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Riverdale, NY - Manhattan (0-1) will host Winthrop (1-0) in the ESPN College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon on Tuesday, November 15 with tip slated for 8:45 am on ESPN2.
TOP STORYLINES
#1 - The Winthrop game features complimentary admission to all fans with free coffee to be provided to all as part of the #JavaWithTheJaspers promotion.
#2 - The Jaspers are also playing in the NIT Season Tip-Off for the sixth time in program history and have advanced to postseason play at the conclusion of each of the previous five years when playing in the event
#3 - This will be the second of a season-opening four-game stretch that will see Manhattan play a team that either won 20 games or advanced to the postseason last year.
TWITTER HASHTAGS FOR THE GAME
#JavaWithTheJaspers
#OneManhattan
#JasperNation
QUICK HITS
* Tuesday Morning's match-up also has been designated as has also been designated with a theme of “#OneManhattan.” Throughout the game, former Manhattan Men's Basketball Coaches, Jasper alumni and current Manhattan employees will share what it means to be a Jasper on the video boards.
* Manhattan is playing in the ESPN College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon for the second time, last taking part in a 77-68 overtime loss to UMass on Nov. 18, 2014.
* Tuesday's game is the first of four games for the Jaspers as part of the NIT Season Tip-Off event.
* Manhattan last played in NIT Season Tip-Off in 2011-2012, defeating Brown and Fresno State.
* DYK? Each year that the Jaspers have participated in the event they have advanced to postseason play.
* Manhattan will also travel to Detroit, Temple and West Virginia as part of the tip-off event.
* This past Friday, Manhattan dropped a 76-64 decision to Bucknell in a game that featured six student-athletes making their Jasper debuts.
* Thomas Capuano scored 11 points while pacing Manhattan in scoring for the first time in his career. The sophomore also handed out a career-high five assists while recording three steals.
* Junior Zavier Turner added 10 points with classmate Ahmed Ismail registering nine points and a game-high nine rebounds.
* Freshmen Aaron Walker had eight points and six rebounds while fellow rookie Na'Quan Council scored eight points.
* All told, the six Jasper newcomers combined for 37 points and 25 rebounds.
* Manhattan grabbed 45 rebounds, fueled by 19 offensive caroms, which are the most by the Jaspers in a game since the 2014-2015 season.
* Last year, Manhattan ranked last in the MAAC in rebounding (29.5) & offensive rebounding (7.8).
* The Jaspers turned the ball over 24 times against Bucknell, matching their season-high from last season.
* Junior Zane Waterman started for the 28th straight game at Bucknell, collecting seven points and seven rebounds.
* Classmate Samson Usilo made his much-anticipated debut after missing the past two years, playing nine minutes and grabbing two boards.
* Senior Tyler Wilson had one assist and how has 309 for his career, ranking 10th all-time. With five more helpers he will match former teammate RaShawn Stores (314) for ninth.
* Head Coach Steve Masiello has led Manhattan to a 92-72 (.561) record, including going 58-38 (.604) during MAAC play, over the last five seasons with three MAAC Title Game appearances, three postseason berths, two Metropolitan Coach of the Year honors and two 20-win campaigns.
* At Draddy Gymnasium, Masiello is 42-19 (.689), including 7-6 (.538) during non-conference play, and is 3-2 in home openers.
* He has participated in the NCAA Tournament in 13 of his 20 seasons as a player or coach, including being a part of eight conference champions and one National Championship.
* Masiello has also been a part of four of the Jaspers' five MAAC Championships and five 20-win campaigns during his nine full years in Riverdale (Assistant & HC).
* Manhattan, which recorded 10 steals in the opener at Bucknell, ranked second in the MAAC and 36th nationally a year ago with 7.7 thefts per game. The Jaspers are 23-3 when hitting the standard over the last three years and 34-6 during the Masiello era.
* Manhattan was also 13th nationally with 15.8 forced turnovers per game a year ago while forcing the opposition into at least 20 miscues five times and was third in the MAAC (76th NCAA) with a +1.6 turnover margin. During the Masiello era, the Jaspers are 20-11 when turning the opposition over at least 20 times.
* Manhattan returns eight letterwinners, including three starters, that accounted for 62.6 percent of the Jaspers' scoring (1,334 points) and 75.7 percent of their rebounding (693 rebounds) while welcoming seven newcomers.
* Manhattan was slated to finish sixth in the annual preseason MAAC Coaches Poll with senior Rich Williams earning All-MAAC Second Team honors.
* Wilson and Wilson are the lone seniors as the duo have helped the Jaspers to a 57-41 record, two MAAC titles, two trips to the NCAA Tournament and a MAAC-best 7-1 conference tourney record.
