Monmouth (10-6, 10-5) vs. Iona (7-5, 5-3)
Hynes Athletics Center, New Rochelle, New York; Saturday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Monmouth seeks revenge on Iona after dropping the first matchup in New Rochelle. The teams last played on Feb. 19, when the Gaels shot 55.4 percent from the field while limiting Monmouth to just 38.8 percent en route to the 91-86 victory.
SAVVY VETERANS: Senior leadership has been on display for both teams this year. Isaiah Ross, Asante Gist and Dylan van Eyck have combined to score 49 percent of Iona’s points this season. For Monmouth, Deion Hammond, Melik Martin, George Papas and Marcus McClary have collectively accounted for 63 percent of all Monmouth scoring, including 71 percent of the team’s points over its last five games.DOMINANT DEION: Hammond has connected on 35.6 percent of the 90 3-pointers he’s attempted and has made 10 of 31 over his last five games. He’s also made 74.2 percent of his free throws this season.
ASSIST DISTRIBUTION: The Hawks have recently used assists to create baskets more often than the Gaels. Iona has an assist on 45 of 80 field goals (56.3 percent) over its past three outings while Monmouth has assists on 45 of 73 field goals (61.6 percent) during its past three games.
DID YOU KNOW: Both Monmouth and Iona are ranked at the top of the MAAC when it comes to scoring. The Hawks are ranked first in the conference with 78.4 points per game while the Gaels are second at 73.6 per game.
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