Purple Eagles and Peacocks are Best Bet in MACC

Conference tournaments are only a couple weeks away, and this is how the BetUS Sportsbook last week.

1: Niagara Purple Eagles (17-8 ATS, 21-6 SU) (9-6 ATS, 12-3 SU in MAAC) (LW: 1) The Purple Eagles and Saints should slug it out for a spot in the NCAA Tournament, but if Niagara doesn’t prove victorious, it should qualify for the NIT barring a collapse down the stretch. This weekend, Niagara will get its best chance to impress when Illinois State comes to town for Bracket Buster Weekend. Don’t sleep on the trip to Rider though, as the Broncs are the only squad to knock off Siena so far this year.

This Week: Away @ Rider, Home vs. Illinois State

2: St. Peter’s Peacocks (12-5-1 ATS, 9-17 SU) (11-3-1 ATS, 6-9 SU in MAAC) (LW: 2) There are nine other teams in the MAAC that are praying that St. Peter’s doesn’t turn up in their draw for the MAAC Tournament in a couple weeks. Even though they are only 9-17, the Peacocks are playing their best ball at the right time, and have now notched three straight victories both SU and ATS. They pounded Marist as slight favorites on Monday, and have a pair of conference home games left to go with their Bracket Buster game.

This Week: Away @ Youngstown State

3: Manhattan Jaspers (10-10 ATS, 15-11 SU) (9-6 ATS, 8-7 SU in MAAC) (LW: 4) Manhattan really never had a chance against an angry Siena squad last week, but the squad rebounded with a 73-68 win over Rider to stay in the top half of the pack in the Metro Atlantic. At 4-1 ATS and SU in their L/5, the Jaspers could be a force heading into the MAAC Tourney in a couple weeks.

This Week: Away @ William & Mary

4: Rider Broncs (9-10 ATS, 14-11 SU) (8-7 ATS, 9-6 SU in MAAC) (LW: 3) Rider clearly suffered a huge hangover after beating Marist by losing to both Manhattan and St. Peter’s last week. The two losses snapped a string of three straight and five out of six victories both SU and ATS. The Broncs will hope to improve on a 4-5 ATS home record with a pair of home dates this week.

This Week: Home vs. Niagara, Home vs. Maryland-Baltimore County

5: Iona Gaels (10-11-1 ATS, 12-15 SU) (7-8-1 ATS, 7-9 SU in MAAC) (LW: 5) The Gaels took care of business in Maryland early last week, but were largely outmatched against a powerful Siena squad at home on Monday. Two of the final three regular season contests for Iona are on the road, where they’re just a .500 ATS team this year.

This Week: Away @ Boston

6: Siena Saints (11-12-1 ATS, 21-6 SU) (5-9-1 ATS, 15-1 SU in MAAC) (LW: 8) Has Siena done enough to make the NCAA Tournament without the MAAC crown? The numbers all suggest that it’ll be awfully close. These next two games are incredibly imperative for the hopes of the Saints, as wins over Northern Iowa and Niagara would probably be good enough to make the MAAC Tournament irrelevant.

This Week: Home vs. Northern Iowa

7: Canisius Golden Griffins (9-10-1 ATS, 8-18 SU) (6-9-1 ATS, 3-13 SU in MAAC) (LW: 6) Canisius went on the road and held off a huge comeback by Loyola-Maryland to win its third game in conference of the season on Monday night. A game at Bowling Green for Bracket Buster Saturday is the final road test of the season for the Griffs, which is bad news for their bettors. Canisius is just 2-6 ATS away from Buffalo this season.