MAAC Basketball Championship Spotlights: Monmouth Hawks
MAAC Sports
EDISON, N.J. – With the 2015 MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships quickly approaching, the league will begin to spotlight each of its 11 member institutions’ men’s and women’s programs leading up to championship week. Today’s school scheduled to be featured is Monmouth University.
Monmouth Men’s Basketball
Preseason Poll Pick vs. Current Standing (as of Feb. 20):
Picked to finish sixth in the preseason poll, the Monmouth Hawks are currently third in the MAAC standings at 12-5, just one game shy of second-place Rider. At 16-12 overall through 28 games, the Hawks have recorded their most wins since the 2005-06 campaign. With three regular season games still remaining, Monmouth has already doubled its conference win total from a season ago. After defeating Saint Peter’s on Feb. 19, the Hawks clinched a first round bye at the 2015 MAAC Basketball Championship.
Player to Watch: Justin Robinson
Justin Robinson, who started 25 games as a freshman during the 2013-14 campaign, leads the Hawks with 12.9 points per game. The sophomore has notched 20 double-digit scoring efforts, and has handed out five or more assists on seven occasions. Robinson became the first Hawk to ever receive MAAC Player of the Week honors on Dec. 8, after leading MU to a 2-0 start in conference action by averaging 18.5 points per game in wins over Marist (Dec. 4) and Iona (Dec. 7). The guard finished with a career-high 25 points against Iona on 8-of-11 shooting.
Top Play of 2014-15 (as of Feb. 20): Watch Here
Breakthrough Performance(s) (as of Feb. 20):
The Hawks opened Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play with a 4-0 record to take sole possession of first place in the league standings. Monmouth kicked off conference play with a seven-point victory (57-50) over Marist on Dec. 4, before taking down preseason favorite, Iona, by a score of 92-89 at home. King Rice’s team went on to sweep the Western New York series in early January before suffering its first MAAC loss to Quinnipiac (Jan. 9).
Monmouth Women’s Basketball
Preseason Poll Pick vs. Current Standing (as of Feb. 20):
The Monmouth Hawks were picked to finish ninth in the preseason poll, and currently find themselves tied for eighth in the conference standings with Canisius at 6-10. Overall, the Hawks own a 10-15 record. Included in Monmouth’s six league wins are victories over Iona (Dec. 7) and Fairfield (Jan. 25), both of which are tied for third in the standings.
Player to Watch: Sarah Olson
In just her first season in a Hawks’ uniform, junior Sarah Olson has quickly become the go-to player for Monmouth, as she leads the squad offensively averaging 12.3 points per game. On Jan. 22 against Siena, Olson erupted for a career-high 27 points by connecting on 10-of-18 attempts from the floor, including 7-of-12 from beyond the arc. For the season, the guard has posted a team-leading 14 double figure scoring games, having led the squad in points 10 times.
Top Play of 2014-15 (as of Feb. 19): Watch Here
Breakthrough Performance(s) (as of Feb. 20):
On Dec. 7, Monmouth earned a hard-fought 75-74 double-overtime win over Iona, which was picked to finish third in the preseason coaches’ poll. The Hawks put forth one of their more impressive defensive performances of the year, as they held the MAAC’s leading scorer, Damika Martinez, to just 11 points despite entering the contest averaging 25.7 points per game.
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The next spotlight, set to be released on Monday, Feb. 23, will feature the Niagara men’s and women’s programs.
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.