Athlon's MAAC predictions

[stag76]

Saw Athlon's college basketball issue today and their preseason predictions were a bit different from the MAAC coaches and College Sports Madness. Their top five were:

1. Iona
2. Manhattan
3. Rider
4. Fairfield
5. Canisius

And for the bottom two teams they had Quinnipiac and Monmouth.

Looks like the only consensus picks among the three preseason rankings are Manhattan and Iona are the top teams in the league and Monmouth is penciled in for the cellar.

[JoeStag]

76, did they give any reason why they saw Fairfield in the Top-4.

I would agree with your summarization about Manhattan, Iona and Monmouth, but I would have to include Canisius as a pretty solid 3. I don't understand Rider being rated so high ...... they lost Justin Thompson who was an underrated player even though he finally made All-MAAC 2nd team last year. Quinnipiac could be near the bottom if their guards are not MAAC level, but their Frontcourt is very good with Azotam and Ousmane Drame, so the only way they drop that low is due to guards.

[nashvillestag]

I'm also surprised that Rider is rated so high by this magazine. As far as Quinnipiac, be careful. They have three pretty good ones in Hearst, Johnson and Conti (who is a very good shooter). They will be a tough matchup for anyone in the league.

[HawkStag]

Great to see that Athlon picked the Stags for 4th place. But when I saw Rider (?) at #3, you have to wonder if they know what they're talking about.