QUINNIPIAC at MONMOUTH
WHEN: Friday, 5 p.m.
WHERE: OceanFirst Bank Center, West Long Branch, New Jersey
RECORDS: Quinnipiac (3-3, 1-1 in MAAC); Monmouth (5-4, 5-3).
BOTTOM LINE: MAAC foes meet as Quinnipiac squares off against Monmouth. Quinnipiac fell 45-42 to Manhattan on Saturday. Monmouth is coming off a 72-62 win over Marist on Sunday.
SENIOR STUDS: Monmouth has relied heavily on its seniors this year. Deion Hammond, George Papas, Melik Martin and Marcus McClary have collectively accounted for 60 percent of the team’s scoring this year and 58 percent of all Hawks points over the last five games.
MIGHTY MCGUIRE: Brendan McGuire has connected on 58.3 percent of the 12 3-pointers he’s attempted and has made 7 of 12 over his last five games. He’s also converted 90 percent of his foul shots this season.
STREAK STATS: Monmouth has won its last four home games, scoring an average of 83.3 points while giving up 65.3.
ASSIST DISTRIBUTION: The Bobcats have recently used assists to create buckets more often than the Hawks. Monmouth has an assist on 32 of 72 field goals (44.4 percent) across its past three games while Quinnipiac has assists on 36 of 63 field goals (57.1 percent) during its past three games.
STINGY DEFENSE: Quinnipiac has held opposing teams to 36.1 percent shooting from the field this year, the third-lowest percentage among all Division I teams. Over their last three games, the Bobcats have held opposing shooters to 31.8 percent.
FAIRFIELD at MARIST
WHEN/WHERE: McCann Center, Poughkeepsie, N.Y.; Friday, 5 p.m.
RECORDS: Fairfield (2-11, 2-6); Marist (6-4, 4-4)
BOTTOM LINE: Two guards will be on display as Taj Benning and Fairfield will go up against Ricardo Wright and Marist. The senior Benning is averaging 11 points over the last five games. Wright, a freshman, is averaging 13.8 points over the last five games.
TALE OF TWO ROSTERS: Fairfield has been fueled by senior leadership this year while Marist has leaned on freshmen. For the Stags, seniors Benning, Jesus Cruz and Caleb Green have combined to score 47 percent of the team’s points this season. In the other locker room, freshmen Wright, Jordan Jones and Hakim Byrd have collectively accounted for 46 percent of Marist’s scoring this season and 50 percent of the team’s points over its last five games.
DEFENSIVE IMPROVEMENTS: The Stags have given up only 68.3 points per game to conference opponents thus far, an improvement from the 74.2 per game they gave up over five non-conference games.
TERRIFIC TAJ: Benning has connected on 40 percent of the 55 3-pointers he’s attempted and has made 9 of 27 over his last five games. He’s also made 88.9 percent of his foul shots this season.
SLIPPING AT 66: Fairfield is 0-11 when it allows at least 66 points and 2-0 when it holds opponents to less than 66.
COLD SPELL: Fairfield has lost its last five road games, scoring 58.2 points, while allowing 77 per game.
BALL SECURITY: Fairfield’s offense has turned the ball over 12.8 times per game this year, but is averaging 9.2 turnovers over its last five games and seven over its last three.