Loyola coach Jimmy Patsos didn’t even need to be prompted during this week’s conference call to promote Iona for an NCAA tournament at-large berth should the Gaels stumble this weekend in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament.

“I’ve been in this game for a while,” Patsos began, citing his time as an assistant at Maryland under Gary Williams, “and I’ve seen a lot of college basketball. With the schedule they’ve played and the players they have, they should be in the NCAA tournament regardless.”

Patsos, always outspoken, of course, is not on the NCAA tournament selection committee.

And while Iona does have a legitimate at-large claim – a 5-3 record against the RPI top-100 with 14 road/neutral site wins – its best bet is still to claim the automatic berth awarded to the conference tournament champion.
Read more »

LAWRENCEVILLE – As far as Tommy Dempsey is concerned, Rider is playing with house money this weekend at the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament.

There isn’t much pressure on his fifth-seeded Broncs to challenge for the title and the league’s automatic NCAA bid.

“The last several years we’ve gone (to the conference tourney) and there has been pressure because we really went up there with the expectation that we were going to win,” Dempsey said. “It’s not that we don’t expect to win, it’s more that nobody else expects us to win.”

That might just suit this team best.

Despite a 13-18 overall record, Rider has won two straight — one coming against Saturday’s quarterfinal opponent Fairfield — and is playing its best basketball of the season.

“We’re probably a little bit better right now that we’ve been most of the year,” Dempsey said. “I think it’s a good position for us to be in.”
Read more »