QU Set for Thursday Night MAAC Battle vs. Canisius

Quinnipiac (13-9, 9-2 MAAC) vs. Canisius (2-19, 2-8 MAAC)
Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025 | 7:00 PM
M&T Bank Arena | Hamden, CT
Game Notes: Quinnipiac | Canisius

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HAMDEN, Conn. – Quinnipiac returns to Hamden for MAAC contest No. 12 of the 2024-25 regular season, as the Bobcats play host to Canisius on Thursday at 7:00 PM on ESPN+.

LEADING THE PACK

The Bobcats currently lead the MAAC in rebounds per game (39.32 RPG), and in defensive rebounds per contest (26.86 DRPG).
Paul Otieno leads the MAAC in double-doubles (10), while Amarri Monroe ranks second (7).
Paul Otieno also leads all MAAC players in rebounds per game (8.9).
Amarri Monroe leads MAAC players in steals per game (2.55 SPG), and in defensive rebounds per game (6.05 DRPG).

9-2 MAAC START FOR QU

The Bobcats are 9-2 over their first 11 MAAC games, tied for first place in the league standings.
QU has earned league wins over Rider (12/6), Sacred Heart (12/8), Saint Peter's (1/3), Siena (1/10), Iona (1/12), Merrimack (1/16), Mount St. Mary's (1/18), Rider (1/25), and Fairfield (1/31) so far in 2024-25.
Preseason Player of the Year Amarri Monroe has paced QU in MAAC games, averaging 19.5 points, 8.9 rebounds, & 2.6 steals per game over 11 contests. He's got five double-doubles in league action.
Big man Paul Otieno is averaging 12.1 PPG & 9.3 RPG in MAAC action, shooting 60.2% from the floor. Otieno has 10 double-doubles (leads MAAC), including five during MAAC play.
Khaden Bennett has averaged 13.2 PPG in MAAC play. He's scored 10+ points in 10 of 11 league games.
Opponents have shot just 38.5% against QU during league action.

CONFERENCE SUCCESS UNDER PECORA

The Bobcats are 24-7 in regular season MAAC games over the last two seasons under Head Coach Tom Pecora.

HOME SWEET HOME

Quinnipiac is 21-4 in home games over the last two seasons under Pecora.
The Bobcats are 9-1 this year in Hamden.
Amarri Monroe is averaging 18.7 PPG & 8.9 RPG at M&T Bank Arena, while Paul Otieno has posted 13.4 PPG & 8.6 RPG in Hamden.
QU is shooting 43.4% from the floor in home games. The Bobcats have a +9.8 rebound margin per contest at home.

NEWS & NOTES (2024-25)

Preseason MAAC Player of the Year Amarri Monroe leads QU in overall scoring (16.7 PPG) so far this season, and has also recorded 7.9 RPG. Monroe leads the MAAC in steals (56). He has tallied double-digit scoring totals in 19 of 22 contests. The Newburgh, NY-native has 3+ steals in 11 separate games, including eight steals against Sacred Heart on 12/8.
Paul Otieno leads the MAAC with 10 double-doubles already this season. Otieno has posted 12.5 PPG and 8.9 RPG in 2024-25, shooting 58.9% from the field.
Point guard Savion Lewis is averaging 5.3 assists per game. Last year, Lewis finished fourth nationally with 7.3 APG.
Khaden Bennett has posted 11.3 PPG & 4.8 RPG to date. He's got 10+ points in 15 of his last 17 contests overall.
First-year guard Jaden Zimmerman has come on strong as of late, averaging 9.9 PPG so far during 2024-25. The Bronx, New York-native has scored 10+ in eight of his last 12 outings. He poured in a career-high 16 points at Saint Peter's (1/3).

