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Albany, NY - No. 11 Manhattan (10-21) will take on No. 6 Rider (17-14) on Thursday, March 2 at 9:00 pm in MAAC First Round action at the Times Union Center in a game that will be streamed on ESPN3. For all MAAC Tournament information click HERE.
TOP STORYLINES
#1 - Junior Zane Waterman was named to the All-MAAC Third Team and has notched at least 30 points in both games this year with Rider en route to averaging 32.5 ppg and 8.0 rpg against the Broncs.
#2 - Head Coach Steve Masiello holds an all-time record of 9-3 in MAAC Tournament play as his nine tourney victories are a school-record.
#3 - Seniors Rich Williams and Tyler Wilson are 7-1 in MAAC Tournament play and will be aiming for their third career title while Waterman and junior Calvin Crawford helped Williams & Wilson win it all in 2015.
QUICK HITS
* The Jaspers received the No. 11 seed after losing a coin flip with Marist as the teams exhausted every other potential tiebreaker.
* Manhattan is 40-28 (.588) in the months of February/March since Masiello took over prior to 2011-2012, including 10-7 (.588) in March.
* Last year, Crawford averaged 13.5 ppg and 6.0 rpg at the MAAC Tournament while Wilson checked in with averages of 7.0 ppg, 5.5 apg and 2.0 spg.
* The Jaspers will be the No. 11 seed for the first time in program history.
* The No. 11 seed holds a 2-3 all-time record in MAAC Tournament play, picking up wins in 2014 and 2015.
* Manhattan will play Rider at the MAAC Tourney for the third time, defeating the Broncs in the 1998 Quarterfinals before losing in the first round in 1999.
* The Jaspers will be seeking to be the first-ever double-digit seed to win the MAAC Title.
* Manhattan holds an all-time record of 19-14 in the Times Union Center during MAAC Tournament play, winning titles in 2015, 2004 and 1993.
* Waterman, who had 30 points at Rider before hitting for 20 at Iona, is averaging 24.3 ppg and 8.3 rpg over the last three games while shooting 54.1 percent from the floor, including 40.0 percent from deep, and 81.8 percent from the line.
* The Jaspers scored a season-high 53 first-half points at Rider, on 62.1 percent shooting (18-of-29), fueled by 23 from Waterman.
* Manhattan's first-half explosion was its best since notching 53 in the first half of a 95-82 victory over Saint Peter's on January 8, 2006.
* For the year, the Jaspers averaged 79.0 ppg against the Broncs while shooting 43.0 percent (49-of-114) from the floor, including 38.1 percent (16-of-42) from deep.
* In a 95-74 win over Quinnipiac, Manhattan set season-highs for points (95), FG % (.550), 3-pt % (.556), forced TOs (22), blocks (7) and points off TOs (30).
* The Jaspers improved to 38-7 when registering at least 10 steals - including 27-4 in the last four years - and 21-11 when forcing at least 20 turnovers under Masiello.
* Waterman paced three 20-point performers for Manhattan in the most-recent victory over QU with a game-high 26.
* Crawford (22) matched a career-high while freshman Aaron Walker Jr. (20) set a career-high against QU as the Jaspers had three players score at least 20 for the first time since a 97-87 victory over Canisius (2/10/08).
* The trio finished up with 68 points, on 23-of-40 shooting, including 9-of-14 from deep.
* Lost amidst the offensive explosion in the win over Quinnipiac was the Senior Night Festivities that recognized Tyler Wilson's contributions to the program. The lone Manhattan senior has helped the Jaspers to 67 wins, two MAAC Titles and two trips to the NCAA Tournament.
* Wilson, who has played in 128 straight games, handed out a season-high five assists against the Bobcats and after dishing out three Iona is now tied with former teammate and current coach Michael Alvarado, '14 for sixth place on program's all-time assist list (363).
* Waterman, who has started 58 straight games, delivered the game-winning plays against Marist and at Niagara and ranks among the MAAC leaders in scoring (14.5 ppg-13th), rebounding (7.1 rpg-6th), FG % (.480-12th) and FT % (.778-12th).
* In a one-point victory against the Red Foxes he scored 22 points - highlighted by draining the winning three pointer with 5.6 seconds to play - after converting the winning free throws and drawing the game-clinching charge in a one-point victory against the Purple Eagles in Niagara Falls.
* Waterman narrowly missed his first double-double of the year at Siena, finishing with 17 points and nine rebounds, after pulling down a career-high 15 caroms against Monmouth and has recorded double-figures on the glass twice this year and seven times over his career.
* Since the start of 2017, Waterman is averaging a team-best 17.1 ppg with 7.1 rpg over 18 games while scoring at least 20 points seven times.
