EDISON, NJ (Jan. 17, 2023) – The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) today announced, the February 3 men’s basketball contest between Quinnipiac University and Fairfield University has been flexed to ESPNU as part of the MAAC Wildcard Game package. The game will tip at 7 p.m. at M&T Bank Arena in Hamden, Connecticut.
The Friday night rivalry matchup will feature one of the MAAC’s top offensive teams in Quinnipiac, hosting one of the conference’s top defensive teams in Fairfield. The Connecticut rival institutions will be going head-to-head for the first time during the 2022-23 slate.
The Quinnipiac Bobcats (14-5, 5-3 MAAC) own the best overall record in the MAAC, having won a league-most 14 games and posting the highest overall winning percentage (.737). The Bobcats are also the hottest team in the conference, having won five straight MAAC games and holding a perfect 5-0 record since the calendar turned to 2023. Scoring 72.1 points per outing, Quinnipiac is the second ranked offensive team in the MAAC, while also posting the second-highest scoring margin in the conference (6.6). The Bobcats are the top rebounding team, grabbing 39.2 boards per game, 27.1 defensive rebounds per game, and recording a 5.8 rebounding margin, all of which rank first on the MAAC leaderboard. Defensively, the squad has forced the league’s lowest opponent field goal percentage (.403) and opponent 3-point field goal percentage (.298) this season. Three players from Quinnipiac are averaging over 10 points per game this season, with the trio including Dezi Jones (11.3 ppg), Matt Balanc (10.7 ppg), and Ike Nweke (10.2 ppg).
The Fairfield Stags (7-10, 3-4 MAAC) are currently just outside of the top half of the conference standings, sitting in a two-way tie for seventh place. Despite the Stags place on the standings, the team is coming off of a road win at defending MAAC champion Saint Peter’s and a pair of close defeats to the top two teams in Siena and Iona. Leading Fairfield on the offensive end are Supreme Cook, Caleb Fields, and TJ Long, which are all averaging in double figures for the season. Cook, who ranks second on the MAAC charts in total double-doubles, is averaging 13.2 points and 8.4 rebounds, which rank 14
th and third on the MAAC leaderboard, respectively. Fields is scoring 12.8 points per game, while ranking fifth in free throw percentage and steals. Long is scoring 10.0 points per contest and is connecting on the eighth most threes per game in the conference. As a team, Fairfield is one of the best defensive units in the MAAC, allowing the third-lowest points per game average at 65.0 points and holding opponents to the second-fewest made 3-pointers and 3-point field goal percentage.
The MAAC Wildcard Game format allows ESPN to pick any game scheduled for that specific date to air on ESPNU and allows the MAAC and ESPN the flexibility to showcase the best matchups as the season progresses. Future MAAC wildcard matchups will be announced at later dates.
The 2022-23 campaign culminates with the 2023 Hercules Tires MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships from March 7-11 at Atlantic City's Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall for the fourth consecutive year. For all information regarding the 2023 Hercules Tires MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships, please visit
MAACSports.com/basketball and by following @MAACHoops and #MAACHoops on Twitter. For tickets to the 2023 Hercules Tires MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships, please visit
ticketmaster.com.
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 42nd year of competition during the 2022-23 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona University, Manhattan College, Marist College, Mount St. Mary’s University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College.
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