Iona Gaels Host Buffalo in CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament Quarterfinal Round Tonight

Written By: Robert Cox

For complete notes:
http://www.icgaels.com/fls/14900/stats/mbasketball/2010-11/gamenotes/CIT/11-03-22-Buffalo-Reduced.pdf

Notes with front-and-back covers:
http://www.icgaels.com/fls/14900/stats/mbasketball/2010-11/gamenotes/CIT/11CIT2-complete-reduced.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/2010-11/guide/00-MBB_Guide.pdf

2011 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament Quarterfinal Round
Iona College (23-11,13-5 MAAC; RPI: 69) vs. Buffalo (20-13, 8-8 MAC; RPI: 135)
New Rochelle, NY – Hynes Athletics Center
Tuesday, March 22, 2011 – 7:30 pm ET

LISTEN LIVE – www.ICGaels.com/insider – Gary Stanley and Vin Parise
WATCH LIVE – Fox College Sports Broadband – Gary Stanley and Vin Parise

LISTEN LINK: http://www.icgaels.com/newMediaPlayer/sl/console.htm?id=&type=live&oemid=14900
WATCH LINK: http://www.b2livetv.com/partner_members.asp?id=379

LIVE STATS: http://www.icgaels.com/newLiveStats/Basketball/index.dbml?GAME_STAT_ID=542627&db_oem_id=14900

PREVIOUS RESULTS/STREAKS
3/16: Iona College 85, Valparaiso 77 (Valparaiso, IN – CIT First Round)
3/19: Buffalo 49, Western Michigan 48 (Kalamazoo, MI – CIT Second Round)

The Gaels won their last contest and have won 10 of their last 11; Buffalo has won two straight (in the CIT) and three of its last four

THE HEADLINES:
The Iona College men’s basketball team (23-11, 13-5 MAAC) will host Buffalo (20-13, 8-8 MAC) in the quarterfinal round of the 2011 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament at the Hynes Center. The Gaels earned a bye through the second round after beating Valparaiso last Wednesday night. The Maroon & Gold will play at the Hynes Athletics Center for the first time in nearly a month. It’s the first time the Gaels will host a postseason tournament contest since Mar. 14, 1996 in an NIT game vs. Saint Joseph’s (PA).

INSIDE THE COLLEGEINSIDER.COM POSTSEASON TOURNAMENT FORMAT
Eight teams remain in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. The winner of tonight’s game will face the winner of Ohio University and East Tennessee State University on Friday or Saturday in the CIT semifinal round. Other quarterfinal matchups include Southern Methodist at Nothern Iowa and Santa Clara at San Francisco.

IONA VS. BUFFALO – SERIES HISTORY
The two teams will meet for the eighth time in history. Buffalo holds a 4-3 series lead after winning the last meeting at the beginning of the 2006-07 campaign. The Gaels and Bulls are deadlocked at 2-2 in New Rochelle. Iona took the last meeting at the Hynes Center, winning its 20th game of the year on Feb. 18, 2006 in a convincing 93-75 fashion in the ESPNU Bracketbusters matchup.

HOME COOKIN’
Iona improved to 11-2 at home this season with its win over Fairfield in the regular season finale on Feb. 27. The squad has won 20 of its last 23 contests at the Hynes Center. The three losses during the last 23 games came against Rider on Jan. 27, Vermont on Dec. 22 and the Jaspers last season, all decided by six points or less.

BIG LIGHTS WILL INSPIRE YOU
With its 23-11 record in 2010-11, the Gaels clinched both the second highest win total and win percentage of the 14 New York City Metropolitan Area Division I basketball programs within 30 miles of the center of NY College basketball, Madison Square Garden. The mark comes a after a 2009-10 campaign that saw the squad hold the highest number in both categories. Eight of the top 10 teams in terms of winning percentage in 2010-11 boast first-year coaches in St. John’s, Rutgers, Hofstra, Columbia. Wagner, St. Francis and Iona. In the last 15+ seasons, Iona is second to the Pride in both wins and win percentage. Hofstra took over the lead after Iona’s devastating 2-28 season in 2006-07.

MACHADO RANKS NO. 3 IN THE NCAA IN ASSISTS
Junior Scott Machado sits behind UAB’s Aaron Johnson and Ohio’s D.J. Cooper on the NCAA assist leaderboard entering tonight’s CIT quarterfinal match up. Machado is one of four players in NCAA Div. I to average more than seven assists per game. Machado has averaged a MAAC best 7.47 dimes per game, more than one assist better 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 nine 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.