* The North Carolina native's aforementioned 35 points in the most recent win over Rider was the most scored by a Masiello-coached player and the most by a Manhattan player since George Beamon '14 had 35 in an 84-81 win over Siena on February 13, 2011.
* Waterman also hit the 20-point mark this year at Monmouth (28), against Fairfield (26) and at Morgan State (23) and has eight 20-point performances this year and 10 for his career.
* Junior Zavier Turner added 23 points in the win over Rider as the Jaspers had two 20-point scorers for the first of three times this year.
* The Ball State transfer scored a game-high 27 points against MAAC Regular Season Champion Monmouth while going over 1,000 for his career before notching his 10th 20-point performance of the year and the 16th of his career at Siena.
* Turner ranks among the MAAC leaders in scoring (15.1 ppg-12th), free throw percentage (.880-2nd), assists (3.3 apg-10th) and three-point percentage (.401-11th) .
* Turner recorded 26 points in the victory at St. Francis Brooklyn, making good on 7-of-9 from long range, after scoring a career-high 32 points in the win at Detroit Mercy, including 10 in overtime, to go along with six assists. He also had 30 at Saint Peter's, 28 at Temple, 23 at Quinnipiac, 21 against Niagara and 20 vs. Iona.
* The duo of Turner and Waterman has notched four 30-point performances for Manhattan as the Jaspers had recorded just four over the previous three seasons.
* Crawford, who is averaging 16.0 ppg and 6.7 rpg over his last three games, hit on his first six shots at Rider en route to scoring 15 of the first 24 Manhattan points and finished 17 while pulling down a season-high nine rebounds after matching his career-high with 22 markers in the victory over Quinnipiac
* Crawford, who is is averaging 9.4 ppg, dropped 20 in the first win over Niagara before going for a team-high 18 in securing a season sweep of the Purple Eagles and has now hit for at least 20 points twice this year and five times in his career.
* Junior Thomas Capuano had 16 points at Siena and over his last five games is averaging 7.8 ppg while shooting 68.4 percent (13-of-19) from the field and 70.0 percent (7-of-10) from deep.
* Capuano scored a career-high 18 at Morgan State to go along with five rebounds, four assists and four steals.
* Walker Jr. is averaging 15.0 ppg, on 46.9 percent (15-of-32) shooting over his last three games, highlighted by a career-high 20 in the win over Quinnipiac before going for 10 at Rider and 15 at Iona.
* The Brooklyn native earned MAAC Rookie of the Week honors earlier this year after averaging 12.3 ppg and 3.3 rpg over three games during the week ending November 20 and is averaging 8.6 ppg.
* Freshman Na'Quan Council scored a career-high 14 points at Canisius and 13 in the win over Niagara while notching a career and team-high five steals on two occasions.
* Junior Ahmed Ismail scored a career-best 10 points at Canisius with 10 rebounds en route to earning the second Jasper double-double of the year and is averaging 4.9 rpg (20th MAAC) and 1.1 bpg (9th MAAC).
* The seven Manhattan newcomers are averaging a combined 38.3 ppg and 16.2 rpg while accounting for 54.1 percent of the offense and 45.8 percent of the rebounding.
* In the first meeting with Quinnipiac, junior Samson Usilo registered career-highs in points (12) and rebounds (11) while notching his first career double-double and was joined in double-figures on the boards by junior Zavier Peart, who added a career-high 10.
* Thanks to Usilo and Peart, the Jaspers placed two in double-figures on the boards for the first time since Emmy Andujar '15 (11) and Ashton Pankey '15 (10) did so in a 79-69 win over Iona in the 2015 MAAC Championship on March 9, 2015 as Manhattan posted a 44-36 advantage on the glass.
* Usilo then narrowly missed his second-straight double-double with a career-best matching 12 points and nine rebounds in the first win over Niagara.
* Wilson converted the momentum-changing three-point play that gave the Jaspers the lead for good in the victory over Fordham after drawing the game-clinching charge at Detroit Mercy.
* Manhattan registered its second one-point victory of the year against Marist and is 7-2 when limiting the opposition to less than 70 points.
* Over the last four games, the Jaspers have drawn 14 offensive fouls leading to 17 points off offensive fouls after notching just 12 offensive fouls and four points over the previous nine games.
* Manhattan used its 11th different starting line-up in the win over Marist with Turner, Capuano, Crawford, Waterman and Ismail garnering starts.
* The Jaspers limited Niagara to just 69 points in securing the season sweep while forcing 16 turnovers, recording 11 steals and giving Masiello his 100th career win.
* Manhattan concluded non-conference play with a 27-point come-from-behind victory over EKU thanks to recording a season-high 13 steals. The 13 thefts are the most since recording 13 in a win over Quinnipiac on March 1, 2015 while the 27-point margin of victory is the third-highest in Masiello's six years.
