For all of the posts in this series, visit the 2018-19 Non-Conference Scheduling Hub.

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Ranking The Teams

Since Fran McCaffrey’s Siena squad earned a nine seed all the way back in 2009, no MAAC team has earned a seed higher than 13th. Remember that the Iona squad that was selected for an at-large in 2012 ended up slotted as a 14, thanks to the need to keep First Four opponent BYU in a Friday/Sunday pod and regional. Last season, the Gaels, who won the MAAC Tournament as the four seed, were assigned a 15 seed. Over the last decade, only Manhattan’s 2015 First Four squad has been seeded lower.

With Iona dropping out of the four-year ranking’s top 100 this season—and declines by Monmouth, Saint Peter’s, Siena, and Manhattan—the MAAC dropped from 18th to 19th in the conference ranking. However, Rider, Canisius, Fairfield, and Niagara all saw their fortunes improve, and with those squads expected to compete for the conference crown this season, the MAAC’s representative is more than likely find itself on line 14 or 15 of the bracket.

And with KenPom‘s preseason rankings projecting that Rider, the preseason favorite of most, will jump into that metric’s top 100, the MAAC’s seeding prospects should be in the 12-13 range—provided the Broncs are the conference’s auto bid winner, that is. Unfortunately for the conference, the majority of its teams are expected to take at least a small step back, which could complicate the seeding picture for any other potential automatic qualifier.

Ranking The Schedules

Heading into 2018, the majority of the MAAC’s league average schedule rankings fall within the bottom quarter of Division I, a slight step back when compared to last season. And while Canisius and Monmouth have slates that rank within the top 30 or 40 consistently across the categories, five league members have bottom 100 slates that weigh the conference’s numbers down.

Note: The number of asterisks (*) represent the number of pending games on a team’s schedule.

Who Over- And Under-Scheduled?

While MAAC under-schedulers lead over-schedulers by a seven-to-four margin, the majority of the gaps are of 50 spots or fewer, so they’re relatively reasonable. However, Rider’s negative scheduling gap of 53 spots is a disappointment for a potential top 100 team, while Canisius’s gap of 137 might lead the Golden Griffins to some early struggles in a season where they hope to contend.

For the second season in a row, the average MAAC team will play four home non-conference games, thanks in no small part to the conference’s restriction on scheduling non-D1 opponents. And with the MAAC’s total of Power 7 road games dropping by two this season, the overwhelming majority of its non-league opponents will come from fellow mid-major loops.

Indeed, the top six conferences appearing on MAAC schedules are fellow Eastern mid-major leagues, with the first power conference, the ACC, sitting in seventh place. Just three Division I leagues are absent from MAAC slates this season, though the OVC could still feature in tournament play. Last season, only the Summit League was missing.

Albany will meet five MAAC opponents in 2018, with America East rival New Hampshire and Hofstra from the CAA slated to play four league members. Thanks in part to a home-and-home series against Stony Brook, Quinnipiac has five scheduled games against the America East, while Saint Peter’s has four NEC non-conference games on its slate.

MAAC teams will play just two top 100 home games (according to the four-year ranking), with just one of those games qualifying for Quad 2 (top 75) status. Compare that with the 30 Quad 1 and 2 road games league members will play, with 14 of those featuring top 75 (Quad 1 for road games) squads. Note that both of the Quad 1 neutral-site win opportunities come in exempt tournaments, as Canisius will meet Villanova in the AdvoCare Invitational quarterfinals and Monmouth takes on West Virginia at the same stage of the Myrtle Beach Invitational.

Team-By-Team Breakdown

Teams are listed in order of their Super Average Schedule Ranking. The number in front of an opponent name is its Four-Year Ranking. Logos via SportsLogos.net.

28. Canisius Golden Griffins

Record against returning opponents from 2017-18: 2 wins (Elon, @Robert Morris) and 3 losses (@Buffalo, St. Bonaventure, @Albany)

Reggie Witherspoon’s second season in charge at the Koessler Athletic Center was a success, as the Golden Griffins tied with Rider for the MAAC crown and participated in the CBI. However, Canisius finished just below .500 in non-conference play, a result likely to be duplicated in 2018-19. Not only will the Griffins meet Villanova in the AdvoCare event’s first round, they’ll travel to Florida State for a non-bracketed game tied to the event. Plus, Canisius will play difficult road games at Bucknell and St. Bonaventure. At least they get MAC champ/favorite Buffalo at home.

30. Monmouth Hawks

Record against returning opponents from 2017-18: 4 wins (Bucknell, @Lehigh, Albany, @Yale) and 4 losses (Penn, Hofstra, Kentucky (N), @Princeton)

Last season, King Rice’s Hawks saw a three-season streak of winning basketball end, thanks to a difficult 11-20 campaign that saw Monmouth win just four of its eight non-conference games. Things may not get better in November and December of 2018 either, thanks to a lack of home games and the Hawks’ participation in the Myrtle Beach Invitational. While that event might not have the most difficult field from top-to-bottom, Monmouth drew the toughest opponent, West Virginia, right out of the gate. Making matters worse for Rice’s squad, six of the seven true road games (all except for the trip to Colgate) are likely losses, with the matchup at Kentucky looking especially rough.

133. Iona Gaels

Record against returning opponents from 2017-18: 3 wins (@Ohio, Yale, @Holy Cross) and 1 loss (@Albany)

The Gaels turned it on very late to qualify for their third straight NCAA Tournament, as Tim Cluess’ squad only managed to break even against last season’s non-conference schedule. Amazingly, Iona could do better against 2018-19’s 11-game lineup, which features just one Power 7 road game—at Providence—even though the Gaels will play just two home games before conference play tips off. While Iona is participating in an exempt event this season, they’re only playing 11 non-conference games, not 12 or 13. The Gaels were a very late addition to the Main Event, so they won’t play any on-campus games as part of it. Iona’s rumored participation in the Vancouver Showcase, run by the same company, fell apart with that event’s struggles to build a secondary bracket.

