Tempo-free MAAC: Who Else Is Playing Opening Night?

This weekend didn’t do a great job figuring out one thing, we still don’t know what team will be joining Siena, Marist and St. Peter’s on opening night of the MAAC tournament in Springfield.

The best bet is probably Manhattan, but after beating Rider is it possible the Jaspers could go on a run? Maybe. The Jaspers have been the second unluckiest team in the MAAC this season. There are eight games left in the regular season to help us figure it out.

Tempo-free Standings:

1. Niagara: +0.11
2. Iona: +0.10
3. Canisius: +0.08
4. Loyola (MD): +0.07
5. Fairfield: +0.05
6. Rider: +0.02
7. Manhattan: +0.01
8. Siena: -0.14
9. Marist: -0.14
10. St. Peter’s: -0.16

Best Offense:

1. Iona: 1.12 points scored per possession
2. Niagara: 1.10
3. Canisius: 1.05

Worst Offense:

1. St. Peter’s: 0.89
2. Siena: 0.92
3. Rider: 0.95

Best Defense:

1. Fairfield: 0.93 points allowed per possession
2. Rider: 0.93
3. Manhattan: 0.96

Worst Defense:

1. Marist: 1.11
2. Siena: 1.07
3. St. Peter’s: 1.05

Rider’s struggling offense is holding back the Broncs from becoming a true title contender in the MAAC and one of the reasons I’m worried about them finishing at the top of the standings.

Luckiest:

1. Siena: 1.38 wins above expected
2. Niagara: 1.26
3. Iona: 0.61

Unluckiest:

1. Fairfield: 2.56 wins below expected
2. Manhattan: 1.29
3. Canisius: 1.07

As Fairfield moves into the much easier part of its MAAC schedule the Stags should be able to get enough wins to get back to around their expected results. It’s worth noting that Loyola (MD) is almost exactly at its expectation after losing to Iona on Sunday afternoon.