Sizing up the MAAC coming out of non-conference play

Non-conference play is officially over in the MAAC. All 13 teams have finished their non-league slates, in addition to the two early December conference games they played. So where does the conference stand? It’s time for a reset of expectations, understanding, and everything else heading into the final 18 games of the season.

Marist

The Red Foxes were 9-2 at this point last year, but they also didn’t play two games against high-major opponents. It was certainly jarring to see that Marist’s game against Georgia Tech turned into a shootout rather than a rock fight, but the Yellow Jackets were unfortunately too much to handle.

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So far, Marist has played six Division I home games. In those six home games, it has allowed .889, .976, .811, .782, .904, and .772 adjusted points per possession, per KenPom. Bart Torvik has the Red Foxes as the 24th-best defense in the country in home games, but that metric slides down to 147th in games played on the road.

Justin Menard and Rhyjon Blackwell have both been hits out of the transfer portal. Blackwell adds scoring pop as the team’s sixth man, while Menard has given Marist terrific all-around play. How John Dunne manages the guard rotation is interesting, but how he manages the center rotation is what I have my eye on.

Jason Schofield slid into the starting lineup, while Parby Kabamba slid down the rotation, playing just 18 minutes over the last four games. Tarik Watson has been in and out of the lineup, but both he and Schofield are talented post scorers, while Kabamba and freshman Jordan Gabriel don’t have the ball in their hands quite as much.

Marist doesn’t need Jadin Collins-Roberts to be a scorer, but I’m curious to see if he can impact the team’s ceiling by tapping a little more into his scoring ability. Regardless, he and Jaden Daughtry are the heart and soul of the defense that makes Marist such a dangerous team.

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Quinnipiac

We’re all on Jaden Zimmerman watch. He was the MAAC’s leading scorer…

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Publish date : 2025-12-26 21:35:00

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