2026 MAAC men's basketball tournament
| 2026 MAAC men's basketball tournament | |
|---|---|
| Classification | Division I |
| Season | 2025–26 |
| Teams | 10 |
| Site | Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall Atlantic City, New Jersey |
| Champions | Siena (6th title) |
| Winning coach | Gerry McNamara (1st title) |
| MVP | Gavin Doty (Siena) |
| Television | ESPN+, ESPN/ESPN2 |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Merrimack | 17 | – | 3 | .850 | 23 | – | 11 | .676 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Saint Peter's | 14 | – | 6 | .700 | 17 | – | 12 | .586 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Siena † | 13 | – | 7 | .650 | 23 | – | 12 | .657 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Quinnipiac | 12 | – | 8 | .600 | 19 | – | 13 | .594 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Marist | 12 | – | 8 | .600 | 19 | – | 12 | .613 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mount St. Mary's | 11 | – | 9 | .550 | 15 | – | 17 | .469 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fairfield | 11 | – | 9 | .550 | 21 | – | 13 | .618 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Iona | 10 | – | 10 | .500 | 18 | – | 14 | .563 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sacred Heart | 9 | – | 11 | .450 | 14 | – | 19 | .424 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Manhattan | 8 | – | 12 | .400 | 12 | – | 20 | .375 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Niagara | 5 | – | 15 | .250 | 8 | – | 22 | .267 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Canisius | 5 | – | 15 | .250 | 10 | – | 21 | .323 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rider | 3 | – | 17 | .150 | 4 | – | 25 | .138 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † 2026 MAAC tournament winner | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2026 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament was the postseason men's basketball tournament for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference for the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The tournament was played March 5–10, 2026, at the Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey.[1][2] The tournament winner, Siena, received the conference's automatic bid to the 2026 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.
This was the last conference tournament under the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference name. In July 2026, the conference will rebrand.[3]
Seeds
Only the top 10 teams in the conference will participate in the tournament.[4] The top six teams will receive byes to the quarterfinals. Teams will be seeded by record within the conference, with a tiebreaker system to seed teams with identical conference records.
| Seed | School | Conference | Tiebreaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Merrimack | 17–3 | |
| 2 | Saint Peter's | 14–6 | |
| 3 | Siena | 13–7 | |
| 4 | Quinnipiac | 12–8 | 1–0 vs. Siena |
| 5 | Marist | 12–8 | 0–2 vs. Siena |
| 6 | Mount St. Mary's | 11–9 | 1–0 vs. Fairfield |
| 7 | Fairfield | 11–9 | 0–1 vs. Mount St. Mary's |
| 8 | Iona | 10–10 | |
| 9 | Sacred Heart | 9–11 | |
| 10 | Manhattan | 8–12 | |
| DNQ | Niagara | 5–15 | 2–0 vs. Canisius |
| DNQ | Canisius | 5–15 | 0–2 vs. Niagara |
| DNQ | Rider | 3–17 |
Schedule
| Session | Game | Time* | Matchup | Score | Attendance | Television |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First round – Thursday, March 5 | ||||||
| 1 | 1 | 6:00 p.m. | No. 8 Iona vs No. 9 Sacred Heart | 80–91 | 1,037 | ESPN+ |
| 2 | 8:30 p.m. | No. 7 Fairfield vs No. 10 Manhattan | 71–60 | |||
| Quarterfinals – Friday, March 6 | ||||||
| 2 | 3 | 6:00 p.m. | No. 1 Merrimack vs No. 9 Sacred Heart | 70–48 | 1,565 | ESPN+ |
| 4 | 8:30 p.m. | No. 2 Saint Peter's vs No. 7 Fairfield | 55–74 | |||
| Quarterfinals – Saturday, March 7 | ||||||
| 3 | 5 | 6:00 p.m. | No. 4 Quinnipiac vs No. 5 Marist | 75–77 | 2,047 | ESPN+ |
| 6 | 8:30 p.m. | No. 3 Siena vs No. 6 Mount St. Mary's | 63–58 | |||
| Semifinals – Sunday, March 8 | ||||||
| 4 | 7 | 6:00 p.m. | No. 1 Merrimack vs No. 5 Marist | 58–57 | 1,395 | ESPN+ |
| 8 | 8:30 p.m. | No. 3 Siena vs No. 7 Fairfield | 76–61 | |||
| Championship – Tuesday, March 10 | ||||||
| 5 | 9 | 9:00 p.m. | No. 1 Merrimack vs No. 3 Siena | 54–64 | 1,726 | ESPN2 |
| *Game times in EST. Rankings denote tournament seeding. | ||||||
Bracket
| First round March 5 ESPN+ | Quarterfinals March 6–7 ESPN+ | Semifinals March 8 ESPN+ | Championship March 10 ESPN2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Merrimack | 70 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Iona | 80 | 9 | Sacred Heart | 48 | ||||||||||||||
| 9 | Sacred Heart | 91 | 1 | Merrimack | 58 | ||||||||||||||
| 5 | Marist | 57 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Quinnipiac | 75 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Marist | 77 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Merrimack | 54 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Siena | 64 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Saint Peter's | 55 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Fairfield | 71 | 7 | Fairfield | 74 | ||||||||||||||
| 10 | Manhattan | 60 | 7 | Fairfield | 61 | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | Siena | 76 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Siena | 63 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Mount St. Mary's | 58 | |||||||||||||||||
Source:[5]
Awards and Honors
All-Tournament Team
| Player | Team |
|---|---|
| Gavin Doty | Siena |
| Justice Shoats | |
| Riley Mulvey | |
| Kevair Kennedy | Merrimack |
| Tye Dorset | |
| Branden Benjamin | Fairfield |
| Justin Menard | Marist |
MVP in bold
Source:[6]
See also
References
- ^ "2026 MAAC Men's and Women's Basketball Championships - Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference". maacsports.com. Retrieved February 7, 2026.
- ^ "MAAC Basketball Championships Return to Atlantic City in 2026 with New Dates". 97.3 ESPN. October 1, 2025. Retrieved February 7, 2026.
- ^ read, Sam Federman·5 min (February 6, 2026). "Commissioner says MAAC will have a new name and logo next season, talks about Atlantic City tournament decision". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved March 6, 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "MAAC Announces New Format for the 2025 Hercules Tires Men's and Women's Basketball Championships". maacsports.com. October 3, 2024. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
- ^ "2026 Men's Basketball Bracket (PDF) - Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference" (PDF). maacsports.com. Retrieved February 7, 2026.
- ^ "Siena Wins 2026 Air Force Reserve MAAC Men's Basketball Championship Powered by Northeast Beef; Saints Secure Seventh Title in Program History". maacsports.com. March 11, 2026. Retrieved March 16, 2026.