20/20 VISION
Earning its 20th win in the regular season finale vs. Fairfield, Iona earned its second straight and 15th all-time 20+ win season in the 70-year history of the program. In his first season a the helm of the Gaels, Tim Cluess becomes the second (of 12 all-time) head coach in school history to earn 20 wins in his inaugural season in New Rochelle. Former head man Tim Welsh posted a 21-8 rookie campaign for the Gaels in 1995-96 en route to an NIT appearance that season. With 23 wins this season, Iona has matched the fifth highest win total in school history.

IONA IS NO. 6 TEAM IN ASSISTS
The Gaels have recorded 13 20+ assist efforts this season after matching a season-high with 26 vs. Rider in the MAAC semifinal round. They stand at No. 6 on the NCAA leader board averaging 17.32 assists per game. Iona is No. 2 Mid-Major* program on the chart, behind the Southland’s Sam Houston State. In terms of sheer number of assists, the Gaels’ 589 helpers are the fifth highest in the country behind Kansas, Louisville, Pittsburgh and Washington. Iona is also No. 14 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

SCHOOL RECORD #1 – ASSISTS
With 21 assists vs. Siena in the MAAC Quarterfinal, Iona set a new standard for assists in the season. They now stand at 589. The Maroon & Gold’s 17.32 assists per game stands as the second-highest single season mark behind 17.78 apg in 1992-93.

SCHOOL RECORD #2 – THREE POINT FIELD GOALS
Iona surpassed its single-season record of 227 three-point field goals at Liberty and have now hit 45 more than its recording setting season a year ago. The Maroon & Gold has also eclipsed its record 619 three-point attempts from 2009-10. Iona has shot 272-for-732 (37.2%) from beyond the arc, better than last season’s 36.7%.

MORE RECORDS IN THE HISTORICAL 2010-11 CAMPAIGN
In addition to assists, three-point field goals and attempts, turnovers per game and assist to turnover record, Iona will play a 35th game for the first time in school history tonight. The Gaels have also set program records this year in for field goals made (964) and points scored (2,692). The Maroon & Gold stand two field goal attempts and 33 rebounds shy of their all-time single season mark.

IONA’S RECORD WHEN…
Iona’s record when: Leading at the half, 23-4… Trailing at the half, 0-7… After a win, 18-3… On Tuesday, 2-0… Scoring more than 79 points, 15-1… Less than 79, 8-10… Allowing less than 70 points, 17-2… Allowing 70 or more, 6-9… Shooting higher than 50%, 14-0… 45% or higher, 18-2… Less than 45%, 4-9… Out rebounding opponent, 17-3… Records more assists, 19-3… Machado records a double-double, 8-1… Glover records a double-double, 14-5… Smyth hits four or more three-pointers, 7-1… Armand has more than one three-pointer, 10-2… Machado has eight or more assists, 15-2… Seven or less, 8-9… When Rodriguez has nine or more rebounds, 8-1… Glover has 12 or more field goal attempts, 13-5… Less than 12 FGA, 10-6…. Leader in FGA: Glover 10-4; Machado 9-5; Jenkins 4-1; Smyth 1-3; Dwight 2-0; Armand 2-0.

EVEN MORE IONA RECORD WHEN…
Eight or more three-pointers made, 11-4… 25 or more three-point attempts, 8-4… 25 or less attempts, 15-7… 30 or more field goals made, 15-0… 67 or more field goal attempts, 5-0… 72.0% or higher free throw percentage, 5-6… 56.0% or lower free throw percentage, 7-0… Record 12 or more offensive rebounds, 16-4… Record 39 or more total rebounds, 9-0… Commit 18 or less fouls, 16-4… Dish out 16 or more assists, 18-1… Dish out less than 16, 5-10… Commit 10 or less turnovers 5-4… Commit 15 or more, 5-2… Hold opponent to less than 36.0% three-point FG%, 14-4… Hold opponent under 14 free throws made, 17-3… Hold opponent under 20 free throw attempts, 18-4… Allow 13 or more offensive rebounds, 5-5… Allow less than 13, 18-5… Allow 36 or more rebounds, 5-8… Hold opponent to under 36, 18-3… Hold opponent under 13 assists, 16-3… Allow opponent 13 or more assists, 7-8… Hold opponent under 24 field goals, 15-3… Allow 25 or more field goals, 8-8… Allow 55 or more field goal attempts, 14-4… Allow 51-55 FGA, 8-6… Hold opponent under 50 FGA, 6-2… Hold opponent to less than 46.0% from the field, 18-5.. 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
The winner of tonight’s game advances to the semifinal round of the 2011 CollegeInsider.com Post Season Tournament to face the winner of Ohio University and East Tennesee State University. The semifinal contest will take place on either Friday (Mar. 25) or Saturday (Mar. 26)