181. Fairfield Stags

Record against returning opponents from 2017-18: 2 wins (LIU Brooklyn (N), New Hampshire) and 3 losses (@Purdue, @Wagner, Old Dominion)

For the second season in a row, the Stags finished just a game over .500, with their final loss to Iona in the MAAC final preventing Fairfield from clinching its first NCAA bid since 1997. The Stags broke even in non-league play in 2017, though they played five home games, two more than what this schedule offers. However, with just two Power 7 road games on the schedule and three winnable games at Seattle‘s exempt round-robin over Thanksgiving, Fairfield could get itself to another .500 start—at a minimum—despite the increased number of games away from Connecticut.

231. Rider Broncs

Record against returning opponents from 2017-18: 1 win (Wagner) and 2 losses (@Robert Morris, Hofstra)

Kevin Baggett’s Broncs shared the MAAC regular season title with Canisius and ended up in the NIT after they lost early in the conference tournament in Albany. Rider went 7-5 in its non-conference games last November and December with a similar schedule to this one. Sure, the Broncs will play one fewer home game this time around, but they’ll head to Vegas once again for their exempt event—the winnable Las Vegas Classic. Plus, even though Rider will play three power road games, only trips to West Virginia and UCF look like sure defeats. Traditional Atlantic 10 power VCU will provide the Broncs with another late test before MAAC play begins.

246. Siena Saints

Record against returning opponents from 2017-18: 3 wins (Hofstra, Robert Morris, Holy Cross) and 3 losses (@College of Charleston, @Lehigh, St. Bonaventure)

Former Mount St. Mary’s head coach Jamion Christian replaced Jimmy Patson after an 8-24 season full of controversy. Half of the Saints’ 2017-18 wins came during non-conference play, and with six true home games and a manageable bracket at the Hall of Fame Tip-Off event at the Mohegan Sun, Christian’s squad could get off to a better start this time around. However, visits from Ivy favorite Harvard and CAA champ College of Charleston and the top four road games all threaten to limit Siena’s ceiling.

273. Manhattan Jaspers

Record against returning opponents from 2017-18: 2 wins (St. Francis Brooklyn, Hofstra (N)) and 1 loss (@Fordham)

Since going to consecutive NCAAs in 2014 and 2015, the Jaspers have failed to pass the .500 mark, though Steve Masiello’s squad recorded a four-win improvement a season ago. However, Manhattan didn’t get off to the strongest start, going just 5-7 against a relatively easy non-conference slate. The Jaspers will leave the Tri-State area just three times during this year’s version, as they’ll visit history-making UMBC, Northern Kentucky (for the Norse’s exempt tournament), and George Washington on their limited travels. Three local rivals, meanwhile, head to Riverdale, including Bronx rival Fordham.

298. Saint Peter’s Peacocks

Record against returning opponents from 2017-18: 4 wins (@Lafayette, Fairleigh Dickinson, LIU Brooklyn (N), St. Francis Brooklyn) and 0 losses

In 2017-19 John Dunne’s Peacocks won just 14 games for the second time in three years, with those struggles sandwiching 2016-17’s 23-13 campaign. Last season, the Peacocks managed to win more than they lost in non-conference play, and with nine games against teams ranked outside of the four-year ranking’s top 250, Saint Peter’s could do even better this season. And that’s even considering the three road games on the schedule against 2018 NCAA teams.

309. Quinnipiac Bobcats

Record against returning opponents from 2017-18: 2 wins (Dartmouth, UMass) and 3 losses (@Lafayette, @Hartford, @Drexel)

In his first season in charge in Hamden, Conn., Baker Dunleavy’s Bobcats went 12-21, with just three of those victories coming before MAAC play arrived in late December. But with four sub-300 opponents and another three squads from outside the top 200, Quinnipiac will have chances to get off to a better start this season. Unfortunately, the Bobcats couldn’t have picked a worse opponent for their lone Power 7 game of the season, as they’ll open their season against the defending national champs.

316. Niagara Purple Eagles

Record against returning opponents from 2017-18: 6 wins (@St. Bonaventure, Army West Point, @New Hampshire, @Norfolk State, Cleveland State, @Cornell) and 1 loss (St. Francis (Pa.))

Last season, Purple Eagles recorded their first winning record in five years under Chris Casey’s tutelage, with their 19-14 mark earning them a place in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament. Niagara broke the .500 mark in non-conference play as well, though their best win came on Opening Night, as they stunned eventual NCAA participant St. Bonaventure at the Reilly Center. While the Bonnies are the highest-ranked team (in the four-year table) on this season’s slate, 2018 Final Four squad Loyola Chicago might be the best team. The Purple Eagles will visit the Ramblers as part of the Fort Myers Tip-Off, an event for which Niagara will serve as the subregional host. With nine sub-200 teams on this slate, including every potential opponent in the visitors’ bracket, it could be possible for Niagara to better last season’s non-league mark.

319. Marist Red Foxes

Record against returning opponents from 2017-18: 1 win (Colgate) and 5 losses (Lehigh, Army West Point, Army West Point (N), Stetson, @Brown)

Former Saint Peter’s coach John Dunne moved a bit north to take over for Mike Maker, who was fired after guiding the Red Foxes to just 28 wins in four seasons. Marist won just two games in non-league play a season ago, and with eight road games and a pair of contests at the Belfast Basketball Classic, they might need to win their home games (both of which feature Ivy League opposition) to equal last season’s pre-MAAC victory total.

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