Mount St. Mary's vs. American

A pair of No. 16 seeds clash for survival in the first of tonight's play in games. Mount St. Mary's won the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship in their third year in the league. The Mountaineers have a terrific frontcourt in 6-8 junior Dola Adebayo (13.2 ppg, 6.9 rpg) and 6-9 senior Jedy Cordilia (10 ppg, 7.3 rpg). They were fifth in the 13-team MAAC in scoring, second in shooting (.442), fourth from area code three (.348), and second in rebounding. The defense is fourth in points given up (69.8 per game), third at defending the 3-pointer, and No. 1 in shooting allowed (.406). Mount St. Mary's has been hot at the right time on an 11-3 SU, 11-2-1 ATS run. While the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference is 20th in RPI rankings, the Patriot League is 26th. American's offense is eighth in the 10-team Patriot League in points (68.6 per game) and last in rebounding, while the defense is sixth in shooting allowed (.454). American got bounced quickly in the Patriot League tournament a year ago losing to Bucknell, 80-57, as a 5.5-point favorite. Play Mount St. Mary's on the moneyline.