Monmouth Coach King Rice Says He’s Not Going Anywhere
Monmouth coach King Rice says he's not
Entering the MAAC Tournament semifinals Sunday night
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. — One year after missing the NCAA Tournament, Monmouth will head into March as one of the hottest teams in the nation.
The Hawks won their 16th straight game on Sunday with a 79-73 victory over rival Iona on Senior Day at the Hynes Athletic Center. Monmouth (26-5, 18-2 MAAC) beat Iona (19-12, 12-8) for the second time this season and hasn’t lost since Jan. 2 at Saint Peter’s.
Only Vermont’s 18-game winning streak is longer than Monmouth’s. Princeton has won 15 straight.
When the Hawks open the MAAC Tournament on Friday night as the No. 1 seed in their quarterfinal at the Times Union Center in Albany, they will not have lost in more than two months.
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — In four of the last five seasons, Iona or Manhattan has been picked atop the MAAC preseason rankings.
In three of the last five, Iona has won the league’s regular season title. Niagara captured it in 2012 and Monmouth won the crown last season.
For the last four seasons, Iona or Manhattan has won the MAAC Tournament title, with Manhattan garnering the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament in 2014 and ’15, and Iona doing so in 2013 and last year, when they beat Monmouth in the championship game.
Get the picture?
Iona and Manhattan have dominated the league of late.
HILLSIDE, N.J. — Marcus McClary is headed to Monmouth.
The 6-foot-3, 180-pound guard from St. Patrick’s High School committed to the MAAC school during a press conference on Tuesday. He visited Monmouth officially this past weekend.
McClary also considered Old Dominion.
“It was more like a family atmosphere for me,” he said. “And when I got down there I just felt all the love and I knew this was the spot for me.”
By JACOB POLACHECK & ADAM ZAGORIA
Christian David, the 6-foot-5 shooting guard from Vermont Academy, committed to Butler on Saturday night, giving coach Chris Holtmann a huge building block heading forward.
Ranked the No. 23 shooting guard in the Class of 2017 by 247Sports.com, he also considered Pitt and Creighton.
“Christian has a high upside because of his versatility on both ends of the floor,” Vermont Academy coach Alex Popp said. “He is an athletic guard who is very skilled. He has great basketball IQ. Above all, he is a winner. He played on the Vermont Academy team that won NEPSAC AA last year.”
David announced his pick on Twitter. He becomes the second Vermont Academy senior this week to pick a school, after 6-7 power forward Marcus Santos-Silva committed to VCU on Wednesday.
He is Butler’s fourth commit, following point guard Jerald Butler, shooting guard Cooper Neese and power forward Kyle Young.
Butler university class of 21′ pic.twitter.com/0hZFra4kqj
– Christian David (@cdavid0619) September 25, 2016
