March Madness

MAAC Tournament 2013 schedule and bracket: Niagra headlines crowded field

The Niagra Purple Eagles are favored to win the MAAC tournament, and they took care of business in their first game.

By Jon Benne@LordBenne Mar 9, 2013, 5:04pm EST

The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament kicked off its quarterfinals on Saturday afternoon. As one of the weaker conferences in the league, there will likely be only one NCAA bid at stake here, going to the winner of the conference tourney. Every game from here on out is "win or go home".

The Niagara Purple Eagles took care of business Saturday, dispatching the No. 9 Siena Saints, 74-62. They're the No. 1 seed, but Iona is the best team in the conference according to KenPom's ratings, and he gives them a 21.8 percent chance to win it all. It's a crowded field, which should make for some entertaining basketball.

Here's the rest of the schedule and TV listings for Saturday (all times Eastern):

No. 4 Iona Gaels vs. No. 5 Canisius Golden Griffins — 4:30 p.m., ESPN3

No. 2 Rider Broncs vs. No. 7 Fairfield Stags — 7:30 p.m., ESPN3

No. 3 Loyola (MD) Greyhounds vs. No. 6 Manhattan Jaspers — 9:30 p.m., ESPN3

You can check out the complete bracket at the official website here.