The Iona Gaels (9-6) welcome the Monmouth Hawks (12-4) in a matchup that pits the Metro Atlantic Athletic’s third-ranked offense against the top-ranked defense. The game gets underway at 9:00 pm ET on Friday, Jan. 15 and will air on ESU and ES3.
The Gaels were victorious over Marist 90-80 the last time they played. A.J. English was the game’s high scorer with 24 points on 6-for-14 shooting. The Hawks are coming off an 86-74 win over Fairfield in their last outing. Micah Seaborn led the game in scoring with 24 points on 9-for-16 shooting.
Even with a positive Straight Up (SU) record of 9-6, the Gaels are 5-9 Against The Spread (ATS) in those games. They are 2-7 ATS over their last 10 games. Spreading the ball around is a huge part of Iona’s offense. They are 26th in the nation in assists with an average of 17.1 per game.
Across the court, the Hawks head into the game with records of 9-5 ATS and 12-4 SU. Monmouth is one of the top foul-shooting teams in the nation, converting 18.0 shots from the line per game. Switching gears to the Monmouth defense, teams seem to consistently miss shots against the Hawks, who are the 23rd-best team in the nation in terms of opponent field goal percentage allowed at .389. The Hawks are a terror on the defensive glass, averaging an impressive 29.5 defensive rebounds per game.
This is the first meeting of the season for Iona and Monmouth. The last time they played, Iona came out on top, bringing its SU record to 4-1 over Monmouth in their most recent games. Additionally, with a 3-2 record, Iona has the advantage ATS. Iona had the advantage in three key areas (field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers) once over the last five matchups. Monmouth has never had the edge in all three categories.
Predictions: SU Winner – Iona, ATS Winner – Iona
Notes
Iona is 1-6 ATS in its last 7 games.
Iona is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games.
Iona is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games at home.
The Iona Gaels stand undefeated at 6-0 SU against the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. The Monmouth Hawks have a winning record (4-1) in the conference.
The Monmouth Hawks average 73.8 possessions per game and 1.072 points per possession. The Iona Gaels earn fewer possessions with 72.0, but they score more points with 1.092.
Iona has an average effective field goal percentage of 53.0%. Monmouth is a losing 1-2 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
On average, Iona attempts 26.0 three pointers and Monmouth attempts 19.0. In games where they have 20 or more three point attempts, the Iona Gaels are 9-6 while the Monmouth Hawks have a winning 4-2 record.
Iona ranks 43rd in the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.34. Monmouth is ranked lower at 205th with an A/TO of 1.00.
Iona ranks 215th in offensive rebounds, while Monmouth ranks 15th in defensive rebounds.
On average, Iona forces a turnover rate of 18.7%. When Monmouth turns over the ball at a similar or higher rate, the team has a superb 5-1 record.
