Monmouth, Fairfield meet in conference play
Monmouth (13-8, 7-3) vs. Fairfield (8-12, 4-5)
Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard, Bridgeport, Connecticut; Tuesday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Monmouth visits Fairfield in a MAAC matchup. Monmouth won 90-84 at home against Rider on Sunday. Fairfield lost 68-52 on the road to Rider on Friday.
VETERAN PRESENCE: Senior leadership could play a big role in this game’s outcome. Landon Taliaferro, Vincent Eze and Aidas Kavaliauskas have combined to score 42 percent of Fairfield’s points this season. For Monmouth, Ray Salnave, Deion Hammond and Mustapha Traore have scored 54 percent of the team’s points this season, including 65 percent of all Hawks points over their last five.
MAAC IMPROVEMENT: The Hawks have scored 62.9 points per game across 10 conference games, an improvement from the 65.5 per game they managed over 11 non-conference games.SOLID SALNAVE: Salnave has connected on 46.6 percent of the 88 3-pointers he’s attempted and has made 12 of 28 over his last five games. He’s also made 87.3 percent of his foul shots this season.
WINLESS WHEN: The Hawks are 0-5 when they score 63 points or fewer and 13-3 when they exceed 63 points. The Stags are 0-9 when allowing 64 or more points and 8-3 when holding opponents below 64.
STREAK SCORING: Fairfield has won its last three home games, scoring an average of 64 points while giving up 55.3.
DID YOU KNOW: Monmouth has committed a turnover on just 18.4 percent of its possessions this season, which is the second-best percentage among all MAAC teams. The Hawks have turned the ball over only 13.1 times per game this season.