this story appeared before Monmouth whacked Fairfield:
WEST LONG BRANCH -- Monmouth University knows exactly where it will be in 11 days.
The Hawks (23-5, 15-2 MAAC) claimed a second straight MAAC regular-season title on Friday evening when they won their 13th straight game, 93-75, over Niagara. With that, Monmouth is booked as the No. 1 seed for a MAAC Tournament quarterfinal on March 3 at 7 p.m. Before that, the Hawks will head to Fairfield on Tuesday evening (7 p.m., ESPN3), host Siena for Senior Night on Friday, and close the regular season at Iona on Sunday.
As Monmouth readies for March, Seaborn deals with knee issue
Monmouth obviously cannot improve on clinching the 1-seed, so everything through that quarterfinal is in stone. With nowhere to go in the standings, will the team's approach change with three regular-season games left?
"We are trying to win the next game, we got Fairfield next on Tuesday," Monmouth head coach King Rice said. "We know they're playing for a lot. The last time we played them, we beat them by a bunch of points (Jan. 22, 91-49). They're kids, so they're going to want to bounce back. Sydney (Johnson) is a really good coach, they're hard to play in their building, or they'll put a 40-banger on us."
If that wasn't clear enough, no, nothing is changing. Monmouth taking its foot off the gas now, off two dominant wins at Siena and over the Purple Eagles, would be counterproductive. Taking it easy now would only mean having to turn it back on at the MAAC Tournament, where a loss means no NCAA Tournament for a program that has won 51 games and counting since the beginning of last season.
Many punters I read think Monmouth will ease up and cut back the starters' playing time, to rest for the MAAC Tournament...This very incorrect notion out there will continue to give us excellent lines to bet into, both tonight and vs Iona.
After that Fairfield game I read today:
If there is still room for Monmouth to improve, then next weekend's MAAC Tournament could prove interesting as the Hawks head to Times Union Center as the No. 1 seed. For now, a work in progress continued at the expense of Fairfield on Tuesday evening. Justin Robinson, Je'lon Hornbeak and Micah Seaborn combined for 51 points, 15 assists and nine rebounds in an 82-62 Hawks win in front of 1,861 at Webster Bank Arena.
Monmouth (24-5, 16-2) has won 14 straight games dating to a Jan. 2 loss at St. Peter's. With Siena and Iona remaining on the schedule, the Hawks are two wins away from becoming the first MAAC team to win 18 games since the 11-team conference went to 20 games for the 2013-14 season.
"Who knows if we're peaking," Rice said. "Here's what I can tell you. We can play better. Je'lon is starting to play, it's ridiculous"
WEST LONG BRANCH -- Monmouth University knows exactly where it will be in 11 days.
The Hawks (23-5, 15-2 MAAC) claimed a second straight MAAC regular-season title on Friday evening when they won their 13th straight game, 93-75, over Niagara. With that, Monmouth is booked as the No. 1 seed for a MAAC Tournament quarterfinal on March 3 at 7 p.m. Before that, the Hawks will head to Fairfield on Tuesday evening (7 p.m., ESPN3), host Siena for Senior Night on Friday, and close the regular season at Iona on Sunday.
As Monmouth readies for March, Seaborn deals with knee issue
Monmouth obviously cannot improve on clinching the 1-seed, so everything through that quarterfinal is in stone. With nowhere to go in the standings, will the team's approach change with three regular-season games left?
"We are trying to win the next game, we got Fairfield next on Tuesday," Monmouth head coach King Rice said. "We know they're playing for a lot. The last time we played them, we beat them by a bunch of points (Jan. 22, 91-49). They're kids, so they're going to want to bounce back. Sydney (Johnson) is a really good coach, they're hard to play in their building, or they'll put a 40-banger on us."
If that wasn't clear enough, no, nothing is changing. Monmouth taking its foot off the gas now, off two dominant wins at Siena and over the Purple Eagles, would be counterproductive. Taking it easy now would only mean having to turn it back on at the MAAC Tournament, where a loss means no NCAA Tournament for a program that has won 51 games and counting since the beginning of last season.
Many punters I read think Monmouth will ease up and cut back the starters' playing time, to rest for the MAAC Tournament...This very incorrect notion out there will continue to give us excellent lines to bet into, both tonight and vs Iona.
After that Fairfield game I read today:
If there is still room for Monmouth to improve, then next weekend's MAAC Tournament could prove interesting as the Hawks head to Times Union Center as the No. 1 seed. For now, a work in progress continued at the expense of Fairfield on Tuesday evening. Justin Robinson, Je'lon Hornbeak and Micah Seaborn combined for 51 points, 15 assists and nine rebounds in an 82-62 Hawks win in front of 1,861 at Webster Bank Arena.
Monmouth (24-5, 16-2) has won 14 straight games dating to a Jan. 2 loss at St. Peter's. With Siena and Iona remaining on the schedule, the Hawks are two wins away from becoming the first MAAC team to win 18 games since the 11-team conference went to 20 games for the 2013-14 season.
"Who knows if we're peaking," Rice said. "Here's what I can tell you. We can play better. Je'lon is starting to play, it's ridiculous"
