1979–80 Iona Gaels men's basketball team

1979–80 Iona Gaels men's basketball
1979–80 Iona Gaels men's basketball
ECAC Metro tournament champions
NCAA tournament, Second Round
Conference	Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Ranking
AP	No. 19
Record	29–5 ( ECAC Metro)
Head coach	Jim Valvano (5th season);
Home arena	Hynes Athletic Center

The 1979–80 Iona Gaels men's basketball team represented Iona College during the 1979–80 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Gaels, led by fifth-year head coach Jim Valvano, played their home games at the Hynes Athletic Center. The Gaels won the ECAC Metro Basketball tournament to receive a bid to the 1980 NCAA tournament. As the No. 6 seed in the East region, the Gaels defeated No. 11 seed Holy Cross in the opening round[1] – the first and only NCAA Tournament victory in school history.[2] Iona was narrowly defeated by No. 3 seed Georgetown in the round of 32.[3] As of the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, this is the furthest any Iona men's team has ever advanced in the NCAA Tournament.

1979–80 ECAC Metro men's basketball standings
	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 19 Iona		–		–	28	–	4	.875
Saint Peter's		–		–	22	–	9	.710
Long Island		–		–	14	–	12	.538
Wagner		–		–	14	–	13	.519
Siena		–		–	14	–	14	.500
Fairleigh Dickinson		–		–	13	–	14	.481
St. Francis (NY)		–		–	11	–	15	.423
Fairfield		–		–	11	–	16	.407
Fordham		–		–	11	–	17	.393
Army		–		–	9	–	17	.346
Manhattan		–		–	4	–	22	.154

† 1980 ECAC Metro tournament winner Rankings from AP poll *Iona vacated NCAA Tournament games due to NCAA sanctions. Disputed record (29–5)

On February 21, Iona halted No. 2 Louisville’s 18-game winning streak by dominating the Cardinals, 77–60, at Madison Square Garden.[4] It was the last game Louisville would lose during the season en route to winning the 1980 NCAA Championship. It was the 12th straight of what would end up being a 17-game win streak for the Gaels.

Roster

1979–80 Iona Gaels men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown
G	14	Kevin Hamilton	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	—	Sr
G		Glenn Vickers	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	—	Sr
C	43	Jeff Ruland	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	Jr	Sachem HS	Lake Ronkonkoma, New York

Head coach

Jim Valvano

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster

[5]

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
Nov 30, 1979*		vs. No. 14 Texas A&M Great Alaska Shootout	W 78–52	1–0	Buckner Fieldhouse Anchorage, Alaska
Dec 1, 1979*		vs. Long Beach State Great Alaska Shootout	W 86–75	2–0	Buckner Fieldhouse Anchorage, Alaska
Dec 2, 1979*		vs. No. 2 Kentucky Great Alaska Shootout	L 50–57	2–1	Buckner Fieldhouse Anchorage, Alaska
Dec 8, 1979*		at Saint Mary's	W 79–73	3–1	McKeon Pavilion Moraga, California
Dec 11, 1979*		at San Francisco	L 66–76	3–2	War Memorial Gymnasium San Francisco, California
Dec 15, 1979*		Fairleigh Dickinson	W 75–58	4–2	Hynes Athletic Center New Rochelle, New York
Dec 23, 1979*		Belmont Abbey	W 54–48	5–2	Hynes Athletic Center New Rochelle, New York
Dec 28, 1979*		Air Force Iona Classic	W 64–51	6–2	Hynes Athletic Center New Rochelle, New York
Dec 29, 1979*		St. Bonaventure Iona Classic	W 75–67	7–2	Hynes Athletic Center New Rochelle, New York
Jan 3, 1980*		Wichita State	W 84–70	8–2	Hynes Athletic Center New Rochelle, New York
Jan 5, 1980*		at No. 18 Georgetown	L 84–95	8–3	McDonough Gymnasium (3,805) Washington, D.C.
Jan 7, 1980*		Baltimore	W 68–51	9–3	Hynes Athletic Center New Rochelle, New York
Jan 12, 1980*		at Alabama-Birmingham	W 70–65	10–3	Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center Birmingham, Alabama
Jan 17, 1980*		McNeese State	W 76–66	11–3	Hynes Athletic Center New Rochelle, New York
Jan 19, 1980*		at Niagara	W 88–74	12–3	Niagara Falls Convention Center Lewiston, New York
Jan 21, 1980*		at Pittsburgh	L 63–75	12–4	Fitzgerald Field House Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Jan 23, 1980*		Colgate	W 54–49	13–4	Hynes Athletic Center New Rochelle, New York
Jan 26, 1980*		at Holy Cross	W 82–67	14–4	Hart Center Worcester, Massachusetts
Jan 30, 1980*		at Wagner	W 77–73	15–4	Sutter Gymnasium Staten Island, New York
Feb 2, 1980*		at Fordham	W 65–59	16–4	Rose Hill Gym Bronx, New York
Feb 4, 1980*		Saint Peter's	W 65–62	17–4	Hynes Athletic Center New Rochelle, New York
Feb 7, 1980*		Kansas	W 81–77	18–4	Madison Square Garden New York, New York
Feb 9, 1980*		Army	W 67–54	19–4	Hynes Athletic Center New Rochelle, New York
Feb 11, 1980*		Saint Francis (PA)	W 72–62	20–4	Hynes Athletic Center New Rochelle, New York
Feb 14, 1980*		at Manhattan	W 70–57	21–4	Draddy Gymnasium New York, New York
Feb 16, 1980*		at Long Island University	W 85–72	22–4	Schwartz Athletic Center
Feb 18, 1980*		Siena	W 84–72	23–4	Hynes Athletic Center New Rochelle, New York
Feb 21, 1980*		No. 2 Louisville	W 77–60[4][6]	24–4	Madison Square Garden New York, New York
Feb 23, 1980*		at Fairfield	W 74–53	25–4	Alumni Hall Fairfield, Connecticut
ECAC Metro tournament
Feb 28, 1980*		Fairleigh Dickinson Quarterfinals	W 69–53	26–4	Nassau Coliseum Uniondale, New York
Feb 29, 1980*		vs. Siena Semifinals	W 76–70	27–4	Alumni Hall Queens, New York
Mar 1, 1980*		vs. Saint Peter's Championship game	W 64–46	28–4	Nassau Coliseum Uniondale, New York
NCAA tournament
Mar 7, 1980*	(6 E) No. 19	vs. (11 E) Holy Cross First round	W 84–78[1]	29–4	Providence Civic Center Providence, Rhode Island
Mar 9, 1980*	(6 E) No. 19	vs. (3 E) No. 11 Georgetown First round	L 71–74[3]	29–5	Providence Civic Center Providence, Rhode Island
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. All times are in Eastern Time.

