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2010 MAAC Tournament Men's Bracket 2009-2010 Men's Basketball Media Guide
RIVERDALE, N.Y.- The Manhattan men's basketball team will make a run at the program's fourth MAAC Championship beginning on Friday with a First Round contest versus #8 Loyola at 7:30 p.m. in Albany, N.Y. at the Times Union Center. Fans can watch the game live at MAACSports.com or tune into Manhattan's free audio broadcast for the entire tournament at GoJaspers.com.
Series History
#9 Manhattan (10-19, 4-14)and #8 Loyola (13-16, 6-12) square off for the 48th time in series history. The Greyhounds won the two meetings during the regular-season picking up their first victory 62-56 on Feb. 7 at Draddy Gymnasium. In their last meeting in the regular-season finale on Sunday in Baltimore, Loyola earned a 71-59 win behind 24 points from junior guard Jamal Barney. Jaspers' senior guard Darryl Crawford led Manhattan with his third career double-double (21 points, 11 rebounds). Manhattan's last victory over Loyola was on Feb. 7, 2009 when the Jaspers took home a 72-65 triumph at Reitz Arena. Jaspers' center Laurence Jolicoeur led the way with 17 points. He nearly set a school record converting 15-of-15 free-throw attempts.
Of Note - Manhattan has defeated Loyola in 16 of their 23 meetings in the last 10 years... it is their first postseason meeting since 2005... this marks the second time in the last three years and the third time in the past decade Manhattan will play in the MAAC Tournament First Round... The Jaspers won their last three First Round contests, and most recently defeated Saint Peter's 73-59 on March 7, 2008.
Scouting Report
MANHATTAN
Manhattan is led by Rico Pickett (17.1 ppg) and Darryl Crawford (14.8 ppg) who each averaged double-figures during the regular-season. Pickett, a junior transfer from Alabama, was the MAAC's scoring leader for the majority of the regular-season and the sharp shooter ranked sixth in the conference with a 43.5% field goal mark. Pickett led all players in scoring during conference games with 19.7 points per game. Crawford, a senior from New York City, tallied three double-doubles during the season and led Manhattan in scoring 11 times. He is coming off a 21 point and career-high 11 rebound effort at Loyola on Sunday. Crawford is the Jaspers leader in rebounding (6.1 rpg) and assists (2.2 apg). Senior forward Brandon Adams helped anchor the Jaspers inside game during the regular-season averaging 6.9 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. Manhattan's defensive oriented system ranked in the top half of the conference in field goal pct. defense (41.1%), blocks (3.8 bpg) and steals (7.7 spg). The Jaspers also led the league in turnover margin (+3.1).
LOYOLA
Loyola finished the regular-season with a win on Sunday defeating Manhattan 71-59 to snap a four game losing streak. Loyola is led by senior guard Brett Harvey and junior guard Jamal Barney who are each averaging 12.6 points. Harvey led the MAAC in free-throw shooting during the regular-season converting 89.2% of his opportunities in 24 games. Barney, the MAAC's scoring leader in 2008-09 (18.1 ppg), finished out the regular-season strong being utilized in a reserve role. The Baltimore native averaged 20.0 points and 6.7 rebounds in Loyola's last three games and shot a hot 52.2% (23-44) from the field. Loyola is one of the top defensive teams in the MAAC ranking second with a 39.8 field goal pct. defense and third yielding 65.1 points per game. The Greyhounds are fourth in the conference averaging 4.4 blocks a contest. Loyola also led the MAAC through the regular-season shooting 69.9% at the free-throw line.