Iona College Men’s Basketball will will play Liberty University tomorrow at 3 PM as part of the ESPNU/Sears Bracketbusters event.
Game Notes:
For complete notes:
http://www.icgaels.com/fls/14900/stats/mbasketball/2010-11/gamenotes/11-02-19-Liberty.pdf
Printable Stats:
http://www.icgaels.com/fls/14900/stats/mbasketball/2010-11/teamcume.pdf
Digital Yearbook:
http://www.icgaels.com/fls/14900/stats/mbasketball/guide/00-MBB_Guide.pdf
Iona (17-10,11-5 MAAC; RPI: 112) at Liberty (19-9, 13-3 Big South; RPI 131)
Lynchburg, VA – Vines Center
Saturday, February 19, 2011 – 3:00 pm
LISTEN LIVE – www.ICGaels.com/insider – Gary Stanley
WATCH LIVE – ESPNU – Todd Harris and Mark Adams
LISTEN LINK: http://www.icgaels.com/newMediaPlayer/sl/console.htm?id=&type=live&oemid=14900
LIVE STATS: http://www.icgaels.com/livestats
PREVIOUS RESULTS/STREAKS
2/16: Iona College 102, Manhattan 65 (Riverdale, NY)
2/15: VMI 69, Liberty 59 (Lexington, VA)
The Gaels have won four straight; Liberty snapped a three-game winning streak with a loss on Tuesday.
THE HEADLINES:
The Iona College men’s basketball team (17-10) takes a break from MAAC action Saturday afternoon when they travel to Lynchburg, VA to face the Big South Conference’s Liberty University (19-9) in a Sears Bracketbusters matchup televised on ESPNU.
IONA VS. LIBERTY – SERIES HISTORY
The Gaels and Flames square off for the second time in history and the first time in 13 seasons. Iona topped Liberty 84-68 at the Hynes Center on Dec. 20, 1997.
GAELS IN THE BRACKETBUSTERS
Iona is 3-2 in Bracketbusters contests, after topping William and Mary last season on ESPNU. The Gaels are 1-1 on the road, topping Delaware in 2007 and losing to Boston University in 2009. Tonight’s matchup is the third TV game for the Iona in the Bracketbusters event, after last seasons win over the Tripe and a 93-75 win over Buffalo at home 93-75 on Feb. 18, 2006.
ON THE ROAD…
Iona is 7-6 this season on its opponent’s floor after wins over Marist and Manhattan this wek. The squad began the season with a loss at Cleveland State in the second game of the year. After the loss, Iona ripped off three straight road wins for just the third time since its MAAC Championship season of 2006. During that season, the Gaels won a program record 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 16-10 in its opponents buildings over the last two seasons.
FAST STARTS
During its four-game winning streak Iona jumped out to big leads early on its path to victory. The squad scored the first 12 points vs. Manhattan at home on Feb. 7, the first eight points vs. Siena a game later, the first 10 points vs. Marist on Sunday and seven of the first nine points against the Jaspers on Wednesday. Iona has scored on its first possession in each of the wins assisted by junior Mike Glover who has won 27 of the 30 tip-offs (including three OT taps) this season.
MACHADO FALLS TO NO. 2 ON NCAA ASSISTS LEADERBOARD
Junior Scott Machado fell behind UAB’s Aaron Johnson after Manhattan on Wednesday, and trails by just .04 assists per game. He is one of three players in NCAA Div. I to average more than seven assists per game. Machado has averaged a MAAC best 7.52 dimes per game, more than one assist more than Iona’s record of 6.5 apg set by Glenn Grant in 1988-89. He became the second player (Marvin McCullough) at Iona to record 100 or more assists in his first three seasons at Iona. With four assists vs. Manhattan he became the first Iona player and first player in the NCAA this year to record more than 200 assists in a season. Against Marist, he passed Grant’s 194 assists in 1988-89 for the single-season school record. Iona’s junior guard has eight double-doubles this season, the third highest MAAC total (behind Glover and Siena’s Ryan Rossiter) and 10 in his career, all of the points-assists variety. He ranks seventh in the MAAC in scoring and first in assists.
