Friday, March 7th, 10:00 p.m. (et)

FACTS & STATS: Site: Times Union Center (17,500) -- Albany, New York. Television: None. Home Record: Canisius 5-9, Iona 7-5. Away Record: Canisius 0-15, Iona 5-12. Neutral Record: Canisius 0-0, Iona 0-2. Conference Record: Canisius 2-16, Iona 8-10. Series Record: Iona leads, 25-24.

GAME NOTES: The seventh-seeded Iona Gaels will do battle with the 10th-seeded Canisius Golden Griffins in the first round of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament. The winner of this game will move on to Saturday's quarterfinal round to take on second-seeded Rider. Canisius won its only MAAC Tournament title back in 1996, and the club is 19-17 all-time at this event. Not much has gone right for the Golden Griffins this season, as just five of their 29 games have resulted in victory. They are 0-15 away from home and finished 2-16 in conference play. As for Iona, it has won more MAAC Tournament crowns (seven) than any other active league member, and the Gaels last won the title in 2006. The Gaels are 12-19 this season, including 8-10 in conference action, and they managed to halt a two-game losing skid with an 87-75 win over Manhattan in the regular season finale. Iona beat Canisius twice during the regular season to take a 25-24 lead in the all-time series between the teams.

Greg Logins has emerged as the go-to guy for Canisius recently, as he scored 23 points in the regular season finale against Niagara and has been the team's top point producer in four of the last six outings. Unfortunately, the Golden Griffins limp into this tournament having lost two straight games and seven of the last eight outings. Logins is averaging only 7.6 ppg, as it took a while for him to emerge as a legitimate scoring option. That role has been occupied solely by Frank Turner for much of the season, as he is posting 12.7 ppg to go along with 130 assists. Canisius is only generating 61.7 ppg on 39.6 percent shooting from the floor, and 483 turnovers certainly haven't helped.

Iona does not possess the type of player capable of dominating the game at the offensive end. Still, there are three double-digit scorers in the lineup, all capable of solid contributions. Dexter Gray is generating 11.2 ppg despite the fact that he averages fewer than 27 minutes of action per night. Gary Springer, who player far less, is generating 11.0 ppg and 7.7 rpg, while Milan Prodanovic checks in with 10.1 ppg. The Gaels are scoring 65.8 ppg as a team while yielding 69.2 ppg to the opposition. Iona has committed 544 turnovers, an extremely high total, but the squad has also forced 525 giveaways. The Gaels shot 62.7 percent from the floor in the regular season finale against Manhattan and hope to draw confidence from that performance.

The Gaels have already beaten the Griffs twice this season, and considering that Canisius has shown no ability to win away from home, give the edge to Iona.

Predicted Outcome

Iona 65, Iona 58