Despite being a poor wager all season long the Iona Gaels are the top seed and the betting favorite at the online sportsbooks for the 2015 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament.
The Gaels went 24-7 SU but just 12-17 ATS this past season, and as the No. 1 seed at the MAAC Tournament they get a bye into the quarterfinal round of the event. In fact, five teams get byes into the quarterfinals, with No. 2 Rider, No. 3 Manhattan, No. 4 Monmouth, and No. 5 Canisius skipping the Sportsbook round as well.
At Sportsbook Iona is the +130 favorite on the odds to win the MAAC Tournament, followed by Rider and Manhattan both at +550, and Canisius at +675. Monmouth, which will face Canisius in the quarterfinals, is at +900 on those college basketball betting futures.
No. 6 Quinnipiac is at +775 at Sportsbook on the MAAC Tournament odds, and they'll take on No. 11 Marist (+17500) in the Sportsbook round of the event on Thursday. The other two Sportsbook-round games are No. 8 Siena (+1300) vs. No. 9 Niagara (+17500), and No. 7 St. Peter's (+1300) vs. No. 10 Fairfield (+6600).
MAAC Tournament Odds at Sportsbook
Iona +130
Rider +550
Manhattan +550
Canisius +675
Quinnipiac +775
Monmouth +900
St. Peter's +1300
Siena +1300
Fairfield +6600
Marist +17500
Niagara +17500
MAAC Tournament Schedule
Sportsbook Round - March 5
Quarterfinals - March 7
Semifinals - March 8
Championship Game - March 9
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The OVER paid out in both Iona vs. Canisius matchups during the regular season as those schools meet in one of two MAAC Tournament semifinal contests on the schedule for Sunday.
Top-seeded Iona split their two games with No. 4 Canisius during the regular season both SU and ATS, with both of those matchups producing OVER results for totals bettors on the college basketball betting lines.
Second-seeded Manhattan will take on third-seeded Quinnipiac in the other semifinal in MAAC Tournament betting action on Sunday.
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The quarterfinals of the MAAC Tournament on Saturday have top-seeded and favored Iona going up against eighth-seeded Rider as 9-point favorites on the college basketball betting lines at Sportsbook.
Iona topped Rider twice during the regular season, winning 80-77 as a 4-point road favorite on February 21 and 97-81 as a 10.5-point home favorite on March 2.
The other quarterfinal matchups in MAAC Tournament betting on Saturday are No. 4 Canisius vs. No. 5 Siena, No. 2 Manhattan vs. No. 7 Saint Peter's, and No. 3 Quinnipiac vs. No. 11 Niagara.
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MAAC Tournament betting action gets underway Thursday with three Sportsbook round matchups, but top-seeded sportsbook favorite Iona won't hit the hardwood until Saturday's quarterfinals.
Iona is the +165 favorite on the MAAC Tournament odds at Sportsbook, followed by second-seeded Manhattan at +175, and third-seeded Quinnipiac at +475. Each of those teams won't find out their quarterfinal opponent until the end of the tournament's Sportsbook round on Thursday.
The other quarterfinal on Saturday has fourth-seeded Canisius taking on fifth-seeded Siena. Canisius is at +525 on the MAAC Tournament odds board at Sportsbook, while Siena sits a step back at +1700 on those college basketball futures.
MAAC Tournament Odds at Sportsbook
Iona +165
Manhattan +175
Quinnipiac +475
Canisius +525
Siena +1700
Rider +2700
Fairfield +3000
Marist +4000
Saint Peter's +6000
Niagara +10000
Monmouth +15000
MAAC Tournament Schedule
Sportsbook Rounds - March 6
Quarterfinals - March 8
Semifinals - March 9
Championship Game - March 10
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No. 7 Fairfield pulled off a 43-42 upset over No. 2 Rider on Saturday to punch its ticket to the MAAC semifinals. Fairfield will take on No. 6 Manhattan, who also escaped the quarterfinals with an upset in defeating No. 3 Loyola 55-52. Manhattan was 2-0 SU and ATS against Fairfield this season.
