Men's Basketball Battles Monmouth for MAAC Title

The Particulars
Saint Peter's (18-11, 14-6 MAAC) vs. Monmouth (21-12, 11-9 MAAC)
Date: Saturday, March 12, 2022 (4:00 PM)
Location: Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall (Atlantic City, N.J.)
Network: ESPNU

Tip-Off

• Riding a six-game winning streak, the Saint Peter's men's basketball team looks to punch a ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2010-11 in the MAAC Tournament Championship contest against Monmouth
• The Peacocks took down #7 Fairfield and #11 Quinnipiac to reach the title game while Monmouth defeated #5 Niagara and #9 Rider to clinch their spot in the championship bout.

Last Time Out

• For the first time since the 2010-11 season, the Peacocks haver clinched a spot in the MAAC Championship game after defeating Quinnipiac 64-52 in the semifinal Friday night.
• The Peacocks played stifling defense down the stretch, holding the Bobcats to just five second half field goals and pushed their win streak to six games, the longest since the 2016-17 season, as they advance to take on Monmouth in the title contest Saturday afternoon at 4:00 p.m.
• Junior Matthew Lee led the way offensively for SPU with 14 points while senior KC Ndefo added 13 points to go along with seven rebounds, three blocks and two assists.
• SPU improved its overall record to 18-11 in the win as they look to win the conference crown and clinch an auto-bid to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2010-11 season and the fourth time in program history.
• The Peacocks also won their fifth straight game by double digits which is also the longest such streak since the 2016-17 campaign that saw SPU win the CollegeInsider.com Tournament.
• After coming into the contest ranked 16th in the country in opponents' field goal percentage, SPU held Quinnipiac to just 33.3% from the floor to lower their season average to 38.8% which is now the 12th-best mark in the NCAA.

The Series

• All-time: Saint Peter's leads 30-16
• Streak: Saint Peter's (3)
• Last Saint Peter's Win: 2/25/22 (W, 70-65 @ Monmouth)
• Last Monmouth Win: 12/18/20 (L, 78-76 @ Monmouth)

Quick Hitters

• After nearly a month between games from Dec. 18 to Jan. 14, SPU has gone 15-5 in the 2022 calendar year to finish 14-6 in MAAC play in the regular season and earn the #2 seed in the MAAC Tournament.
• KC Ndefo, the MAAC Defensive Player of the Year heads into the contest averaging 11.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.6 blocks per game in MAAC contests this season. He was named Second Team All-MAAC earlier this week and is now the three-time defending MAAC Defensive Player of the Year.
• Daryl Banks III leads the Peacocks offensively overall on the season averaging 11.1 points per game this season. Banks has scored in double figures 18 times this season with 14 of those performances coming against MAAC opponents including in six of the last seven contests.
• SPU heads into the contest with one of the top defenses in the MAAC, leading the conference and ranking 20th in DI allowing just 62.0 points per game.
• After the win over Fairfield on Friday, Feb. 18, SPU won its 10th MAAC contest for the third consecutive season. It is the first time the Peacocks have won double-digit conference contests in three straight seasons since 1986-89.

Shot BlocKing

• The 2021-22 MAAC Preseason Player of the Year, Ndefo now has a program-best career total of 292 blocks, good for the fifth-most among active players in DI.
• In the home win over Quinnipiac on Friday, Feb. 4, Ndefo swatted 11 shots to set the single-game program record for blocks in a game. It was tied for the second-most blocked shots all-time in a MAAC game.
• After leading the country in blocks per game in 2020-21, Ndefo is atop the MAAC and is 14th in the country with 2.68 blocked shots per game this season.

Money From the Stripe

• Saint Peter's has two of the top free throw shooters in the MAAC in Doug Edert and Banks III. Edert is now the MAAC leader shooting 89.1 percent from the stripe this season while Banks is fourth shooting 84.7 percent from the line.
• From Nov. 27 to Jan. 26, Banks III made 34 straight free throws which is currently the fourth-longest streak in Division I this season.
• In total, the duo has missed just 20 free throws in 149 attempts headed into the contest.

Defense Wins Championships

• The Peacocks have allowed under 70 points in 18 of their last 21 games and hold a 17-5 record this season when allowing less than 70.
• Thus far this season, SPU leads the MAAC in scoring defense and opponents' field goal percentage and steals per game while ranking second in the conference in blocked shots per game and turnovers forced per game.
• The Peacocks currently rank 22nd in the NCAA in opponents' 3-point percentage and 11th in overall field goal percentage defense.

Balancing Act

• SPU has had one of the most balanced groups in the country this season and have had 23 consecutive games with at least eight different scorers.
• Offensively, nine different players have scored in double figures in a game this season.
• Of the 12 student-athletes who have seen action in a game this season, all 12 have at least one start. Additionally, all 12 are averaging at least 8.5 minutes per contest.

Threes Please

• As a team, SPU is ranked second in the MAAC shooting 35.3 percent from 3-point range as a team this season.
• Edert leads the way for the Peacocks and sits third in the conference shooting 41.7 percent from downtown on the year which would rank 18th in the country if he met the NCAA qualifying number of attempts.
• Banks III also sits in the top-15 in the MAAC shooting 35.7 percent from deep to rank 13th overall.

Crashing the Boards

• The Peacocks are one of the top rebounding teams in the MAAC, leading the league with a +3.6 rebounding margin this season.
• SPU has done a marvelous job on the offensive glass this season as they sit second in the conference and 80th in the country with 11.3 offensive rebounds per game.
• Positive results on the boards has been a strong indicator of success for the Peacocks this season as they have outrebounded their opponent in 11 of their 18 victories on the year.

Matching Up with Monmouth

• Monmouth comes into the contest with a 21-12 overall record and closed the regular season 11-9 record in MAAC play.
• The Hawks defeated #4 Niagara and #9 Rider  in the quarters and semis of the MAAC Tournament to advance to the final.
• Graduate student George Papas is the leading scorer for Monmouth averaging 15.2 points per contest. Papas finished the MAAC semifinal win over Niagara with 20 points and dropped 23 while going 6 for 9 from downtown in the second matchup between the Peacocks and Hawks this season.
• Both Walker Miller and Shavar Reynolds are strong offensive options as well averaging 14.6 and 14.2 points per game, respectively, this season. Statistically, the Hawks have three of the top-eight scorers in the MAAC 
• The championship contest will feature two of the best defensive teams in the MAAC as Monmouth heads into the matchup ranked second in the league in field goal percentage defense allowing opponents to shoot just 40.4% from the floor on the year.
• The Hawks can sometimes get in trouble with the officials in games, ranking 11th in the league in personal fouls per game. They also struggle shooting the 3-pointer outside of Papas, ranking eighth in the conference as a team in 3-point field goal percentage.
• This is the second meeting in the MAAC Tournament between the SPU and the Hawks with the first coming on March 1, 2018 when the Peacocks defeated the 60-58.

Up Next

• The winner of the title contest will clinch a spot in the NCAA Tournament. The time and date of the NCAA Tournament contest will be announced on Sunday at 6:00 p.m. on CBS.

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