Saturday, March 8th, 2:15 p.m. (et).

FACTS & STATS: Site: Times Union Center (17,500) -- Albany, New York. Television: Local. Home Record: Fairfield 7-6, Loyola 11-2. Away Record: Fairfield 7-9, Loyola 6-10. Neutral Record: Fairfield 0-0, Loyola 1-1. Conference Record: Fairfield 11-7, Loyola 12-6. Series Record: Fairfield leads, 31-12.

GAME NOTES: A couple of teams coming off losses in their final regular season games match up in the quarterfinals of the 27th annual Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament this afternoon, as the Fairfield Stags go after the Greyhounds of Loyola-Maryland at the Times Union Center in Albany. The fifth- seeded Stags ran off seven consecutive wins down the stretch in MAAC play, but the squad was crushed in the finale by Rider in an 87-59 decision last Sunday. With the setback, Fairfield slipped to 11-7 in conference and a game below .500 overall at just 14-15 following a very tough non-conference slate. As for the Greyhounds, who ended up 12-6 in the MAAC and earned the fourth seed in the tourney, they too had some big wins in the final weeks, but an 82-64 setback to Marist last weekend snapped a four-game win streak for the group. Each team won at home during the regular season, which means the Stags now hold a 31-12 advantage in the all-time series with Loyola. The winner of this matchup advances to the semifinals on Sunday evening. The Stags, who have three tournament titles to their credit, last won it all in 1997, while Loyola's lone crown came in 1994 in a win over Manhattan.

In the regular-season finale, the starting five for the Stags produced a mere 32 points, with Herbie Allen posting just four points as he shot a woeful 1- of-12 from the field and missed all seven of his three-point tries. Jonathan Han accounted for 13 points in the onslaught and Marty O'Sullivan added 10 points and nine rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench for a team that shot only 35.6 percent from the field and 4-of-25 behind the three-point line. Han, the leading scorer in each of the last three games for Fairfield, is the only double-digit scorer on the roster heading into the tournament with his 11.7 ppg. But more than being a scorer who can convert almost 45 percent from beyond the arc, Han also paced the group with his 178 assists and 49 steals. The Stags produced only 66.0 ppg this season, but allowed opponents to register just over 69 ppg.

Marquis Sullivan converted all but two of his eight tries behind the three- point line last weekend against Marist, but it made little difference as his 20 points barely put a dent in the loss on the road. Michael Tuck accounted for 12 points and seven boards and Gerald Brown contributed 10 points and also cleared seven rebounds, but the latter made just 3-of-11 shots from the floor before fouling out. Playing more than 31 minutes per game, Brown fired off more than 13 shots from the field per game and was responsible for a team-best 18.8 ppg as a result. Although, a huge chunk of his scoring came from the free-throw line where he ended up 182-of-230. Sullivan ended up second in scoring with 12.4 ppg and Tuck (11.7 ppg) was first on the glass with his 7.2 rpg. As a team, the Greyhounds made good on an impressive 77.4 percent at the charity stripe.

Without much scoring punch this season, Fairfield might be at the mercy of the Greyhounds if Loyola can lock down on Han and make the rest of the Stags decide the outcome today.

Predicted Outcome

Loyola-Maryland 68, Fairfield 60