LAST TIME OUT: BOBCATS FALL AT SIENA (2/2)

Quinnipiac dropped a MAAC matchup at Siena, 84-75, on Sunday afternoon at MVP Arena. The Saints outscored the Bobcats 55-35 in the second half of action to earn the victory.
Amarri Monroe recorded a career-high 28 points for the Bobcats over 37 minutes. He added nine rebounds and three steals.
QU moves to 9-2 in MAAC play with the loss.

SCOUTING CANISIUS

The Golden Griffs enter with a 2-8 league record. Canisius has lost three straight league matchups.
Paul McMillan IV leads the team in scoring with 20.1 PPG, while Tana Kopa has chipped in with 12.9 PPG.
Canisius leads the MAAC in free throw shooting (76.0%).
Jim Christian was officially named the 25th head coach in Canisius men's basketball program history on April 8, 2024. With nearly two decades of NCAA Division I head coaching experience to his credit, Christian took over the Golden Griffin program after spending the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons as an assistant coach and in an administrative role at Kent State University.
The Bobcats have taken three of the last five matchups against Canisius, including a MAAC quarterfinal matchup down in Atlantic City. Quinnipiac downed Canisius 76-52 on March 13 of last year to book a trip to the league semifinal round.

QU SELECTED AS PRESEASON LEAGUE FAVORITE

Quinnipiac Men's Basketball has been selected as the preseason favorite in the 2024-25 MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, as revealed by the league office on Oct. 8, 2024.
Quinnipiac earned 166 points in total in the preseason coaches' poll (11 first-place votes). It marks the first time that QU has ever been selected as the preseason MAAC favorite. The defending MAAC regular season champs went 15-5 in league play (24-10 overall) last season under Head Coach Tom Pecora. The Bobcats earned a berth to the 2024 Ro College Basketball Invitational (CBI) after setting a program record for total wins.

QU RETURNS PRESEASON ALL-MAAC TRIO

Three Bobcats in total (Amarri Monroe, Savion Lewis, Paul Otieno) received preseason recognition. Monroe and Lewis are Preseason All-MAAC First Team selections, while big man Paul Otieno earned a spot on the Preseason All-MAAC Second Team.
Preseason MAAC Player of the Year Amarri Monroe (formerly Amarri Tice) played in all 34 games for Quinnipiac a season ago, stuffing the stat sheet with 12.9 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 1.8 APG, 1.8 SPG, 1.0 BPG. He posted 14.4 PPG & 7.2 RPG in MAAC play. Monroe was the only player that finished inside the league's Top 5 in rebounds, blocks, and steals. He scored 10+ points 25 different times, and registered five separate double-doubles.
Savion Lewis wrapped up the 2023-24 campaign averaging 8.1 PPG, 7.3 APG & 3.2 RPG for the Bobcats. He finished second nationally in total assists (248). Lewis recorded 5+ helpers in 28 of Quinnipiac's 34 contests, including an impressive 17-assist night against Rider in Hamden (1/5/23).
Graduate forward Paul Otieno returns for another year after leading the MAAC in field goal percentage (63.8%) in 2023-24. He averaged 11.0 PPG & 6.9 RPG, starting in all 34 contests for the Bobcats. He registered four double-doubles a season ago.

VETERAN GROUP

The Bobcats return six of nine players that logged 200+ minutes last season.
Amarri Monroe (12.9 PPG), Paul Otieno (11.0 PPG), Savion Lewis (8.1 PPG), Alexis Reyes (7.8 PPG), Doug Young (6.3 PPG), Richie Springs (3.8 PPG) are all back for Quinnipiac ahead of the new season.

6 NEWCOMERS

The Bobcats added six newcomers in total.
Ryan Mabrey transferred in from Miami University, where the former All-MAC Freshman Team selection played in 58 games with the RedHawks over the last two seasons.
Quinnipiac also brought in five true first-year athletes: Grant Randall (Queens, NY), Samson Reilly (Manchester, CT), Spence Wewe (Bristol, England), Braylan Ritvo (Harlem, NY), Jaden Zimmerman (Bronx, NY).