* Williams averaged 14.8 ppg and a team-best 6.0 rpg last year, highlighted by seven 20-plus point performances and three double-doubles. Additionally, he raised both his scoring (+9.3 ppg) and rebounding (+4.5 rpg) numbers and took his game to another level at the MAAC Tournament, averaging a team-leading 21.0 ppg.
* Wilson finished second in the MAAC with 5.2 assists per game while also ranking third in assist/turnover ratio (2.0) and fifth in steals (1.5 spg). He dished out at least seven assists 11 times while becoming the first Jasper notch double-figures in assists in 15 years, doing so twice, while his 161 total assists rank third in the Manhattan single-season annals.
* Waterman and junior Calvin Crawford each posted breakout campaigns a year. Waterman ranked among the league leaders in scoring (11.0 ppg-27th), rebounding (6.0 rpg-12th) and field goal percentage (.492-8th). Crawford, meanwhile, averaged 10.8 ppg and scored 20 points in a 78-71 win over Monmouth en route to accruing MAAC Player of the Week accolades.
* The trio of Williams, Waterman and Crawford combined to account for all 10 double-digit rebounding performances by Manhattan a year ago and all eight double-doubles.
* The Jaspers also welcome back Usilo, Capuano (5.1 ppg, 1.7 rpg), sophomore Ak Ojo (1.2 ppg, 2.4 rpg), classmate Matt Maloney (0.5 ppg, 0.3 rpg) and Usilo (DNP).
* Joining the fray this year are senior Sky Williams, Turner, Ismail, junior Zavier Peart, Council, freshman Oliver Ehrnvall and Walker Jr.
* Thanks to the influx of talent, Manhattan now boasts five foreign-born players in R. Williams (Jamaica), Ismail (Egypt), Usilo (Nigeria), Ojo (Nigeria) and Ehrnvall (Sweden).
* The Jaspers graduated Shane Richards and Stores from last year's squad, with the duo helping Manhattan to three MAAC title games, two titles and 71 total wins.
* Richards was recently selected in the Second Round of the NBA D-League Draft by the Erie BayHawks before being traded to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers and is the second Jasper in the last three years to be drafted by the NBADL, joining 2014 MAAC Tournament MVP George Beamon.
* Richards earned All-MAAC First Team honors a year ago and graduated eighth in school history with 1,472 points, fueled by a school-record 311 three pointers. He converted on at least four threes on 35 occasions with the Jaspers going 25-10 during that time.
* Williams is the lone returning Manhattan player to have record at least four triples in a game as a Jasper, having done so twice in his career.
* In exhibition action, the Jaspers posted a 99-70 victory over Nyack thanks to forcing 25 miscues that led to a 40-12 advantage in points off turnovers.
* Tuesday's game against Winthrop is one of 11 non-conference games for Manhattan against 11 different conferences (ACC, American, Atlantic 10, Big South, Big 12, CAA, Horizon, MEAC, NEC, OVC, Patriot). The Jaspers will also play in six states: NY (5), PA (2), FL (1), MD (1), MI (1), WV (1)
* Included in the 11-game schedule are six games (Temple (NCAA), WVU (NCAA), Bucknell (NIT), Florida State (NIT), Hofstra (NIT) and Fordham (CIT)) against teams that qualified for the postseason a year ago.
* The Jaspers will also participate in the 2016 Orange Bowl Classic in Sunrise, FL against Florida State on Saturday, December 17 at 1:30 pm.
* Since returning to Riverdale, Masiello has led Manhattan to a pair of MAAC Titles as well as a pair of 20-plus win campaigns. In his first tenure, he was a part of two MAAC Championships and three 20-plus win seasons. All told, Masiello has been a member of four of the five Jaspers' MAAC Championship teams and five of the school's 12 20-win seasons in accruing a 175-108 record.
* In his 21st season as either a player or a coach, Masiello has a career collegiate record of 455-218, including 334-190 on the sidelines, with one National Title, two National Championship Game appearances, two Final Fours, six Elite Eight berths, eight conference championships, 13 NCAA Tournament appearances and 15 20-win seasons.
* Joining the staff this year is assistant coach Shawn Finney, who spent the last six years at UCF. Finney coached Masiello and Kentucky before giving him his first job at Tulane.
FAMILY TIES
Former Maryland and NBA standout Len Elmore, father of Manhattan Director of MBB Operations Stephen Elmore, will serve as the color analyst for Tuesday's game against Winthrop.
THE GAME
Manhattan will be facing a Winthrop team that returns two of its top three scorers from last year's squad that won 23 games.
KEY MATCH-UPS
1. Pressure: Last year, the Eagles turned the ball over an average of just 12.5 times each time out and 11 times in its opener. The Jaspers will need to apply their trademark pressure to take Winthrop out of its comfort zone.