No. 1 Niagara dispatched No. 9 Siena 74-62 on Saturday. The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference’s top seed will take on No. 4 Iona after Iona defeated No. 5 Canisius 89-85 on Saturday. Iona is 5-1 SU and 3-3 ATS in its last six game against Niagara.
The Sportsbook of these two semifinal matchups will meet in the MAAC Tournament Championship Game on Monday.
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No. 9 Siena pulled off a minor upset over No. 8 Marist to advance to the quarterfinals of the MAAC Conference Tournament, where they will play No. 1 Niagara. Niagara is 3-0 SU and 2-1 ATS in its last three games against Siena.
No. 7 Fairfield also advanced out of the first round Friday with a win over Saint Peter’s. Fairfield will face No. 2 Rider on Saturday; Fairfield is 3-0 SU and 2-1 ATS in its last three games against Rider.
No. 5 Canisius vs. No. 4 Iona and No. 6 Manhattan vs. No. 3 Loyola round out Saturday’s quarterfinal slate in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament betting.
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While most mid-major conferences have a pretty clear favorite, that isn’t the case in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference where at least five teams are live with odds to win the tournament of +650 or lower at Sportsbook.
The betting favorite is currently No. 4 Iona at +230 despite finishing with the conference’s fourth seed after going 17-13 SU overall and 11-7 SU in conference play. Averaging 81.2 points per game, Iona ranks second in the entire country in offensive production.
No. 1 Niagara (+475), No. 5 Canisius (+600), No. 7 Fairfield (+650), and No. 2 Rider (+800) all finished the season with 17 or 18 wins overall. No. 3 Loyola finished with the best overall record in the conference at 21-10. All of these teams will be in action in the quarterfinals on Saturday, with the exception of Fairfield.
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No. 7 Fairfield will be playing in the late game of the first round Friday night against No. 10 Saint Peter’s (+15000). Saint Peter’s finished with a conference-worst 3-15 SU record and went just 9-20 SU and 8-14-1 ATS overall. The Sportsbook of this game will face No. 2 Rider in the quarterfinals.
In the earlier game of Friday’s first round, No. 9 Siena (+20000) takes on No. 8 Marist (+4000). Marist was the more competitive team this season, but Siena should have some confidence this week with an 11-2 SU record in its last 13 games against Marist. The Sportsbook of this game will play No. 1 Niagara in the quarterfinals.
Saturday’s quarterfinals will also include matchups between No. 5 Canisius and No. 4 Iona in the afternoon and No. 6 Manhattan (+950) and No. 3 Loyola in the evening.
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament Odds - courtesy of Sportsbook:
Iona +230
Loyola +450
Niagara +475
Canisius +600
Fairfield +650
Rider +800
Manhattan +950
Marist +4000
Saint Peter's +15000
Siena +20000
Friday, March 8 – First Round
7:30 PM ET – No. 9 Siena vs. No. 8 Marist (Game 1)
9:30 PM ET – No. 10 Saint Peter’s vs. No. 7 Fairfield (Game 2)
Saturday, March 9 – Quarterfinals
2:30 PM ET – Game 1 Sportsbook vs. No. 1 Niagra (Game 3)
4:30 PM ET – No. 5 Canisius vs. No. 4 Iona (Game 4)
7:30 PM ET – Game 2 Sportsbook vs. No. 2 Rider (Game 5)
9:30 PM ET – No. 6 Manhattan vs. No. 3 Loyola (Game 6)
Sunday, March 10 - Semifinals
2:00 PM ET - Game 3 Sportsbook vs. Game 4 Sportsbook
4:30 PM ET - Game 5 Sportsbook vs. Game 6 Sportsbook
Monday, March 11 - Championship Game
9:00 PM ET - Semifinal Sportsbooks
