[media-credit id=2200 align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]The Quinnipiac men’s basketball team’s schedule is complete. The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) section of the schedule was released Wednesday morning for the 2018-19 season.

This will be the conference’s second year playing an 18-game schedule, as opposed to the traditional 20-game slate. Quinnipiac opens conference play on Thursday, Jan. 3 at Manhattan. The Bobcats split the season series with the Jaspers last year, with their win coming on a buzzer-beating layup by Isaiah Washington.

The Bobcats stay on the road as they will play defending MAAC regular season co-champion Rider on Saturday, Jan. 5.

The Bobcats then return home to the People’s United Center on Jan. 10, and for the second consecutive season, will play their MAAC home opener against the Monmouth Hawks. The Bobcats won the lone meeting between the two teams last season.

The Monmouth contest starts a four-game homestand, as the Bobcats play last year’s MAAC Tournament semifinal opponent Fairfield on Jan. 13. The team remains in Hamden to take on another MAAC Tournament opponent in Canisius on Thursday, Jan. 17, before facing Niagara on Jan. 19.

Canisius and Niagara finished second and third in the MAAC during last year’s regular season, but lost co-players of the year in Jermaine Crumpton (Canisius) and Kahlil Dukes (Niagara).

.@MAACHoops officially announces MBB schedule for 2018-19. Quinnipiac…

—Opens @ Manhattan on Jan. 3, closes vs. Manhattan on March 3
—Plays Fairfield & Siena only once
—Visits #MAACHoops three-time defending champ Iona on Feb. 8

Who else is ready for November? pic.twitter.com/e4IhpuuZM2

— Logan Reardon (@TheLoganReardon) August 15, 2018

Quinnipiac then goes on the road to face Marist on Jan. 25, but returns to Hamden to close out the month against Saint Peter’s on Jan. 27.

After a month that consists of five home games, the Bobcats open February on the road, as they travel to upstate New York to take on Canisius on Feb. 1 and Niagara on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 3.

The Bobcats then get their first look at three-time defending MAAC Champion Iona on Feb. 8 at Hynes Athletic Arena in New Rochelle, New York.

Unlike last year, the Bobcats play Iona twice this season. The second matchup comes on Feb. 19 in Hamden. In between those two games, Quinnipiac squares off with Rider again (Feb. 12) and Marist (Feb. 15) at home before traveling to Albany to take on Siena on Feb. 17.

After facing Iona for the second time, the Bobcats will get four days between games before getting a second look at Monmouth on Feb. 24 to wrap up the month.

This year, with the start of the MAAC Tournament being pushed back, Quinnipiac plays two regular season games in March, closing the year with the same two teams as the 2017-18 season. The Bobcats go on the road to battle Saint Peter’s on March 1 before closing out the season at home against Manhattan on March 3.

The Bobcats will have one more home game than last season, as they will play an even nine conference home and away games as opposed to last year’s eight to 10 split.

The MAAC Tournament will be held once again at the Times Union Center in Albany, beginning on March 7, where all 11 teams will compete for an automatic bid to the 2019 NCAA Tournament.