On Thursday, March 4 at 6:00 p.m., the Fairfield University men’s basketball team will embark on their last road trip for the 2021 season. They are prepared to take on the Manhattan College Jaspers for a pair of games to round out conference play ahead of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship. The second game is slated for the following day on Friday, March 5 with tipoff at the same time as the day prior, scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
The Stags last faced the Jaspers in regular-season play on March 6, 2020 in Riverdale, NY, and won 66-50. Their most recent matchup was on March 10, 2020 at the 2020 MAAC Championship tournament just before the Coronavirus halted play. The Stags lost that game 61-43, but the defeat was not reflective of the two teams’ history together. In fact, since January 29, 1997, the Stags and Jaspers have played each other a total of 46 times. Of those matches, the basketball programs have reached a stalemate, with an even tally in the wins and losses columns with 23 in each.
Manhattan will look to break their two-game losing streak while Fairfield is poised to build on last week’s win against Canisius College.
Of the last ten games, the Stags have gone 6-4. Additionally, in those last ten games Fairfield has marked a record of 2-3 for non-home games, and 4-1 for home games. This doesn’t necessarily bode well for the Stags, considering they’ll be playing at Manhattan’s Draddy Gymnasium, but the Stags have added a handful of fresh faces to the roster with the potential to rewrite history as a team that does as well on the road as they do in the familiar comfort of Fairfield, Conn.
Manhattan sits in last place currently in the MAAC, just below Rider University with a 5-11 conference record and a 6-11 overall record. The Stags (6-10 MAAC, 6-15) are in a more desirable standing, in seventh place overall in the conference.
In terms of Conference Championship titles, the Stags only have three, with the last being from over two decades ago in 1997. The Jaspers also have three Championship wins under their belt, but their victories were more recent, with the last one being in 2012.
These final two games will be telling, going into the championship, but all-in-all they are sure to set the tone for what will be a challenging championship tournament to fight for a long sought-after ring.
The Fairfield-Manhattan contests will be available to watch live, as they will be streamed on ESPN+ and ESPN3.
The MAAC Championship will take place in Atlantic City, NJ and will last from Monday, March 8 to Saturday, March 13.
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