The Iona Gaels (4-4) square off against the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos (2-7) at South Point Arena. Action begins at 3:00 pm ET on Tuesday, Dec. 22.
The Gaels fell to Rhode Island 79-74 on Saturday. Deyshonee Much was the team’s high scorer, finishing with 25 points. The Gauchos, meanwhile, are coming off an 84-70 loss against Akron on Monday. John Green posted 13 points, six rebounds, and two steals.
The Gaels come into this game 4-4 Straight Up (SU) and 4-3 Against The Spread (ATS). Iona is excellent from the perimeter, shooting a stellar .409 from three-point range. Spreading the ball around is a huge part of Iona’s offense. They are 16th in the nation in assists with an average of 18.8 per game.
As for their opponent, the Gauchos have records of 3-5 ATS and 2-7 SU.
Iona and UC Santa Barbara will be facing off for their first head-to-head game in recent seasons.
Predictions: SU Winner – Iona, ATS Winner – Iona
Notes
Ranked 92nd, the Iona Gaels have an offensive rating of 110.5. The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos rank 314th with a defensive rating of just 110.3.
The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos average a field goal percentage of 41.7% this season. The Iona Gaels have split their games this season (3-3) when opponents have a FG% of 41.7% or greater.
The Iona Gaels rank lower for their field goal percentage (126th) than they do for their effective field goal percentage (48th), but the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos have a better FG% ranking (265th) than eFG% ranking (280th).
Ranked 16th in the nation, Iona has an average of 18.8 assists per game. UC Santa Barbara ranks lower at 157th with 13.9.
Iona makes 8.5 steals per game. In games where it gives up 8 or more steals, UC Santa Barbara is undefeated at 1-0.
