Who would have thought that the Fairfield men’s basketball team would be one of the hottest teams going into the MAAC Tournament this weekend?
Just three weeks ago it appeared inevitable that the Stags would be competing in the tournament’s play-in round for the second straight year.
The Stags, however, have since won five out of their last six games, gaining confidence going into the conference tournament on Saturday against Manhattan, according to head coach Tim O’Toole.
“I’m happy where we are. But at the same time, I think if we played the [play-in game] I’d be happy too,” O’Toole said. “We’re playing well, and that’s most important. We have two groups of guys, we should have enough energy to go out there and play well.”
The Stags finished the regular season 11-16 overall and 9-9 in the conference, earning Fairfield the sixth seed for the MAAC Tournament this weekend in Albany, New York.
Fairfield will face the third-seeded Jaspers on Saturday. Manhattan swept the teams’ two meetings this year, including the Jaspers 73-70 win over the Stags on Feb. 2 at the Arena at Harbor Yard.
Manhattan was the only MAAC team to record 20 victories during the regular season, after getting off to an incredible 12-1 start. The Jaspers, however, have had a .500 record the second half of the season, including three losses in their final six games.
“They are a really good team,” O’Toole said. “I think they’ve gotten tired a little bit. With our depth, that’s something we’re going to need to take advantage of.”
Freshman guard Kudjo Sogadzi believes the Stags just need to continue what they have been doing recently. “We need to go out there and play our game, play together and play good team defense,” Sogadzi said.
One of Fairfield’s priorities will be to contain the Manhattan back court of Luis Flores and Von Damien Green. “We need to really concentrate on defending their guards,” said sophomore forward Robbie Thomson. “They have really good guards that can shoot 3-pointers.”
Flores, a transfer from Rutgers, finished the regular season third in the MAAC in scoring with 509 points, averaging just under 19 points per game. Flores bettered his season average in Manhattan’s two games against Fairfield, netting 27 points in the first meeting and 25 points when the Jaspers came to Fairfield.
“Flores is a great player,” Thomson said. “We need to help out whoever is defending him. It’s going to take more than one defender to stop him.”
Since a 73-59 drubbing at the hands of Rider on Feb. 8, O’Toole has implemented a five-man rotation system that has helped ignite the Stags down the stretch of the regular season.
“It’s helped us a great deal. It improved our chemistry a great deal as well,” O’Toole said. “When you play seven games in 13 nights like we have, it gives everyone an equal amount of playing time and rest.”
The rotation system has given the Stags more energy and enthusiasm on the court as well. “It’s gotten everyone to play more intense because we know the next group is coming in four minutes,” Thomson said. “We go out and play hard for the four minutes, and then we can get a rest.”
The Stags’ player rotation has had the biggest impact on the defensive end, where Fairfield was second in the MAAC for holding conference opponents to a .397 field-goal percentage.
“Our defense has incredibly improved,” O’Toole said. “When you get tired out there, we just bring in the next group. Everyone’s got to be ready to go.”
Fairfield’s “A” team consists of starters Ajou Deng, Deng Gai, Sam Spann, Kyle Walsh and Sogadzi. The second team includes Jeremy Logan, Oscar Garcia, Nick Delfico, Tyquawn Goode and Thomson.
“All 10 guys have started at some point this year,” O’Toole said. “It’s not like our best five and our next five–we tried to find the best that would play together.”
Fairfield will need both sets of players this weekend, when the Stags play Manhattan at 9 p.m. on Saturday with the winner possibly facing second-seeded Marist Sunday afternoon in the semifinals.
The Stags’ 10-deep lineup will help alleviate from the lack of time in between games, according to Sogadzi. “It’s good because the two groups bring a lot of energy and will give everyone a good amount of rest.”
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