St. John’s may be New York City’s resident college basketball power and both Iona and Fordham might be on the upswing, but the only league comprised entirely of city teams kicks off its championship tournament when the CUNY Athletic Conference tourney starts today at noon.
The College of Staten Island will play host to the bulk of the tourney, with the men’s quarterfinals today at noon and the women’s tomorrow. The men’s and women’s semis are Tuesday and Wednesday starting at 5:30 p.m.; and the finals are Friday at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m.
Baruch (16-8, 10-3), fresh off its third straight North Division title, opens the men’s quarters at noon. At 2:15 p.m., tourney host Staten Island (16-8), the defending champ, faces Hunter and 6-6 center Greg Hardin, who is Division III’s leading rebounder (13.1) and third-leading scorer (26.1 ppg). The next game is Brooklyn vs. John Jay, whose coach — 26-year-old Guy Rancourt — won coach of the year honors by turning around a 2-23 program in his first year on the job.
In the 7 o’clock nightcap, South champ York plays CCNY at 7 p.m. CCNY is coached by Dan Nigro Jr., whose father serves as his assistant. York has won 13 straight games to raise its record to 17-7, 12-1 in the league. The Cardinals are led by 7-foot senior center Neil Edwards, a Far Rockaway native who’s averaging 15.6 points, 8.9 rebounds and a Division III-leading 7.7 blocks to earn CUNY Player of the Year honors.
“We all come to play and they all play hard [in the CUNY],” said York coach Ron St. John. “To beat somebody by ‘x’ amount of points one night and the next time you play it’ll be at the buzzer, I don’t know how it happens, but it happens all the time. If we take [opponents] for granted, we’ll come not ready to play, and we won’t be where I hope to get.”
In women’s play, North Division champ Hunter (17-7, 12-1) is the top seed in one bracket while South Division Staten Island (17-7, 12-1) is the top seed in the other. Staten Island’s Marguerite Gualtieri, who won coach of the year, will look to win the championship on her home court.
Also yesterday, CUNY announced an all-star game next year against the rival NJAC from New Jersey.