2. The Glass: Manhattan did an outstanding job on the glass a game ago but will need to improve its efficiency on second-chance situations, after recording just 16 points off 19 offensive rebounds at Bucknell.
3. Turnovers: The Jaspers turned the ball over 24 times in their opener and will have to protect the ball while playing crisp offense.
NOT SHABBY
Over the last three years, Manhattan is 45-6 when leading at the half, 21-7 when limiting teams to less than 40 percent shooting, 26-10 when winning the battle of the boards and 38-18 when forcing more turnovers than the opposition. Additionally, since the start of 2014-2015 the Jaspers are also 27-3 when leading with five minutes to play.
MASIELLO AT MANHATTAN
Masiello has been a part of four of Jaspers' five MAAC Championships while helping lead the Jaspers to a 175-108 record in 10 seasons in this his 10th season in Riverdale.
THE WORLDWIDE LEADER
Manhattan is slated to appear on the ESPN family of networks 10 times during the 2016-2017 season, including seven during MAAC play, once on Fox Sports and once on Root Sports. The Jaspers will take on Winthrop on Tuesday on ESPN2 starting at 8:45 am.
NIGERIA REVIVAL
Ojo and Usilo both return to action this year after missing the bulk of the game action a year ago.
NEWCOMERS
The Jaspers welcome seven student-athletes to the fold this season S. Williams (Tuckahoe), Turner (Ball State), Ismail (Colby CC/Egypt), Peart (Eastern Florida State), Council (Scotland Performance (PA)), Ehrnvall (Swedan), Walker Jr. (Cardozo).
NEW YORK STATE OF MIND
Seven of Manhattan's 15 student-athletes - R. Williams, S. Williams, Wilson, Crawford, Capuano, Maloney, Walker Jr. - hail from the state of New York.
REPRESENTING THE USA
The Jaspers also boast players from Florida (Peart), New Jersey (Council), North Carolina (Waterman).
INTERESTING
Masiello was named at one of the “25 Most Intriguing Coaches” in college basketball by Yahoo and has twice been named as the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association Coach of the Year (2012 | 2014).
MEET THE STAFF
Masiello is joined on the bench by Matt Grady, Shawn Finney, Branden McDonald, Stephen Elmore and Michael Alvarado. Grady is in his sixth year as an associate head coach with Finney arriving in Riverdale after spending the last six years at UCF. McDonald is in his second year while Elmore begins his third year with Alvarado returning for his second season.
111TH SEASON OF JASPERS BASKETBALL
In its 111th season, the Manhattan men's basketball program boasts a 1340-1189 overall record (280-292 MAAC). The Jaspers' storied men's basketball team was established in 1904-05 and took a two-year hiatus during the 1943-44 and 1944-45 season due to World War II.
WHAT'S A JASPER?
The unique nickname of Manhattan College's athletic teams, the Jaspers, comes from one of the College's most memorable figures, Brother Jasper of Mary, F.S.C., who served as the College's athletic director in the late 19th century. One of the greatest achievements of Brother Jasper was that he brought the then little-known sport of baseball to Manhattan College and became the team's first coach. Since Brother Jasper was also the Prefect of Discipline, he supervised the student fans at Manhattan baseball games while also directing the team itself. During one particularly warm and humid day when the college was playing a semi-pro baseball team called the Metropolitans, Brother Jasper noticed the Manhattan students were becoming restless and edgy with the team coming to bat in the seventh inning of a close game. To relieve the tension, Brother Jasper called timeout and told the students to stand up and stretch for a few minutes until the game resumed. Since the College annually played the New York Giants in the late 1880's and into the 1890's at the old Polo Grounds, the Manhattan College practice of the “seventh inning stretch” spread into the major leagues, where it has now become a time-honored custom practiced by millions of fans annually.
THIS IS MANHATTAN COLLEGE
• Manhattan College is one of 276 institutions in the United States with a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the nation's oldest and most widely known academic honor society. Phi Beta Kappa celebrates and advocates excellence in the liberal arts and sciences.
• All three of the College's professional programs — business, education and health, and engineering — are nationally accredited.
• The five undergraduate engineering programs — chemical, civil, computer, electrical and mechanical — are accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET, Inc).
• The School of Education is accredited by the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC).
• The School of Business is one of 555 institutions in the world to be accredited by The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) International.
• Seventeen alumni are members of the prestigious National Academy of Engineering — an impressive number for an institution the size of Manhattan College.
• Alumni include Rudy Giuliani '65, former mayor of New York City; James Patterson '69, best-selling author; and Raymond Kelly '63, former commissioner of the NYPD.
• Manhattan is one of only 182 remaining colleges founded in the United States before the Civil War.
UP NEXT
The Jaspers host Hofstra on Friday, November 18 at 7:00 pm.
