By Andrew Nowel, Sports Reporter
The Griffs are now entering the final month of the regular season for basketball and hockey and a trip to the playoffs is not a guarantee. With the new basketball tournament format, the MAAC only takes 10 teams to Atlantic City in March. So where do the men’s and women’s basketball teams shape up in the final month?
The women’s basketball team has the best statistical chance to make the tournament. Currently sitting in ninth after a win over Niagara last Thursday, the Griffs have a half-game lead on Merrimack for the ninth spot. They hold a full 1.5-game lead on Rider for a trip to Atlantic City.
This team sits tied with Saint Peters with a 4–6 MAAC record and faces Merrimack on Saturday in a crucial conference game. They rematch Niagara, a team that has yet to win a conference game this season, the following Tuesday before facing teams in the middle of the conference like Mount St. Mary’s, Siena and Marist.
On Mar. 6, the Griffs host Rider, a team that has the best chance to knock either Canisius or Merrimack out of a playoff spot. By this point in the season, this game alone may have huge implications for who is headed to Atlantic City and who is not.
The men’s basketball team is in a tough spot, as their recent loss to Niagara has dramatically hurt their chances of qualifying for the playoffs. However, the men’s MAAC standings are tightly contested as February begins. From fourth place Mount St. Mary’s down to where Canisius sits at the bottom of the conference, there is only a 4.5-game difference.
Canisius, though, has already lost to Saint Peter’s, Niagara and Fairfield: three of the four teams ahead of them fighting for the final spot. Rider, one of the Griffs’ wins this season, will rematch Canisius on Mar. 6. Like the women’s team, the Rider matchup may make or break the postseason for the men’s team.
The hockey team will automatically be playing in the AHA postseason since every team makes it, but they are on the fringe of earning a first-round bye. The top five teams earn a bye while the other six teams play a one-game playoff. The Griffs currently sit in sixth place entering this weekend against Air Force, which is four points behind Canisius. The fifth and final spot of the bye is held by Army, a team that the Griffs swept in late October, giving them the edge in the final month of the season.
With one month to go in the winter season, the Griffs will look to keep fighting on the court and on the ice in order to head back to Atlantic City and make a deep run in the AHA playoffs.
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