BENCHMARK 2023-24 SEASON

The Bobcats finished off the benchmark campaign with 24 total wins (new program record).
Quinnipiac won its first-ever MAAC regular season title under first-year Head Coach Tom Pecora.
QU also set a new program mark for total points in a single season (2,630).
The Bobcats' 19-4 start over their first 23 games marked the program's best start to a year since the 1965-66 campaign.
Quinnipiac won 10 consecutive games from Jan. 5 – Feb. 8.
The Bobcats finished the month of January with a 7-0 record, marking the first perfect month in the university's Division I history.

HEAD COACH TOM PECORA

Tom Pecora – a veteran with 15 years of experience as a head coach at the Division I level – just wrapped up his first season as Head Coach at Quinnipiac University in 2023-24. Pecora just completed his seventh season in total with the Bobcats (previously served as Associate HC from 2017-2023). He was announced as Quinnipiac's next Head Coach on Thursday, April 13, 2023.
Pecora led the Bobcats to a record-breaking 2023-24 campaign during his first year at the helm, eventually earning MAAC Coach of the Year honors after guiding the Bobcats to the top seed in the conference. Quinnipiac set a new program record for wins (24) during the benchmark season, as the Bobcats went 15-5 in league play to capture the program's first-ever MAAC Regular Season Championship. The Bobcats set a new program record for total points (2,630) under Pecora. Quinnipiac defeated each MAAC opponent at least once.
Prior to his time at Quinnipiac, Pecora served as the head coach at Hofstra for nine years (2001-2010) and at Fordham for five seasons (2010-15). He also served as the associate head coach under Jay Wright for seven seasons before taking the head job at Hofstra, the last two of which resulted in America East Conference titles and NCAA Tournament berths.
Pecora served as the head coach at Hofstra for nine years (2001-2010) and at Fordham for five seasons (2010-15). Prior to taking over the head coaching position at Hofstra, Pecora served as the associate head coach under Jay Wright for seven seasons, the last two of which resulted in America East Conference titles and NCAA Tournament berths.
As a head coach at Hofstra, Pecora compiled a 155-126 mark in nine seasons, leading the Pride to four postseason appearances (three NIT and one CBI), the most for any New York City team over that nine-year span. In 16 years at Hofstra with Pecora on the staff (nine years as a head coach, seven as an assistant), the Pride averaged 19 wins a season (246-161).
During his time in Hempstead, Hofstra was the winningest program in the Metropolitan New York area. Over his last six years, Hofstra won 121 games, including four 20-win seasons. In 2006 and 2009, he was named Coach of the Year by the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association (MBWA) and he also received regional Coach of the Year honors from the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and the Basketball Coaches Association of New York (BCANY).
Prior to joining the staff at Hofstra, Pecora also had previous experience in running a program, serving as head basketball coach at the State University of New York at Farmingdale from 1989-92. In three seasons at Farmingdale, the Rams posted a 62-24 record, captured the Region 15 championship in 1992 (when they finished 20-9), advanced to the National Junior College Athletic Association Tournament and were ranked as one of the nation's top 20 junior college programs.

FUTURE BOBCATS

Quinnipiac Men's Basketball has announced the addition of three players during the early signing period, as revealed by Head Coach Tom Pecora and the Bobcats on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. Keith Mcknight (Teaneck, N.J.), Jayden Reid (Cheshire, Conn.), and Lateef Patrick (Milton, Mass.) will are all set to join the reigning MAAC regular season champions ahead of the 2025-26 season.
Full Press Release: CLICK HERE

To stay up to date with all Quinnipiac men's basketball news, follow the program on X/Instagram @QU_MBB or visit www.gobobcats.com/mbb.

Schedule

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Khaden Bennett

Savion Lewis

Ryan Mabrey

Amarri Monroe

Paul Otieno

Grant Randall

Samson Reilly

Alexis Reyes

Braylan Ritvo

Richie Springs

Spence Wewe

Doug Young

Jaden Zimmerman

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