It’s that time of year. The NFL is reaching an end and February is almost upon us. Which means we have one month to go before March Madness begins as the eyes of the country start concentrating on college hoops. We broke down the 20 local Division-I schools and ranked them.
1. Seton Hall (12-6, 3-4 in Big East) — The Pirates got the resume-building victory they desperately needed when they knocked off No. 9 Pittsburgh on Sunday. Seton Hall has a must-win tonight when they play South Florida on the road. The game is crucial for Seton Hall’s NCAA Tournament hopes with difficult road games against Pittsburgh and Villanova to follow.
2. St. John’s (12-7, 2-5 in Big East) — The Red Storm are still looking for that significant win that would at least push them on to the NCAA Tournament bubble. They led Villanova for most of the first half on Saturday, but let that slip away in the final 20 minutes. Things do not get any easier with a trip to Pittsburgh tonight
3. Iona (15-6, 7-3 in MAAC) — The Gaels have reeled off six straight wins and will likely get to eight with home games against Canisius and Marist on tap. Then comes a rematch with Siena, who is 10-0 in the MAAC, and beat Iona 73-60 earlier in the year. Iona had an early season win against Creighton and close losses to Baylor and Florida State. Not bad, but they have to win conference tournament to make it to the Big Dance.
4. Fairfield (14-6, 7-3 in MAAC) — The Stags are tied with Iona after losing to them 68-58 on Sunday. Fairfield’s two significant non-conference games were a 29-point loss at Maryland and a five-point setback at Rhode Island. Fairfield has already lost to Siena at home — 81-73 on Jan. 16. The rematch is Feb. 8 in Albany.
5. St. Peter’s (12-8, 7-3 in MAAC) — The Peacocks are the third team tied for second in the MAAC. They have won five straight including back-to-back road wins at Canisius and Niagara heading in to tonight’s tilt with Siena. One disturbing loss was a 64-42 rout at the hands of Rutgers earlier this season, but Seton Hall needed a buzzer-beater to top St. Peter’s in the Peacocks’ opener. Of the Iona, Fairfield, St. Peter’s group one of them will have to find a way to beat Siena in the MAAC Tournament. Unfortunately for all of them, the tournament is played at the Saints’ home court in Albany making the task that much tougher.
6. Stony Brook (14-7, 6-2 in America East Conference) — The Seawolves had some disparaging non-conference losses — falling by 16 to Fordham and 21 to St. Peter’s. But Stony Brook has found their niche in the weak America East Conference. They are part of a four-way log jam at the top of the conference with Maine, Boston University and Vermont.
7. St. Francis, N.Y. (9-10, 6-2 in Northeast Conference) — Not a bad bounce back for the Terriers, who started the year 0-4 and have lost to Boston College and Syracuse along the way. They are in third place in the NEC and probably a step behind Quinnipiac and defending conference champ Robert Morris.
8. Army (12-8, 2-4 in Patriot League) — Nice non-conference wins (for them) over Princeton, Yale, Harvard and LIU gives them the No. 8 spot. But the Black Knights have not distinguished themselves in the Patriot League at 2-4 and are tied for last.
9. LIU (8-11, 6-2 in Northeast Conference) — Started the year 4-3, but dropped six straight before starting NEC games. Their up-and-down play has continued since. The Blackbirds are the only NEC team to beat Robert Morris and the only one to lose to an awful Wagner squad.
10. Monmouth (9-11, 5-3 in Northeast Conference) — The Hawks started the year by crushing Isiah Thomas’ Florida International team 99-70. Started conference season with victory over Quinnipiac, but lost at home to the other conference leader Robert Morris, 66-53 on Saturday.
11. Rutgers (9-11, 0-8 in Big East) —The Scarlet Knights are 9-3 out of conference, but their most-impressive win came over a bad UMass team. They are the only winless team in the Big East at 0-8 and only one of those losses was in single digits — 65-58 against Cincinnati. Hey, but at least every team makes the conference tournament.
12. Princeton (9-5, 0-0 in Ivy League) — The Tigers have won seven of eight since a 2-4 start and start conference play on Friday at Brown. The problem for Princeton, and the rest of the Ivy League, is that there is no conference tournament and Cornell and Harvard will be tough to top. Cornell has won the league two years in a row and this is probably their best team.
13. Hofstra (10-12, 3-7 in Colonial Athletic Association)— It’s a down year for Tom Pecora’s Pride, who have won 20 games four of the five previous years. Hofstra had lost five straight before routing UNC-Wilmington 93-54 last night. Still near the bottom of the CAA.
14. FDU (5-15, 4-4 in Northeast Conference) — After a dismal 1-11 non-conference record, the Knights started 3-1 in the NEC. But FDU has fallen back to reality since dropping three of their past four games.
15. Manhattan (7-13, 2-8 in MAAC) — The Jaspers are only ahead of lowly Marist in the MAAC and have dropped five straight. Best win of the year was against St. Peter’s, but they also have the distinction of being the only team to lose to Marist.
16. Fordham (2-17, 0-7 in Atlantic 10) — The Rams have not won since Dec. 8 when they beat Stony Brook 93-77. The tumultuous year has included the firing of head coach Dereck Whittenburg and the transfer of top player Jio Fontan, who has enrolled at USC. Interim coach Jared Grasso will hope to get a couple of conference wins to get the full-time gig, but it won’t be easy with this roster.
17. Columbia (6-10, 0-2 in Ivy League) —The bad news is the Lions are 0-2 in the Ivy. The good news is both those losses came against frontrunner Cornell. But they are devoid of any significant wins and won’t be a factor in the conference race.
18. NJIT (6-13, 1-2 in Great West) — The closest team, geographically, in the Highlanders conference is Chicago State, who they beat by 66-37 on Saturday. But at least they are making steps in the right direction — NJIT had lost 52 in a row over parts of the past three seasons. The conference does not have an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, but they do have one to the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. So, there’s that.
19. Wagner (3-18, 1-7 in Northeast Conference) — The Seahawks have been able to keep games close recently, but not much to show for it.
20. Marist (1-19, 1-9 in MAAC) — That record speaks for itself. The Red Foxes do not have a player, who averages double digits in scoring. Candon Rusin leads the team with 9.1 a game. Their only win came over Manhattan.
