Next on the list, Monmouth University in West Long Branch, New Jersey. I will be in attendance Sunday, February 2 when they host the Rider Broncs at OceanFirst Bank Center.
Write Up for Game :
The Monmouth Hawks (12 – 8 , 6 – 3) are currently in 1st Place in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). That may surprise some since the last 4 YEARS have been dominated by the prominent Iona Gaels (5 – 10 , 3 – 5) who have won the Conference Tournament each of those years and represented the league during March. The Hawks looking to stay on top of the pack, need to get back to their winning ways, as they recently had a 4 game win streak snapped – losing to St. Peter’s on the road. It will be no small feat as Rider (12 – 8 , 6 – 4) is only .5 game behind and in 2nd Place. The MAAC is currently ranked 23rd of 32 for Conference RPI.
News and Stats :
The Hawks are coached by King Rice, who’s in his 9th Season at the helm. Rice is a former UNC Tar Heel who played under Dean Smith. As a senior, he captained his team to a Final Four appearance as the lead guard. He holds a record of 143 – 139 while coaching at Monmouth. His two best years were 15′ – 16′ & 16′ – 17′ seasons. When his team won 53 games and only suffered 15 losses. However, it hasn’t been enough, as Iona has impeded them from making the Big Dance. The Hawks are led by two talented Junior guards, #3 Deion Hammond and #0 Ray Salnave. Both guards score over 14ppg and shoot well from outside. The Hawks will rely heavily on Hammond and Salnave for offense, but will need the rest of the team to pitch in on defense, as Rider has four players who score more than 11ppg.
Arena / Campus :
OceanFirst Bank Center, built in 2009 for $57million, is a beautiful state of the art Arena. A preeminent staple in a subpar league it houses up to 4100 people. Their athletic facilities are not the only aesthetically appeasing buildings as the school is regularly ranked among the top for most beautiful in America. Only 1 mile from the beach it offers much more than academics to its students. Throw in the Big Apple and the City of Brotherly Love are just an hour in either direction and this seems like a great place to spend Four Years.
Gambling :
Coming off a loss with St. Francis College of Brooklyn, I will be doubling up on Monmouth giving 1.5pts. Hopefully a better result awaits.