THE STOPPER
Junior Trinity Fields was inserted into the Gael lineup the last two games with the sole mission of slowing down the opponent’s leading scorer. At Marist he came in following a Sam Prescott three-pointer that cut Iona’s once 19-point advantage down to two points with 10:26 remaining in the second half. After scoring 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting in the first 10 minutes of the frame, Fields helped limit Prescott to just five field goal attempts (eight points) and kept him off the scoreboard long enough for Iona to go on a decisive 12-0 run following his entrance into the game. At Manhattan, sophomore George Beamon shot 6-of-10 from the field with Fields on the bench and just 3-for-9 with him on the floor. Fields also contributed offensively vs. the Jaspers with a season-high 12 points.
IONA IS NO. 7 TEAM IN ASSISTS
The Gaels have recorded 10 20+ assist efforts this season and stand at No. 7 on the NCAA leader board averaging 17.59 assists per game. Iona is the second-highest highest Mid-Major* program on the chart, behind the Southland’s Sam Houston State. In terms of sheer number of assists, the Gaels 475 helpers is just one behind the nation’s leader Kansas. Iona is also No. 9 in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio. *-defined as a member of one of the 22 conferences eligible for CollegeInsider.com’s Mid-Major Poll
GLOVER AT NO. 8 IN FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE
Junior Mike Glover is tied for eighth on the NCAA Field Goal Percentage shooting 61.0% for the season. He shot 4-for-4 (100.0%) in the Gaels win over Manhattan on Wednesday. The percentage has been helped by a team-high 56 dunks on the season.
IONA’S RECORD WHEN…
Iona’s record when: Leading at the half, 17-4… Trailing at the half, 0-6… After a win, 13-3… On Saturday, 1-2… Scoring more than 79 points, 12-1… Less than 79, 5-9… Allowing less than 70 points, 12-1… Allowing 70 or more, 5-9… Shooting higher than 50%, 9-0… 45% or higher, 12-2… Less than 45%, 4-8… Out rebounding opponent, 12-2… Records more assists, 15-3… Machado records a double-double, 7-1… Glover records a double-double, 11-3… Smyth hits four or more three-pointers, 4-1… Armand has more than one three-pointer, 7-2… Machado has eight or more assists, 12-2… Seven or less, 5-8… When Rodriguez has nine or more rebounds, 6-1… Glover has 12 or more field goal attempts, 11-4… Less than 12 FGA, 6-6…. Leader in FGA: Glover 7-4; Machado 7-4; Jenkins 2-1; Smyth 1-3; Dwight 1-0; Armand 2-0.
EVEN MORE IONA RECORD WHEN…
Eight or more three-pointers made, 8-4… 25 or more three-point attempts, 7-4… 25 or less attempts, 10-6… 30 or more field goals made, 12-0… 67 or more field goal attempts, 5-0… 72.0% or higher free throw percentage, 4-5… 56.0% or lower free throw percentage, 5-0… Record 12 or more offensive rebounds, 11-3… Record 39 or more total rebounds, 6-0… Commit 18 or less fouls, 12-3… Dish out 16 or more assists, 14-1… Dish out less than 16, 3-9… Commit 10 or less turnovers 5-4… Commit 15 or more, 3-2… Hold opponent to less than 36.0% three-point FG%, 10-4… Hold opponent under 14 free throws made, 11-2… Hold opponent under 20 free throw attempts, 14-3… Allow 13 or more offensive rebounds, 3-5… Allow less than 13, 14-5… Allow 36 or more rebounds, 5-8… Hold opponent to under 36, 12-2… Hold opponent under 13 assists, 11-2… Allow opponent 13 or more assists, 6-8… Hold opponent under 24 field goals, 11-2… Allow 25 or more field goals, 6-8… Allow 55 or more field goal attempts, 10-4… Allow 51-55 FGA, 6-6… Hold opponent under 50 FGA, 6-1… Hold opponent to less than 46.0% from the field, 12-4… Allow opponent to shoot 46.0% or better, 5-6.
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
Iona completes its season-long four-game road trip next Friday (Feb. 25) in an important MAAC matchup at Saint Peter’s. The two teams are tied with Rider for second place in the MAAC