It's not fair, but it's the norm for some of the nation's non-power leagues. Fight all season. Win the regular season championship. And you still might watch the Big Dance from home. The conference tourneys for these leagues ignite a nice pre-March Madness fire for the rest of us, but it leaves teams like Iona with that unshakable queasiness.
For the past two years, Iona has been the best team in the MAAC. But Manhattan has represented the league in the NCAA tourney in back-to-back seasons. A new format to the league tournament will give the top seeds an extra day between the quarterfinals and semis (top seeds had to win games on three consecutive days to secure the automatic bid with the old format). That switch should please everyone in the MAAC, right?
Well ...
"We voted on these and this [MAAC tourney scenario] one was third on our list," Manhattan head coach Steve Masiello told reporters after the change. "What happened to the other two?"
Masiello also suggested that the "elephant in the room" was that his peers couldn't handle his team's success (the Jaspers have appeared in the last three MAAC tourney title games) and rugged style. It's all a fun backdrop for what should be another competitive season. Iona is stacked, as usual. Monmouth and Rider should be title threats, too. Manhattan lost key players from last year, but you can't count a Masiello squad out this early.
Favorite
The elephant in the room for Iona coach Tim Cluess is the impact that the loss of David Laury, a nightly double-double threat and MAAC Player of the Year, will have on this year's squad. Cluess will ask Schadrac Casimir to do more, and his freshman campaign (89.5 percent from the charity stripe, 42 percent from the 3-point line) proved he's capable of more responsibility in an Iona offense that finished 38th in adjusted offensive efficiency a year ago, according to KenPom.com. But if the Gaels win the title and league tourney, it will be the result of sustained excellence by the league's best player, A.J. English (20.1 PPG, 39 percent from the 3 line). His numbers were spectacular, as he logged 91 percent of available minutes, per KenPom.com, but not as efficient as they could have been. English' is definitely the star Iona needs to break the drought and get back into the Big Dance.
Sleeper
Last season, Monmouth forced turnovers on 21.4 percent of its opponents' possessions, 38th in the country, per KenPom.com. The Hawks played respectably in nonconference losses against West Virginia (by 10 points), Maryland (five points) and SMU (12 points). They also defeated MAAC kingpin Iona by three in their first meeting and lost by one in their second regular season meeting -- one of the five outings in which Iona failed to score 70 or more last season. Justin Robinson (13.4 PPG) is an all-league athlete who made 79 percent of his free throws and 37 percent of his 3-pointers last season. Je'lon Hornbeak, a transfer who averaged 5.1 PPG for Oklahoma in 2013-14, and Micah Seaborn, once a top-25 recruit in the state of Texas, per RecruitingNation, are both available after sitting out last season for transfer rules and academic issues, respectively.
Team that could fall on its face
Manhattan has won the last two MAAC tourney championships, revoking what appeared to be certain trips to the Big Dance for Iona in back-to-back years. But Masiello's run could end in 2015-16. Emmy Andujar (16.3 PPG, 7.6 RPG) and Ashton Pankey (13.4 PPG, 6.7 RPG), the top frontcourt in the league and Manhattan's top scorers a year ago, are gone. The good news is that Rick Pitino disciple Masiello's system relies on defensive pressure (eighth nationally in defensive turnover percentage, per KenPom.com), not just one individual's efforts. Plus, Shane Richards (13.2 PPG) will anchor this squad. However, the Jaspers have lost three of their top four scorers. After two consecutive trips to the NCAA tourney and a 19-win season a year ago (13-7 in conference), Manhattan could tumble.
Top pro prospect
English, Iona
English is the favorite to win player of the year, and he has the most NBA potential. He's a 6-foot-4 combo guard gifted with a variety of offensive tools. He scored 27 in Iona's win over Wake Forest last season, 25 against a ranked Arkansas squad and 28 in a first-round NIT loss to Rhode Island. His father played in the NBA for a few seasons in the early 1990s before bouncing around overseas. English, who has been on the radar of NBA scouts for a few years, could follow the same path to the NBA after what should be another strong season with the Gaels.
Projected all-conference team
G: Schadrac Casimir, Iona
G: A.J. English, Iona
G: Teddy Okereafor, Rider Broncs
G: Justin Robinson, Monmouth
G: Marquis Wright, Siena Saints