By: Dylan Fearon
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It had been a while since the Quinnipiac men’s basketball team came to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament and won a game. Four years to be exact.
That streak ended Thursday night, when Quinnipiac defeated Siena 67-58 in the first round.
But Friday will certainly be a bigger challenge when Quinnipiac faces the co-regular season champion Canisius, in the quarterfinals.
The Golden Griffins are 21-10 (15-3 MAAC) in Reggie Witherspoon’s second year as head coach. Led by the MAAC Co-Player of the Year Jermaine Crumpton and First Team All-MAAC selection Isaiah Reese, it’s going to be hard for Quinnipiac to stop Canisius’ offense.
“They’re extremely unselfish,” Marshall Haim, sports editor of the Canisius Griffin, said. “They have the 10th best assist-to-field goal ratio in the country (62.4%). Canisius has the ability to shoot from inside and outside which has worked to their advantage. They aren’t the biggest team but are extremely athletic.”
It’s been 22 years since Canisius won the MAAC Tournament and 17 since it was in the championship game, but the Griffs have their best team in a while and have won nine of 10 games heading into Friday. In order to punch a ticket to the NCAA Tournament, it’s going to have to win three games in Albany, and that journey starts with Quinnipiac.
“The guys have been praising about buying into Reggie Witherspoon’s system this season after starting with a 4-7 record and I believe that has been one of the key things, too,” Haim said.
Canisius swept Quinnipiac in the regular season, winning 82-74 in Hamden and 71-64 in west New York. In order for the Bobcats to win, Haim says they can’t turn the ball over.
“That might sound obvious, but Quinnipiac has turned the ball over way too much, especially against Canisius. 22 and 24 percent of its possessions were turnovers in their previous two meetings. If they’re able to keep Reese and Crumpton in check, probably limiting them to around 10 points each, that would also be the best way for QU to win. They also need to get solid scoring from their main guys, too.”
Tip from Times Union Center is set for 9:30 p.m.