* The Jaspers finished non-conference play with a 5-6 record with their six losses coming to teams that have a combined 121-56 record (.684), as Bucknell, Winthrop, Florida State and West Virginia have all won 23 games and are predicted to make the NCAA Tournament in the latest installment of ESPN's Bracketology,
* Masiello has led Manhattan to a 102-92 (.526) record, including going 63-53 (.543) during MAAC play and 49-26 (.653) at Draddy Gym over his six seasons with three MAAC Title Game appearances, three postseason berths, two Metropolitan Coach of the Year honors and two 20-win campaigns. He has also 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 Title.
* Since returning to Riverdale, Masiello has guided the Jaspers 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 Titles and three 20-plus win seasons. All told, Masiello has been a member of four of Manhattan's five MAAC Championship teams and five of the school's 12 20-win seasons in recording a 185-128 record.
* In his 21st season as either a player or a coach, Masiello has a career collegiate record of 465-238, including 344-210 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.
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
• U.S. News & World Report ranks Manhattan 15th out of 138 in the Best Regional Universities (North) category of its 2016-17 Best Colleges list. This is the tenth year in a row the College has placed in the regional top 20. U.S. News & World Report also ranks Manhattan College as 8th among 52 regional universities that are attractive colleges for veteran students.
• Brookings ranks Manhattan College 9th out of more than 7,000 two and four-year schools in an analysis that examined how well schools prepare students for successful careers.
• Why is Manhattan College in the Bronx? Our campus was originally located in Manhattan at the intersection of 131st Street and Broadway. In 1923, Manhattan College moved to its present Riverdale location in order to accommodate a growing student body. But with more than 60 years of history established as Manhattan College, the institution decided to retain the name despite the geographic misnomer.
• 17 alumni are members of the prestigious National Academy of Engineering — an impressive number for an institution the size of Manhattan College.
• Manhattan is one of only 182 remaining colleges founded in the United States before the Civil War.
THE OPPONENT
Rider enters the MAAC Tournament having won three-straight games by an average of 15.3 ppg while notching 98.3 ppg during that time. Senior All-MAAC Third Team selections Jimmie Taylor (15.7 ppg, 5.0 rpg) and Kahlil Thomas (14.1 ppg, 8.9 rpg) pace the Broncs while MAAC All-Rookie Selection Stevie Jordan (11.5 ppg, 5.8 apg) runs the offense.
JIMMIE TAYLOR-THOMAS
Over two games against Manhattan, Taylor is averaging 22.0 ppg and 7.0 rpg while Thomas checks in with 21.0 ppg and 11.5 rpg.
EFFICIENCY
The Jaspers converted on a solid 38.1 percent (16-of-42) from long range and 81.5 percent (44-of-54) from the line this year against the Broncs and will need to continue that trend in the teams' first-round match-up.
60-POINT CLUB
The Jaspers are 3-0 this year when limiting teams to less than 60 points (EKU (54), SFBK (54) & Fordham (53) and are 38-4 under Masiello.
GLOBALLY SPEAKING
Manhattan boasts five foreign-born players in R. Williams (Jamaica), Ismail (Egypt), Usilo (Nigeria), Ojo (Nigeria) and freshman Oliver Ehrnvall (Sweden).
REMEMBERING FATHER HILL
At halftime, Manhattan College President Dr. Brennan O'Donnell and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Marianne Reilly honored Fr. George Hill, the College's longtime chaplain who passed away in September, as Father Hill's family was presented with a framed Jaspers' jersey. Masiello also is keeping a seat behind the bench vacant all season in honor of Father Hill with Manhattan basketball players are wearing memorial patches on the left shoulder of their jerseys in his honor.
THE MASIELLO WAY
Since Masiello took over the program in 2011-2012, Manhattan is 38-7 when notching 10 steals, including 27-4 over the last three years, and 21-11 when forcing at least 20 turnovers.
NOT SHABBY
Over the last three-plus years, the Jaspers are 49-11 when leading at the half, 26-9 when limiting teams to less than 40 percent shooting and 43-21 when forcing more turnovers than the opposition.
THE SENIOR
Wilson, the team's lone graduating scholarship senior, has helped the Jaspers to a 67-61 record - including 7-1 at the MAAC Tournament - during his four years with two MAAC titles and two trips to the NCAA Tournament.
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).
RICHARDS SELECTED IN NBA D-LEAGUE DRAFT
Shane 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.
111TH SEASON OF JASPERS BASKETBALL
In its 111th season, the Manhattan men's basketball program boasts a 1350-1209 overall record (285-307 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.
