The Rider Broncs will be at Mulcahy Campus Center to take on the Iona Gaels in a Metro Atlantic Athletic matchup. Action begins at 8:00 pm ET on Thursday, Jan. 7 and will air on ES3.
The Gaels come into this game on a high note after defeating Niagara 65-52 on Monday. Jordan Washington played a key role with 20 points, eight rebounds, and two blocks. The Broncs, meanwhile, are coming off a 64-60 loss against Quinnipiac on Monday. Teddy Okereafor led the game in scoring with 30 points.
Iona is a nine-point favorite against Rider and the Over/Under (O/U) for this game is sitting at 143 points. The Gaels come into this game 7-6 Straight Up (SU) and 5-7 Against The Spread (ATS). The Gaels are one of the best in Division I in terms of three-point field goals, making 10.0 shots per game from beyond the arc. Iona has the 22nd-most assists in Division I, averaging 17.4 per game.
Across the court, the Broncs have 4-10 SU and 2-8 ATS records. Rider has been particularly bad ATS over its past 10 matchups, going 1-5.
This game marks the first time these teams will play this season. The last time these conference rivals played, Iona won, bringing its SU record to 9-1 over Rider in their most recent games. Additionally, Iona leads the matchup ATS with a record of 7-3. When it comes to field goals, rebounds, or three-pointers, neither team was able to hold the advantage in all three of these categories over their past five meetings against one another.
Predictions: SU Winner – Iona, ATS Winner – Iona, O/U – Over
Notes
Iona is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Iona’s last 5 games.
Iona is 21-2 SU in its last 23 games at home.
Iona is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Rider.
Iona averages 78.7 points per game (ranked 77th). Rider, on the other hand, allows 67.6 points per game (ranked 106th).
On average, Iona has 72.8 possessions per game and scores 1.081 points on each possession. Rider has both fewer possessions (65.7) and scores fewer points during those possessions (.984).
The Rider Broncs average an effective field goal percentage of 48.6% this season. The Iona Gaels have a poor record of 2-5 when opponents have an eFG% of 48.6% or greater.
On average, the Iona Gaels attempt 26.0 three point field goals per game and the Rider Broncs attempt 20.0. In games where they attempt at least 20 threes, Iona has a 7-6 record and Rider has a 4-3 record.
Iona ranks 58th in the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.30. Rider is ranked lower at 190th with an A/TO of 1.02.
Rider has forced an average turnover rate of 17.2% this season. In games where its turnover rate is 17.2% or higher, Iona is an even 4-4.
