EDISON, NJ (Jan. 9, 2023) – The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) today announced, the January 27 men’s basketball matchup between Siena College and Iona University will be flexed to ESPNU as part of the MAAC Wildcard Game package. The game will tip at 7 p.m. inside of MVP Arena in Albany, New York.
The late January meeting will feature the two most successful MAAC men’s basketball programs in league history, as the defending MAAC regular champion, Iona, will travel to first-place Siena for the Friday night tilt. This will be the first meeting of the season between two conference powerhouses, who currently rank first and second, respectively, in the MAAC standings.
The Siena Saints (11-5, 5-0 MAAC) currently sit atop the MAAC standings and is the lone unbeaten team a quarter of the way through the league stanza. The Saints are riding a conference-best six-game winning streak and have not lost in almost a month, dating back to December 11. Leading Siena in scoring this season are the trio of Javian McCollum (16.0 ppg), Jackson Stormo (14.3 ppg), and Andrew Platek (10.3 ppg). McCollum ranks sixth in the MAAC in scoring, third in free-throw percentage, tied for fourth in assists, eighth in assist/turnover ratio, and top-20 in field goal percentage, 3-point field goal percentage, 3-point field goals per game, and steals. Stormo ranks 11
th on the MAAC leaderboard in scoring, second in blocks, fourth in field goal percentage, and 18
th in rebounding. Platek is one of the league’s top outside threats, ranking second in both 3-point field goal percentage and overall threes made, while ranking tied for second in 3-point field goals made per game. Siena as a team, leads the MAAC in 3-point field goal percentage (.363), free-throw percentage (.760), and combined opponent rebounds (30.9).
The defending MAAC regular season champions and preseason favorite, Iona Gaels (11-5, 4-1 MAAC) are off to another impressive start to a season after recording a 7-4 mark through a challenging out of conference slate and second-best MAAC record of 4-1 through five league contests. The Gaels, who have been virtually unstoppable at home, are a perfect 5-0 this season at the Hynes Center and have won 20 straight home games dating back to February of 2021. As a unit, Iona has been on a tear offensively this season, scoring a league-high 76.6 points per game and holding the MAAC highest scoring margin of 10.0. The Gaels are also the league leaders in blocked shots, assists, field goal percentage, opponent 3-point field goal percentage, turnover margin, and assist to turnover ratio. Moreover, Iona ended last week ranked seventh in the Mid Major Top-25 poll. The Gaels have three players ranked top-10 on the MAAC scoring charts, which include Daniss Jenkins, Walter Clayton Jr., and Nelly Junior Joseph. Jenkins ranks fourth in scoring, averaging 16.4 points, Clayton Jr. is ranked fifth at 16.1 points, and Junior Joseph sits in seventh with his 15.4 points per game average. Jenkins is the MAAC leader in assists, assists per game, and assist to turnover ratio. Clayton Jr. is one of the conference’s most efficient shooters, leading the league in free-throw percentage and ranking fourth in 3-point field goal percentage. Junior Joseph is the conference leader in double-doubles and ranks third in total rebounds, offensive rebounds, and blocks, while ranking fourth in defensive rebounds.
In the MAAC’s 42 year history, Iona and Siena have combined to win 19 total MAAC Tournament Championships, with the Gaels owning a league-most 13 titles and the Saints ranking second with six conference trophies. Since 2018-19, the two have combined to win all four regular season championships, with Iona claiming two in 2018-19 and 2021-22 and Siena winning back-to-back crowns in 2019-20 and 2020-21, while the teams have been the two-best units in the MAAC, compiling a 103-48 MAAC record during the timespan – Siena a league-best 55-24 MAAC record and Iona the second-best MAAC record of 48-24.
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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