Monmouth again looking for MAAC clincher vs. Rider

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Monmouth University head coach King Rice and his staff giving their players two consecutive days off is not uncommon if there isn't a game rapidly approaching, but this week seemed like an even better time than normal to do so.

A lot has gone on recently for the Hawks. On Feb. 15, .


Monmouth University can secure the MAAC regular-season title on Friday night with a win over in-state rival Rider. The Hawks came from behind to beat the Broncs on Feb. 12, 79-78, in Lawrenceville

WEST LONG BRANCH -- Monmouth University head coach King Rice and his staff giving their players two consecutive days off is not uncommon if there isn't a game rapidly approaching, but this week seemed like an even better time than normal to do so.

A lot has gone on recently for the Hawks. On Feb. 15, Deon Jones broke his right hand against Manhattan and is out for an undetermined amount of time. Monmouth was blown out by Iona last Friday at the Multipurpose Activity Center, then survived an overtime affair at St. Peter's just 38 hours facing the Gaels.

The Hawks (23-6, 15-3 MAAC) were off all week leading up to Friday's contest against Rider (9 p.m., ESPN2), so Rice gave the kids off Monday and Tuesday, before everyone reconvened on Wednesday to prepare for the regular season's final weekend.


The Hawks own the tiebreaker over Iona by virtue of a sweep over third-place Siena. The Gaels split their two games with the Saints.

Staff writer Josh Newman: jgannet


"We've given them two days off before, but you could just tell in this case that the group needed it," said Rice, whose team can clinch the MAAC regular-season title with a win on Friday night. "The coaches needed it, too, and it's a long season, but we're fired up to be playing basketball. A couple of years ago when we were at the bottom of the league, that's when right now was a dread, but we're playing for a lot of things right now.

"Being turned on, fighting for what you're trying to achieve is important, and I think they came out really refreshed today (Wednesday) in practice."

A win over the Broncs, who Monmouth defeated, 79-78, back on Feb. 12 after coming back from 14 points down with 3:58 to play, would provide more than just the regular-season title. A win will give the Hawks the No. 1 seed for next week's MAAC Tournament, an automatic bid to the NIT, should it not reach the NCAA Tournament, and keep its hopes of a potential at-large bid alive.

The loss to the Gaels last week put a dent in those at-large plans, but that road to the NCAA Tournament remains open right now should the Hawks not win the MAAC Tournament for the league's automatic bid.


Friday will mark Monmouth's second try and clinching the league title after the first try against Iona went south. Like the first attempt, the second attempt will be played on a Friday night on national television at the Multipurpose Activity Center.

"We earned that right, nobody gave us anything, we've played 18 games just like the rest of the teams," Rice said. "Fortunately for us, we're ahead right now with two to go. Everybody gets 10 at home, 10 on the road and right now, we're still in the lead with two to go. We earned that."

Monmouth, which closes the regular-season on Sunday against Niagara at the MAC, leads Iona by one game. The Gaels will face Manhattan on Friday night at Draddy Gymnasium in what is still the MAAC's preeminent rivalry before hosting Canisius on Sunda

 

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Is first-place Monmouth experiencing a late-season lull?




A mostly-dominant MAAC slate has seen Monmouth have to survive twice, plus lose Iona, in the last 10 days. Is there a late-season lull happening? The Hawks lead the MAAC at 15-3, and are 23-6 overall


There hasn't been a team in college basketball that hasn't experienced some sort of lull this season, and the proof is at the top of the national polls.

The No. 1 spot in the Associated Press Top 25, currently occupied by Villanova, has changed five times since the preseason, while the top 5 has been a game of musical chairs. Losses at the top of the polls, the notion that it is a wide-open season and questions of consistency among perennial contenders have been ongoing storylines. Those things are not exclusive to the game's elite, though. Now, for the first time this season, is Monmouth experiencing its own lull?

For four months, the Hawks have been locked in and engaged every time they step on the floor, save for regrettable showings at Canisius on Dec. 4, at Army on Dec. 28, most of a trip to Manhattan on Jan. 21 and Iona on Friday night. As Monmouth kept winning, especially early as its national profile grew, every game it played felt like an event, and every game featured the opposition looking for a statement win. Still, the Hawks have shown up and have maintained a lead for much of the season atop the MAAC standings.

As the middle of February arrived, the last four games seem different. The Hawks needed a wild late comeback to survive at Rider on Feb. 12.They played well on Feb. 15 to defeat the Jaspers, then were outplayed in their worst showing of the season in a 17-point loss to Iona on Friday night. On Sunday, with its at-large hopes hanging by a thread, Monmouth pushed St. Peter's to overtime before winning, 82-75.




With a conference schedule that has seen Monmouth lead most of the way, highlighted by a slew of double-digit wins, what has changed in the past 10 days?

"It's February," Monmouth head coach King Rice said. "It's a drain, it's a grind, it's a fight every night. We're in first place for a long time, so everybody's game is different. Teams are hyped to play us; we're getting everyone's best shot. Iona is one of the best teams. They come in, they do that to people sometimes.

"We're fine, and this has been a long, long time that we've been on. We've been on since UCLA (in the season opener on Nov. 13). What team hasn't had a lull since Nov. 13? We've pretty much survived and have not had lulls until right now, and it's just a hard thing to do that the whole year. Twenty MAAC games is too many. It's too many games."

One obvious factor over the past few days has been the absence of Deon Jones. The redshirt senior forward broke his right hand on Feb. 15 against Manhattan. That gave little time for the Hawks to prepare for Iona and St. Peter's without one of their most versatile players. Replicating Jones and what he brings on both ends is difficult and certainly needs more attention than what the schedule allowed last week. The good news is that Monmouth is off until Friday, when it hosts Rider (9 p.m. ESPN2). That gives everyone a few days to take a breath and a couple of practice days to work out whatever kinks need to be worked out, minus Jones.


--ASBURY PARK PRESS