Albany, NY. The tournament is set to run all they way to Monday March 9th where the winner of the tournament gets the free pass into the NCAA Tournament. The Siena Saints took home the regular season title going 16-2 in conference play, but close behind were two tough teams in Niagara and Rider. While all 10 teams are allowed into the tournament, the bottom four teams have to play one extra game, as the top 6 teams all receive a bye. Here is a look at the 3 favorites going into the tournament and a sleeper we feel could cause some trouble for the top seeds. Bet MAAC Men’s Conference Tournament at Bookmaker.com.

1. Siena Saints (23-7, 16-2 MAAC)

The Saints have rolled through the MAAC this season, as they were perfect at home, and their only two losses came on the road to Niagara and Rider. The Saints have also been good in non-conference play, as they just beat a good Northern Iowa team that is at the top of the Missouri Valley Conference, and have played the likes of Kansas, Tennessee, and Pittsburgh all tough, a good reason why this team has a 27 RPI rating. The Saints are led on the floor by a trio of stars in Kenny Kasbrouck, Edwin Ubiles, and Alex Franklin, as all 3 average between 13-15 points a game. The only team that we see giving this team a scare is Niagara, and thats if these two teams meet up in the finals.

2. Niagara Purple Eagles (24-7, 14-4 MAAC)

The Purple Eagles are the only other team in the MAAC that is ranked in the top 100 RPI, as they currently sit at 57th, just inside that magic number of 65. The Eagles have really finished strong winning 10 of their final 11 games, with the only loss coming by 3 points on the road to Rider. The Purple Eagles don’t quite have the non-conference schedule of the Saints, but do have good wins over Murray St, Illinois St, and South Florida, but I feel that this won’t be good enough to get them in without getting the automatic bid from winning this tournament. That means Tyrone Lewic and Bilal Benn will both have to come up big for the Purple Eagles, if they are to win the MAAC title.

3. Rider Broncs (18-11, 12-6 MAAC)

The Broncs might not have the talent of the top two teams to win over the long haul, but this team has proven with its two wins over Niagara and Siena that they are team that can get hot and at the right moment beat anyone is this conference. This team has finished strong in conference play winning 8 of their final 11 conference games, including the wins over the Saints and Purple Eagles. The Broncs rely pretty heavily on Ryan Thompson who averages a team best 17.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.3 assists a game, and the Broncs will go as far as he takes them in this one.

Sleeper: St. Peter’s Peacocks (11-18, 8-10 MAAC)

It won’t be easy for the Peacocks, as they open right away with Rider, but if they can find away to slow Thompson down, they could find themselves in the semifinals, and just a couple wins from making history. This team is playing solid basketball going into the tournament winning 5 of their final 6 games, including a 1 point win on the road over the same Rider team they face this Thursday. The Peacocks are led by Wesley Jenkins and Nick Leon, as the two each average over 15 points a game.

Prediction: Siena Saints

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