[7][8]

Rankings

Awards and honors

Jeff Ruland – All-American, Haggerty Award, Great Alaska Shootout Tournament MVP

NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	NBA club
2	25	Jeff Ruland	Golden State Warriors

[9]

References

"Iona Beats Holy Cross, Meets GU". The Washington Post. March 8, 1980. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
"Iona Wins, 84-78, In East Regional; First N.C.A.A. Victory". The New York Times. March 8, 1980. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
"Georgetown Nips Iona to Gain East Semifinals". The Washington Post. March 10, 1980. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
"Iona Upsets Louisville; De Paul (24-0) Wins; Conqueror of St. John's". The New York Times. February 22, 1980. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
"1979–80 Iona Gaels Roster and Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
"Iona MBB To Honor 40 Year Anniversary of Historic 1980 Victory Over Louisville". Iona College Athletics. January 27, 2020. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
"1979-80 Men's Basketball Schedule". Iona College Athletics. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
"2019-20 Iona Men's Basketball Record Book" (PDF). Iona College Athletics. p. 52. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
"1980 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved January 30, 2022.

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[ncaa-hc-1] "Iona Beats Holy Cross, Meets GU". The Washington Post. March 8, 1980. Retrieved January 30, 2022.

[ncaa-hc2-2] "Iona Wins, 84-78, In East Regional; First N.C.A.A. Victory". The New York Times. March 8, 1980. Retrieved January 30, 2022.

[ncaa-hoyas-3] "Georgetown Nips Iona to Gain East Semifinals". The Washington Post. March 10, 1980. Retrieved January 30, 2022.

[louisville-4] "Iona Upsets Louisville; De Paul (24-0) Wins; Conqueror of St. John's". The New York Times. February 22, 1980. Retrieved January 30, 2022.

[5] "1979–80 Iona Gaels Roster and Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved January 30, 2022.

[6] "Iona MBB To Honor 40 Year Anniversary of Historic 1980 Victory Over Louisville". Iona College Athletics. January 27, 2020. Retrieved January 30, 2022.

[7] "1979-80 Men's Basketball Schedule". Iona College Athletics. Retrieved January 30, 2022.

[8] "2019-20 Iona Men's Basketball Record Book" (PDF). Iona College Athletics. p. 52. Retrieved January 30, 2022.

[9] "1980 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved January 30, 2022.

Iona Gaels men's basketball
Venues	Joseph E. O'Connell Memorial Gymnasium Hynes Athletics Center (1974–present)
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1940–41 1941–42 1942–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24