Fairfield, St. Pete's meet in MAAC semis

No. 7 seed Fairfield (9-16, 9-11) vs. St. Peter's (14-10, 11-8)

Metro Atlantic Conference Tourney Semifinals, Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey; Friday, 8:30 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: A ticket to the MAAC championship game is about to be punched as Fairfield and St. Peter's are set to do battle. The teams split the regular season series at one win apiece. The teams last faced each other on Feb. 14, when the Peacocks shot 44.4 percent from the field while limiting Fairfield to just 37 percent en route to a 17-point victory.

SUPER SENIORS: Fairfield's Taj Benning, Jesus Cruz and Caleb Green have collectively scored 47 percent of the team's points this season, including 49 percent of all Stags scoring over the last five games.TERRIFIC TAJ: Benning has connected on 36.2 percent of the 105 3-pointers he's attempted and has gone 5 for 12 over the last three games. He's also converted 84.5 percent of his free throws this season.

SLIPPING AT 72: Fairfield is 0-8 when it allows at least 72 points and 9-8 when it holds opponents to less than 72.

PASSING FOR POINTS: The Peacocks have recently created baskets via assists more often than the Stags. St. Peter's has 39 assists on 68 field goals (57.4 percent) over its previous three games while Fairfield has assists on 33 of 71 field goals (46.5 percent) during its past three games.

DID YOU KNOW: The St. Peter's defense has allowed only 61.9 points per game to opponents this season, ranking the Peacocks 12th among Division I teams. The Fairfield offense has averaged 62.6 points through 25 games (ranked 315th, nationally).

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