Marist’s defense might be even better, Fairfield’s got work to do, other MAAC notes with conference play looming

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. — John Dunne is known for his stingy defenses. He’s now in his 20th season as a head coach, and he’s only had an offense rank better than his defense in one of those seasons, his first at Marist in 2018-19.

Before the season, KenPom wrote an article about which coaches are the most impressive in his model on each side of the ball. Dunne is third, behind only Kelvin Sampson and Rick Pitino in terms of outperforming expectations on the defensive side of the ball. Ahead of Steve Pikiell. Ahead of Brian Dutcher. Ahead of Russell Turner.

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Marist has finished with a top 3 defense in the MAAC each of the last two years, but Dunne’s team has actually not topped the MAAC in KenPom defensive efficiency since his final season at Saint Peter’s. That can change this year.

The Red Foxes held Lehigh to 0.81 points per possession on Tuesday, a lower output than what Houston held them to earlier in the year. Marist held the Mountain Hawks to just 2 for its final 18 from the field in the first half en route to a 78-55 win at McCann Arena. It was never close in the second half, and the Red Foxes improved to 4-2.

Entering Saturday’s games (Marist doesn’t play until Friday), the Red Foxes are 43rd in the nation in adjusted defensive efficiency on KenPom. They started the season 108th. Dunne has had top 100 defenses before at Marist, but he hasn’t had one rank this highly since his time at Saint Peter’s. And the numbers are even kinder if you remove preseason priors on Bart Torvik, where the Foxes would rank 17th.

Jadin Collins-Roberts has grown up through the Marist program. He’s been part of those top three MAAC defenses over the last two years. How does he think this team has improved on that end?

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“Coach Dunne makes it hard not to take pride in defense,” Collins-Roberts said. “It’s just repetition and practice. It starts behind closed doors, whether that’s in practice or just simply seeing it on film in film sessions and…

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Publish date : 2025-11-29 15:39:00

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