Move over Duke-North Carolina. Step aside Kentucky-Louisville. There’s a new big rivalry in college basketball…and it comes from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
Tempers flared in Friday night’s tilt between the Monmouth Hawks and the Iona Gaels, marring a nationally televised showdown between the conference’s top teams. The two teams eventually came together as the clock hit triple zeroes, not to exchange pleasantries and well wishes, but more harsh words and shoves.
Groundwork for the chippy game, a 110-102 Monmouth victory, appeared to have been laid on Wednesday, as Iona head coach Tim Cluess went after the Monmouth bench, particularly the walk-ons that have earned national acclaim for their wacky antics during Monmouth’s successful season thus far.