It will be a battle between Metro Atlantic Athletic opponents when the Iona Gaels (1-2) welcome the Fairfield Stags (3-3) to Hynes Athletics Center. The game begins at 7:00 pm ET on Tuesday, Dec. 1.
The Gaels were victorious over Delaware 92-77 in their last matchup. A.J. English played a key role, recording his first double-double of the season with 25 points and 10 assists. The Stags, meanwhile, are coming off an 82-81 win against Columbia in their last outing. Marcus Gilbert was the game’s top scorer, accumulating 33 points on 11-for-16 shooting.
Iona is an eight-point favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is sitting at 165 points. The Gaels enter the game with records of 1-2 both Straight Up (SU) and Against The Spread (ATS). The Gaels are one of the best in Division I in terms of free throw percentage, shooting a superb .781 from the free throw line. Spreading the ball around is a huge part of Iona’s offense. They are 43rd in the nation in assists with an average of 17.0 per game. Iona’s defenders rank 44th in Division I in steals with 8.3 per game.
On the other side, the Stags head into the game with records of 2-2 ATS and 3-3 SU. The Stags convert their free throws at a high percentage, ranking 44th in the nation at .745. The Stags are one of the top teams in the country at finding the open man with an average of 17.0 assists per game.
These conference rivals will be facing off in their first head-to-head clash of the season. When they last met the Gaels were winners, moving their SU record against Fairfield to 8-2 in their most recent head-to-head meetings. The Gaels also hold the advantage ATS with a record of 6-4. When it comes to field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers, Iona and Fairfield each held the edge in all three of these categories once in the last five meetings.
Predictions: SU Winner – Fair, ATS Winner – Fair, O/U – Over
Notes
Iona is 2-9 ATS in its last 11 games.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Iona’s last 6 games.
Iona is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games.
Iona is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games at home.
Iona is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing Fairfield.
Iona is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Fairfield.
Fairfield beats Iona in both possessions per game and points per possession. The Stags average 75.8 possessions and 1.038 points per possession, while the Gaels average 74.7 possessions with .995 points per possession.
Fairfield has an average effective field goal percentage of 52.5%. Iona is an even 1-1 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
On average, Iona attempts 31.0 three pointers and Fairfield attempts 29.0. In games where they have 20 or more three point attempts, the Iona Gaels have a losing 1-2 record while the Fairfield Stags are even at 3-3.
Iona ranks 272nd in offensive rebounds, while Fairfield ranks 61st in defensive rebounds.
Iona has forced an average turnover percentage of 19.6% this season. Fairfield has a losing 1-3 record when its TO% is 19.6% or higher.
