ESPN Announces First Pair of MAAC Wildcard Matchups
MAAC Sports
EDISON, N.J. – ESPN has announced the two Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference men’s basketball wildcard matchups for Jan. 16. Set to be telecast on ESPNU, Niagara University welcomes Iona College to the 'Taps' Gallagher Center at 7pm, while Saint Peter’s University hosts Manhattan College on ESPN3 at 7pm in the Yanitelli Center.
The meetings between the two pairs of schools will be the first of the year, with Iona, Manhattan and Niagara each currently owning 1-1 records in MAAC play. Saint Peter’s currently sits at 0-2 after its first two league contests.
The MAAC’s first telecast of the season featured Canisius and Niagara on ESPN3 Dec. 6 in the teams’ annual “Battle of the Bridge.” The visiting Griffs came away with a 77-64 win, fueled by four players in double-figures.
A total of 47 games will be nationally televised on the ESPN networks during the 2014-15 campaign, which includes 37 regular season contests and 10 contests at the 2015 MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships at the Times Union Center in Albany, New York.
This season’s MAAC television schedule features an all-time high of 11 wildcard games. The wildcard format allows ESPN to pick any game on schedule for the selected date to be air on the designated platform (ESPN2, ESPNU, or ESPN3). ESPN announces which game it selects for the wildcard telecast 21 days out. The format enables the MAAC and ESPN flexibility to showcase the best possible matchups.
The 2015 season culminates at the 2015 MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships at the Times Union Center in Albany, New York March 5-9. Tickets for the championships are available online at ticketmaster.com.
For the full men’s basketball schedule, visits maacsports.com and remember to follow the conversation on twitter using #MAACHoops and #MAACHoops15.