MEET US TONIGHT IN ATLANTIC CITY
The 2026 MAAC Men's Basketball Championship tips off on Thursday night at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. Seventh-seeded Fairfield University Men's Basketball meets 10th-seeded Manhattan in First Round matchup at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN+.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Fairfield concluded the 2025-26 regular season with a 69-47 loss to Mount St. Mary's this past Sunday at Mahoney Arena. Braden Sparks scored a team-high 15 points on his Senior Day.
 
Sparks' 15 points included two three-pointers as he moved into sole ownership of fourth place on Fairfield's single-season list with 91 triples in his senior campaign. Declan Wucherpfennig added nine points and pulled down a game-leading 14 rebounds. He also dished out a team-best three assists on the day.
 
Tony Williams hit a pair of three-pointers on his way to eight points, Isaac Munkadi had six points and seven rebounds, and Brandon Benjamin contributed four points and eight boards in his return after a one-game absence. Rounding out the scoring, Halon Rawlins and Michael Rogan each scored two points, and Deuce Turner had one.
 
The Mount was led by 19 points from Trey Deveaux, as well as 15 points and four assists for Arlandus Keyes.
 
Sunday's game marked Senior Day for Noah Best, Luke Davidson, Michael Rogan, Braden Sparks, and Ryan Zan, and graduate student Deuce Turner.
 
COACH CASEY ON THE MOUNT
"I thought they physically beat us up. That hasn't happened a lot to us, so credit to them, They were very tough defensively, tough on the glass, and tough with 50-50s. We've been tough in those ways the entire season. I think we've done a good job of it. But we did not do a good job of it today."
 
THAT CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON
Fairfield is seeking the fourth MAAC Championship in program history. The Stags won back-to-back MAAC Championships under Mitch Buonaguro in 1986 and 1987 and last raised the tournament trophy in 1997, guided by Head Coach Paul Cormier.
 
Along with the three titles, Fairfield also reached the MAAC Finals in 1996, 2003, 2010, 2012, 2018, 2021, and 2024.
 
THE MANHATTAN UNIVERSITY JASPERS
Manhattan enters the postseason at 12-19 overall and 8-12 in the MAAC. The Jaspers secured their place in the postseason with a three-game winning streak over Sacred Heart, Niagara, and Canisius, but have since lost their last three at the hands of Marist, Saint Peter's, and Iona.
 
All-MAAC Third Team pick Jaden Winston leads the Jaspers with 15.3 points per game and also slots sixth in the MAAC with a team-best 3.9 assists per outing.
 
Terrance Jones (12.5 ppg), Devin Dinkins (12.2 ppg), and Fraser Roxburgh (11.1 ppg) all join Winston as double-figure scorers for Manhattan.
 
THIS SEASON VS. MANHATTAN
Fairfield and Manhattan split the home-and-home series this season, which both teams winning on their home court. The Jaspers took an 70-66 decision on Dec. 5 in Riverdale, and the Stags responded emphatically at Mahoney Arena with a 98-62 victory on Jan. 14.
 
US AND THEM
After the series split, Manhattan leads 62-58 on the all-time ledger. The teams have met 11 times in the MAAC Championship, with Fairfield winning six of those meetings. Most recently, the Stags took a 59-58 overtime decision in the 2021 First Round en route to a berth in the MAAC Championship Game.
 
MAAC TOURNAMENT MARKS

Overall	36-41
vs. Manhattan	6-5
at Boardwalk Hall (2020-pres.)	6-6
as #7 seed	9-6 (1 Championship)
in First Round (1990-92, 1998-pres.)	5-11

 
SECOND TIME AROUND
Fairfield went 7-1 when playing a MAAC opponent for the second time this season. Saint Peter's was the lone league foe to win its second game with the Stags.
 
KEEPING IT 100
Chris Casey is now 55-45 through his first 100 games as leader of the Stags. He is tied for the second-most wins by a head coach in his first 100 games at Fairfield. The record belongs to George Bisacca with 66 wins in his first 100 games. Casey and Fred Barakat's 55 wins are also the most through 100 games in Fairfield's Division I history.
 
EVERY POSSESSION MATTERS
Fairfield holds an 11-5 record in one possession games during its three seasons led by Head Coach Chris Casey. Fairfield has won its last seven contests decided by three points or less.
 
The Stags are 26-13 in all games under Casey that were decided by either one or two possessions (six points or fewer).
 
YOUTH MOVEMENT
The Stags have started four true freshmen in 15 of their 31 games this season. To date, no other Division I team has reported a starting lineup with four true freshmen this season. The starting five for all 31 games to date has included at least two rookies.
 
REBOUNDING ROOKIES
Only four true freshmen have grabbed at least 200 rebounds in Fairfield Men's Basketball history, and two of them share the frontcourt this season. All-MAAC Second Team and All-Rookie Team honoree Brandon Benjamin has a rookie-record 297 rebounds. Fellow All-Rookie Team pick Declan Wucherpfennig has also surpassed the milestone with 251.
 
ON THE CONFERENCE LEVEL
With Brandon Benjamin already in possession of the Fairfield rookie rebounding mark, the MAAC record for rebounds by a true freshman belongs to La Salle's Lionel Simmons, who posted 322 boards (9.8 rpg) in 1986-87. Benjamin is second behind Simmons and within striking distance of eclipsing him in both total rebounds and rebounds per game by a MAAC rookie.
 
LET THE SPARKS FLY
All-MAAC Second Team honoree Braden Sparks ranks second in the MAAC in scoring at 17.6 points per game. With 545 total points, he has tallied just the 23rd 500-point campaign in 78 seasons of Fairfield Men's Basketball. Sparks is currently 11th on the Stags' single-season scoring list, just one point out of the top 10.
 
Sparks' MAAC-high 91 three-pointers rank fourth in a season in Fairfield history. He is first in the MAAC with 2.94 three-pointers per game and third in the conference among NCAA qualifiers with a .399 three-point percentage.
 
ALL ABOUT THE BENJAMIN
Brandon Benjamin is one of 13 players in the nation to average a double-double, posting 13.9 points and a MAAC-best 10.2 rebounds per game. Among those 13, Benjamin is one of three true freshmen on the ledger.
 
Benjamin ranks 10th in the nation in rebounds per game and third nationally with 4.21 offensive boards per contest. He is also second in the MAAC in field goal percentage (.567) and ranks second in blocked shots (1.52/game).
 
UP NEXT
The winner of Thursday's First Round game will advance to Friday's quarterfinal round to challenge second-seeded Saint Peter's at 8:30 p.m.