The streaking 7-3 Iona College Gaels men’s basketball team will play the undefeated, nationally ranked Syracuse Orange at the Carrier Dome tonight at 7 PM. The game will present an opportunity to benchmark the progress the revitalized Gaels have made this season. It is only the second time Iona has played in the Carrier Dome, the last time being 27 years ago.
How big is this game? ESPN is giving Iona’s Mike Glover the star treatment: Optimus Prime scores like a machine
Iona’s Mike Glover is more than pretty good. Through the first 10 games of his Division I basketball career, the 6-foot-7, 215-pound forward — the younger brother of former St. John’s player Anthony Glover — is averaging 22.1 points and 9.6 rebounds per game for the Gaels. His scoring averages ranks him No. 15 in the country.
Worth noting, the Gaels are on the verge of reaching 1,000 wins in the history of the program. They currently stand at 998.
The Iona AD provides further details.
Iona (7-3, RPI: 88) vs. No. 5/5 Syracuse (10-0; RPI: 11)
Syracuse, NY – Carrier Dome
Saturday, December 18, 2010 – 7:00 pm
LISTEN LIVE – www.ICGaels.com/insider – Gary Stanley and Vin Parise
WATCH LIVE – SNY / ESPN3.com – Mark Larson and Dan LiedkaFor complete games notes:
Printable Stats:LISTEN LIVE LINK: http://www.icgaels.com/newMediaPlayer/sl/console.htm?id=&type=live&oemid=14900
LIVE STATS: http://www.icgaels.com/livestatsPREVIOUS RESULTS/STREAKS
Dec. 11: Iona 87, Fairleigh Dickinson 66 (New Rochelle, NY)
Dec. 11: Syracuse 100, Colgate 43 (Syracuse, NY)tThe Gaels have won seven straight contests; Syracuse has won all 10 of their games in 2010-11
THE HEADLINES:
The Iona College men’s basketball team (7-3) puts its seven-game winning streak on the line when they take on one of the hottest teams in NCAA Div. I, No. 5 Syracuse (10-0), at the Carrier Dome. The Gaels return to “the Dome” for the second time in history and first time in 27 years in a game that can be seen in the Metropolitan Area on SportsNet New York.IONA VS. SYRACUSE – SERIES HISTORY
The two teams meet for the fourth time in history tonight the the Orange defeating the Gaels in all three contests. In the last meeting, Syracuse needed a three-pointer with 1.2 seconds remaining to defeat the 12th seeded Gaels in the first round of the 1998 NCAA Championship. The Orange are 2-0 against Iona on their home court including the one matchup at the Carrier Dome.EMPIRE STATE OF MIND
Tonight’s match up features the two teams with the best winning percentages in New York State through the early stages of the 2010-11 season. Syracuse (10-0) and Iona (7-3) lead Buffalo (6-3), St. Francis (NY) (6-3), St. Bonaventure (5-3) and St. John’s (5-3) in the NYS standings. New York hosts the second highest number of NCAA Div. I schools in the country with 22, trailing California’s 25.THE GAELS VERSUS NATIONALLY RANKED OPPONENTS
Iona has lost six straight vs. nationally ranked opponents since handing then No. 23 Iowa State an 89-72 defeat on the Cyclones’ home court. The Gaels have lost decisions to No. 19 Kentucky, No. 1 North Carolina, No. 15 Vanderbilt, No. 22 Wisconsin, and No. 17 Ohio State, and No. 11 UConn since the 2005-06 campaign. The Gaels defeated No. 22 North Carolina, 65-56, on Dec. 27, 2002 in the first round of the MSG Holiday Festival at Madison Square Garden. Prior to that game, the last ranked team Iona defeated was on Feb. 21, 1980, in No. 2 ranked and eventual national champion Louisville, 77-60, at Madison Square Garden – the highest-ranked opponent Iona has beaten in program history. No. 5 Syracuse is the highest ranked opponent the Gaels have faced since No. 1 UNC on Nov. 18, 2007.BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK MAAC
Junior Mike Glover earned his second straight MAAC Player of the Week honor following sophomore Kyle Smyth’s win the week prior marking the third time in school history that the Gaels were honored three weeks in a row. Glover is the first to win two in a row individually since Steve Burtt in Jan. 2006. Iona’s three to three straight MAAC Player of the Week honors came from Mindaugus Timinskas and Donell Mitchell in Dec. 1996 and Jan. 1997 and Tariq Kirksay, John McDonald and Kashif Hameed in Jan. 1998. The Gaels earned a postseason bid (NIT in 1997, NCAA in 1998) in both prior seasons. Iona has never earned four straight MAAC Players of the Week.MACHADO RANKED NO. 2 IN THE NATION IN ASSISTS
With four 10+ assist efforts in his last six games, junior Scott Machado has climbed to No. 2 on the NCAA’s Assist chart heading into today’s game. Machado has averaged a MAAC best 8.0 dimes per game, well over Iona’s record of 6.5 apg set by Glenn Grant in 1998-99. He’s also on pace to become the first player in school history to record more than 200 assists in a season. Machado had his third double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 assists at Long Island on Dec. 8. He set a career-high with 15 assists and 14 points in a win at Albany on Nov. 23. Machado has five career double-doubles, all of the points-assists variety. He ranks sixth in the MAAC in scoring, first in assists, and first in steals.WE’RE GOIN’ STREAKING
The Gaels have produced their eighth winning streak of seven or more games in the last 20 seasons with their current stretch. The longest winning streak during the time frame came in 1997-98 when the squad rolled off 15 in a row in January and February. Iona’s longest streak last year was eight Jan. 9- Feb. 1. The school record is 17 in a row set in 1979-80.ON THE ROAD AGAIN
With its win over Long Island on Dec. 8, the Gaels picked up their third straight road win marking just the third time the program has accomplished the feat since their MAAC Championship season of 2006. The last time the Gaels won more than three straight road games was during its program record stretch of eight-in-a-row from Jan. 3 – Feb. 15, 2006. After going 10-38 on the road from that point through the end of the 2008-09 campaign, Iona is 12-5 in its opponents buildings over the last two seasons.METRO AREA BASKETBALL HEATING UP
After a dismal .428 combined winning percentage and only five teams holding an above .500 record in 2009-10, New York Metropolitan basketball has picked it up this season and are 12 games over .500 (66-54, .550) early on this season. All but four teams (FDU, Manhattan, N.J.I.T and Wagner) hold an even or winning record in 2010-11. Iona was the last of the 14 teams within 30 miles of Madison Square Garden to reach the NCAA Championship back in 2006.MAROON & GOLD ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER
Follow Iona on Facebook and Twitter by logging on to www.facebook.com/ICGaels or www.twitter.com/ICGaels and receive immediate updates on the Gaels. A number of members of the Iona coaching staff are also on Twitter. Follow assistant coaches Jared Grasso (@JGras11) and Garee Bryant (@GB_22), Director of Basketball Operations Bob Paul (@rjpaul1130) and Recruiting Coordinator Zak Boisvert (@ ZakBoisvert).ON TAP FOR THE GAELS
The Maroon & Gold ends the 2010 calendar year with two home games that wrap around the Christmas holiday against Vermont (Dec. 22) and Hofstra (Dec. 29).