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Riverdale, NY - Manhattan will open its 114th season of intercollegiate play against Delaware State (0-1) on Tuesday, November 12 at Draddy Gymnasium with opening tip tabbed for 7:00 pm.
Saving The Best For Last
* The Jaspers will be the 351st team in the Division I (out of 353) ranks to play this season, with Saint Peter's & Quinnipiac tipping on Wednesday night.
#BlackOut On Tap For Tuesday
Watch On ESPN+
* Tuesday's game against Delaware State will be streamed via ESPN+ and will be one of 26 games to be telecast on an ESPN platform this year.
For Starters
* Manhattan holds an all-time record 74-39 in season openers.
Coach Masiello
* Head Coach
Steve Masiello is one of just seven Division I coaches that is 42 or younger with two conference titles and two trips to the NCAA Tourney.
* Masiello also has a school-record 10 MAAC Tournament wins, while his 127 victories are fifth in school history, just two behind Bobby Gonzalez.
* Additionally, Masiello's 61 wins at Draddy Gymnasium are second in school history, just seven behind Gonzalez.
* Tuesday's game will be his 100th at Draddy as Masiello holds a sterling 61-38 record (.616).
* Masiello has led Manhattan to a 127-131 (.492) record, including going 80-72 (.526) during MAAC play, and 61-38 (.616) at Draddy Gym over his eight seasons, including 48-27 (.640) vs. league opposition. He has won two MAAC Titles, advanced to title game three times, claimed two Metropolitan Coach of the Year awards with a pair of 20-win campaigns. Masiello has also participated in the NCAA Tournament in 13 of his 23 seasons as a player or coach, including being a part of eight conference champions and one National Title.
* Now in his 24th season as either a player or a coach, Masiello has a career collegiate record of 488-277 (.638), including 367-249 (.596) on the sidelines, with one National Title, two National Championship Game appearances, two Final Fours, six Elite Eight berths, eight conference championships, 13 NCAA Tournament appearances and 15 20-win seasons.
The Returners
* The Jaspers return a MAAC-best 86.5 percent of their scoring, 85.4 percent of their rebounding and 83.3 percent of their assists.
DYK
* Manhattan was one of 20 teams in the Division I ranks to not lose a transfer, returning 14 letterwinners, including 10 scholarship student-athletes.
Preseason All-MAAC Recap
* Senior
Pauly Paulicap and sophomore
Warren Williams were each named to the 2019-20 Preseason All-MAAC Third Team, while Manhattan was tabbed fifth.
* Paulicap averaged 8.5 points per game in limited action a year ago, while Williams notched a team-leading 9.2 points each time out in earning MAAC All-Rookie Team honors.
* Two years ago, Paulicap was named the MAAC Defensive Player of the Year following an outstanding year in which ranked 16th nationally with a MAAC-best 2.6 blocks per game (16th NCAA) to go along with 10.0 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.
* Williams recorded double-figures a team-leading 16 times last season while pacing the MAAC with a .571 field goal percentage, and saved his best for last with a career-high 27 points against Canisius in the quarterfinals of the MAAC Championship.
* Manhattan was also tabbed fifth in the preseason poll.
Newcomers
* Joining the Jaspers this year are junior
Michael Okafor, freshman
Adam Cisse and classmate
Romar Reid.
Last Year ...
* Manhattan ranked 15th nationally in scoring defense, yielding a MAAC-low 62.8 ppg, 54th in turnovers forced (14.8/game) and 92nd in steals (6.9/game).
* The eight Jasper newcomers accounted for 62.6 percent of the team's scoring, 51.4 percent of the rebounding and 52.8 percent of the assists last year.
* The bench posted a scoring advantage over the opposition in 28 of its 32 games.
* The Jaspers ranked third a year ago in the MAAC in turnovers forced (14.8/game) and have paced the league in the category three times in the last six years (2015-16, 2014-15, 2013-14).
* Manhattan ended last season on a high note, winning seven of their final 12 games, including sweeping the annual Western New York swing while defeating preseason MAAC favorite Rider.
DYK?
* The Jaspers are 50-9 (.847) during Masiello's eight years when yielding less than 60 points, and 42-13 (.764) when hitting double-figures in thefts.
Good Memories!
* The last time that Manhattan opened the season with two-straight games at home was in 2017-18, as the Jaspers bested St. Francis Brooklyn and Harvard.
About The Opponent
* Delaware State began its campaign last Friday, dropping an 81-54 decision to Rider, despite 14 points from John Crosby and 13 from John Stansbury.
* Pinky Wiley (9.5 ppg) and Ameer Bennett (8.2 ppg) are the top returning players from last year's team, as each player started 30 games in 2018-19.
