One of two things will happen tonight at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Mass.
Either coach Steve Masiello and No. 6 Manhattan (14-17) will beat Iona in the MAAC championship and qualify for the NCAA Tournament with a 15-17 record….
Or, coach Tim Cluess and No. 4 Iona (19-13) will win, sending the Gaels to the Big Dance for the second straight season — and with a chance to redeem themselves after their second-half collapse against BYU last season.
Either way, New York City-area basketball wins.
In a year when St. John’s, Rutgers and Seton Hall won’t go dancing unless something miraculous happens this week at Madison Square Garden, the winner of the Iona/Manhattan game will.
And LIU also has a shot. The Blackbirds face Mount St. Mary’s in the NEC championship game Tuesday night at the LIU Wellness Center with a chance to go to the NCAAs for the second straight season.
Masiello and Manhattan are in this position despite having begun the season at 3-9 and despite losing MAAC Preseason Player of the Year, George Beamon, to a foot injury that will force him to redshirt.
But they’re here now after knocking off Fairfield, 60-42, in Sunday’s semifinals behind Emmy Andujar’s 16 points and Michael Alvarado’s 12.
“Iona’s been the premier college, somewhere we want to be in going to back-to-back NCAAs and getting at-large bids, having great nonconference wins,” Masiello told MassLive.com. “Tim Cluess has done a fantastic job. They’re kind of the face of New York basketball right now and I say that with great admiration.
“I think you’re looking at two very good college basketball programs who are going to play for the opportunity to go to the Big Dance. Both of these teams deserve to go.”
Iona, meantime, lost six of nine down the close of the regular season, but knocked off No. 5 Canisius and No. 1 Niagara to get to the final and has now won four straight.
Four players scored double-figures in the semi, including David Laury, who went for 20 points and 17 boards, and MAAC Player of the Year Lamont “Momo” Jones, who tallied 17 points with five assists.
“Our kids played their hearts out for 40 minutes,” Cluess told LoHud.com. “They shared the ball, defended, rebounded, made shots, made plays. We played a great Niagara team, played very well, and we’re fortunate to come out on top.”
A year ago, a loaded Iona team featured Michael Glover up front and Scott Machado at the point. The favored Gaels lost the MAAC championship game to Fairfield but still received an at-large bid amid much controversy.
They looked like the Miami Heat for a half against BYU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, but blew a 25-point first-half lead and lost 78-72.
It [stinks]. It [stinks],’’ Machado told the New York Post at the time.
A year later, Iona is back in the title game with a chance at redemption.
Standing in their way is a Manhattan team looking to go to the Big Dance with a sub-.500 record.
The teams split their regular-season meetings and will now lay it all on the line for a chance to go dancing.
Either way, New York basketball wins.
Photo: David Molnar, The Republican
