I like Iona's roster -- and they do have some high major transfers. And I like Manhattan's coach (think their talent level is less than Iona's, but I don't know it as well). But in my view, guys like Cleveland Melvin, Brandon Young, Edwin, Gibbs, Teague, etc, would be among the best if not the best players in the MAAC. So I think that if you asked an odds-maker, they'd put both the Hall and Depaul 1 and 2 in some order in that league.
In a given game, Iona and Manhattan can probably hang with anyone in the Big East on the right day. But over the course of a season, I think they'd end up as the two bottom teams in the league (unlike when they had Machado, Glover and MoMo, where they obviously would have fared better). It is no slight on Iona or Manhattan -- it is simply recognizing that more talented players typically go to the better conferences.