One of the most geographically condensed college basketball conferences in the nation also has been āØone of the tightest on the floor this season.
Many of you follow the Metro Atlantic Athletic ź¦Conference, which contains six teams from New York (Iona, Canisius, Siena, Niagara, Manhattan, Marist), three from New Jersey (Rider, Monmouth, St. Peterās) and two from Connecticut (Quinnipiac, Fairfield). The league begins its postseason tournament Thursday in Albany.
Only the winner will advance to the NCAA Tournament later this month. No MAAC member even ranks in the top 190 nationally according to the NCAAās āNETā ratings system or respected stat site į¦kenpom.com.
Longtime bettors know the MAAC has scored some high-ź¦«profile shockers in the Big Dance. Siena (+6.5) stunned No. 4 seed Vanderbilt, 83-62, in 2008, then ousted No. 8 seed Ohio State, 74-72, in 2009 at +2.5 before giving No. 1 seed Louisville a 79-72 scare as a 12-point underdog. Unfortunately itās been 11 straight losses for the MAAC since Siena beat the Buckeyes.
Though there arenāt any great teams this season, the conference tournament could be a wild free-for-all because thź§ereās so little distance from top to bottom. Hereās a quick look at conference margin averašges from the regular season, a tool we introduced to you two days ago:
- MAAC margins: Iona +5.2, Quinnipiac +4.3, Rider +3.4, Siena +2.3, Monmouth -0.2, Canisius -0.4, Marist -1.2, Fairfield -1.7, Manhattan -3.1, St. Peterās -3.8, Niagara -4.9
Itās only 10.1 points from best average to worst, š§compared to the 16.8 points we saw Tuesday in the Horizon League. (The ACC could see a spread of as much as 28 points next week. Virginiaās average result moved to +14.3 with a Monday night blowout of Syracuse as six-point favorites, while awful Wake Forest may finish that far below the zero line.)
Those MAAC margins suggest many competitors would be within a bucket of each otheš¦©r in terms of team quality on a neutral court. If youāre going to bet, š²be ready to sweat!
Noź¦te that while odds to win the MAAC Tournament are not offered in New Jersey at William Hillās sports books, individual games in the tournament that do not involve a New Jersey teamšÆ will be on the board. Monday nightās championship game will be nationally televised (ESPN2, 9 p.m.)
During the regular season,ź¦ betting markets underrated Quinnipiac (17-11-1 ATS), while overrating Rider (9-20-1), Iona (11-18), Fairfield (11-17-2) and St. Peterās (12-17-1).
Best of luck to those of you betting the MAAC tourney or rooting for your alma mater. VSiN will provide conference margin averages for the major tournamentsš¦ next week.