* Delaware State assistant coach Kevin McLain served in a similar role for the Jaspers from 2003-06.
* This will be the first-ever meeting between the teams, with Manhattan holding an all-time record of 7-4 against teams from the MEAC.
The Non-Conference Schedule
* The Jaspers will play a nine-game non-conference schedule, highlighted by home games against Delaware State (MEAC), UAlbany (A-East) and Western Michigan (MAC).
* Manhattan will also travel to Samford (Southern), Elon (CAA), URI (A-10), Stony Brook (A-East), Fordham (A-10) and Hofstra (CAA).
Player Notes From Last Year
* In last year's finale, Williams scored a career-high 27 points against Canisius in the MAAC Tournament, and paced the squad in scoring (9.2 ppg), while notching double-figures in points a team-leading 16 times. He also led the MAAC with a .571 field goal percentage.
* Sophomore
Samir Stewart entered the starting line-up with 12 games to go and did not disappoint, averaging 9.7 ppg and 2.3 apg while shooting 42.9 percent (27-of-63) from deep.
* The Sunshine State native finished sixth in the MAAC from long range at 39.8 percent (49-of-123) from deep, and made good on 48.0 percent (36-of-75) during league play.
* Senior
Tyler Reynolds averaged a team-leading 10.3 ppg over his last 12 games while converting on 38.2 percent (26-of-68) from deep, highlighted by notching a career-high 23 points and nine rebounds in the win over Rider while going 6-for-11 from distance.
* On the year, the Syracuse native ranked 11th in the MAAC in three-point shooting (.386) and averaged a team-best 10.0 ppg during league play.
* Junior
Ebube Ebube paced the team in rebounding with 4.8 rpg a year ago, including 2.2 each time out on the offensive end (6th MAAC), and registered double-figures on the glass four times.
* Ebube also drew a team-high 29 offensive fouls, including six in the win over Rider.
* Junior
Nehemiah Mack was the lone Jasper player to start all 32 games a year ago, and ranked 12th in the MAAC with 2.7 assists per game.
Repping Team USA
* Last summer, sophomore
Daniel Schreier helped lead the United States to gold in the 15th European Maccabi Games.
Silver Anniversary
* This year, the Jaspers will be recognizing the 25th anniversary of the 1994-95 team's NCAA at-large berth and subsequent win over Oklahoma in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament.
What Is A Jasper?
The unique nickname of Manhattan College's athletic teams, the Jaspers, comes from one of the College's most memorable figures, Brother Jasper of Mary, F.S.C., who served as the College's athletic director in the late 19th century. One of the greatest achievements of Brother Jasper was that he brought the then little-known sport of baseball to Manhattan College and became the team's first coach. Since Brother Jasper was also the Prefect of Discipline, he supervised the student fans at Manhattan baseball games while also directing the team itself. During one particularly warm and humid day when the college was playing a semi-pro baseball team called the Metropolitans, Brother Jasper noticed the Manhattan students were becoming restless and edgy with the team coming to bat in the seventh inning of a close game. To relieve the tension, Brother Jasper called timeout and told the students to stand up and stretch for a few minutes until the game resumed. Since the College annually played the New York Giants in the late 1880's and into the 1890's at the old Polo Grounds, the Manhattan College practice of the "seventh inning stretch" spread into the major leagues, where it has now become a time-honored custom practiced by millions of fans annually.
This Is Manhattan College
• Why is Manhattan College in the Bronx? Our campus was originally located in Manhattan at the intersection of 131st Street and Broadway. In 1923, Manhattan College moved to its present Riverdale location in order to accommodate a growing student body. But with more than 60 years of history established as Manhattan College, the institution decided to retain the name despite the geographic misnomer.
• 17 alumni are members of the prestigious National Academy of Engineering — an impressive number for an institution the size of Manhattan College.
• Alumni include Rudy Giuliani '65, former mayor of New York City; James Patterson '69, best-selling author; and Raymond Kelly '63, former commissioner of the NYPD.
• Manhattan is one of only 182 remaining colleges founded in the United States before the Civil War.
This Is Manhattan Basketball
• Manhattan has three wins in NCAA Tournament play, defeating West Virginia (1958), Oklahoma (1995) and Florida (2004).
• The Jaspers have won five MAAC Tournament titles in the last 25 years (1993, 2003, 2004, 2014, 2015).
• Manhattan received an at-large berth in 1995 and defeated Oklahoma before falling to Arizona State.
* Was the first team in NCAA history to a win a game in Europe, defeating Holy Cross 70-54 on December 1, 2017 as part of the inaugural Belfast Classic.
Up Next
* The Jaspers will host UAlbany on Saturday, November 12 at 7:00 pm.
