2020–21 Iona Gaels men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Iona Gaels men's basketball team represented Iona College in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Gaels, led by first-year head coach Rick Pitino, played their home games at the Hynes Athletic Center in New Rochelle, New York as members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, they finished the season 12–6, 6–3 in MAAC play to finish in a tie for ninth place. As the No. 9 seed in the MAAC tournament, they defeated Quinnipiac, Siena, and Niagara to advance to the tournament championship game. They defeated Fairfield to win the tournament championship and earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. They received a No. 15 seed in the East region, and lost in the first round to No. 2 seed Alabama 55–68.[3]

2020–21 Iona Gaels men's basketball
MAAC tournament champions
NCAA tournament, first round
ConferenceMetro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Record12–6 (6–3 MAAC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaHynes Athletic Center
2020–21 MAAC men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
Siena124 .750125  .706
Monmouth126 .667128  .600
Saint Peter's108 .5561411  .560
Marist108 .556129  .571
Niagara79 .438911  .450
Canisius75 .58376  .538
Fairfield711 .3891017  .370
Quinnipiac710 .412913  .409
Iona63 .667126  .667
Manhattan612 .333713  .350
Rider513 .278617  .261
Note: The MAAC has ordered standings based on league wins, not winning percentage, since all teams did not reach 20 conference games played. These standings were also used for seeding purposes in the 2021 MAAC Tournament.[1][2]
2021 MAAC tournament winner

The Gaels marked the fifth team Pitino had taken to the NCAA Tournament, tying him with Lon Kruger and Tubby Smith, for the record for most teams taken to the tournament.[4]

Previous season

The Gaels finished the 2019–20 season 12–17, 9–11 in MAAC play to finish in a tie for sixth place. As the No. 7 seed in the MAAC tournament, they defeated Canisius,[5] before losing to Saint Peter's in the quarterfinals.[6]

Following the season, head coach Tim Cluess stepped down as head coach of the Gaels due to health concerns.[7] A day later, the school named Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino the Gaels' new head coach.[8]

Roster

2020–21 Iona Gaels men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
G 0 Berrick JeanLouis 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)195 lb (88 kg) JrFlorida SouthWestern State Lehigh Acres, Florida
G 1 Colton Cashaw 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)185 lb (84 kg) SrSpartanburg Methodist College Charlotte, North Carolina
G 2 Asante Gist 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)185 lb (84 kg) SrEastern Kentucky East Orange, New Jersey
G 3 Ryan Myers 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)170 lb (77 kg) FrChrist the King High School Brooklyn, New York
G 4 Parker Weiss 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)175 lb (79 kg) SoCommunity School of Naples Naples, Florida
G 5 Tahlik Chavez 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)160 lb (73 kg) SoGarden City Community College Arlington, Texas
F 11 Dwayne Koroma 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)190 lb (86 kg) FrBishop Walsh School Berlin, Germany
F 12 Jordan Brooks 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)190 lb (86 kg) FrBosco Institute Grayson, Kentucky
G 13 Omar Rowe 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)185 lb (84 kg) FrTaylorMade Academy Queens, New York
F 15 Johan Crafoord 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)230 lb (104 kg) FrGlove Prep Christian Academy Stockholm, Sweden
G 20 Isaiah Ross 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)200 lb (91 kg) SrUMKC Davenport, Iowa
F 23 Nelly Junior Joseph 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)230 lb (104 kg) FrNBA Academy Africa Benin City, Nigeria
F 24 Dylan van Eyck 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)210 lb (95 kg) SrNortheastern Oklahoma A&M Boskoop, Netherlands
G 44 James Carey 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)160 lb (73 kg) SoGettysburg College Pelham, New York
F 50 Trey James 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)240 lb (109 kg) FrMartin County High School Inez, Kentucky
F 55 Osborn Shema 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)200 lb (91 kg) SoNew Mexico Military Institute Kanombe, Rwanda
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Roster
Last update: January 30, 2021

Schedule and results

On February 22, 2021, the Iona men's basketball team was placed on another COVID-19 pause due to a player testing positive for the virus the previous day. The school effectively canceled their remaining five conference games, but participated in the MAAC Tournament.[9]

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular season
November 30, 2020*
9:00 pm, FS1
at Seton Hall L 64–86  0–1
Prudential Center 
Newark, NJ
December 5, 2020*
4:00 pm, FloSports
at Hofstra W 82–74  1–1
Mack Sports Complex 
Hempstead, NY
December 8, 2020*
3:00 pm, ESPN3
Morgan State L 72–83  1–2
Hynes Athletic Center 
New Rochelle, NY
December 11, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPNU
at Fairfield W 70–42  2–2
(1–0)
Alumni Hall 
Fairfield, CT
December 12, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Fairfield L 52–67  2–3
(1–1)
Alumni Hall 
Fairfield, CT
December 18, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Rider W 70–56  3–3
(2–1)
Alumni Gymnasium 
Lawrenceville, NJ
December 19, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Rider W 72–64  4–3
(3–1)
Alumni Gymnasium 
Lawrenceville, NJ
December 23, 2020*
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Coppin State W 85–65  5–3
Hynes Athletic Center 
New Rochelle, NY
February 12, 2021
5:00 pm, ESPN+
Manhattan W 85–67  6–3
(4–1)
Hynes Athletic Center 
New Rochelle, NY
February 13, 2021
5:00 pm, ESPN+
Manhattan L 70–77  6–4
(4–2)
Hynes Athletic Center 
New Rochelle, NY
February 17, 2021
4:00 pm, ESPN+
at Quinnipiac L 70–74  6–5
(4–3)
People's United Center 
Hamden, CT
February 19, 2021
6:00 pm, ESPNU
Monmouth W 91–86  7–5
(5–3)
Hynes Athletic Center 
New Rochelle, NY
February 20, 2021
6:00 pm, ESPN+
Monmouth W 88–65  8–5
(6–3)
Hynes Athletic Center 
New Rochelle, NY
February 24, 2021
5:00 pm
at Marist Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues McCann Arena 
Poughkeepsie, NY
February 27, 2021
2:00 pm
Siena Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues Hynes Athletic Center 
New Rochelle, NY
February 28, 2021
6:00 pm
Siena Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues Hynes Athletic Center 
New Rochelle, NY
March 4, 2021
4:00 pm
Saint Peter's Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues Hynes Athletic Center 
New Rochelle, NY
March 5, 2021
4:00 pm
Saint Peter's Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues Hynes Athletic Center 
New Rochelle, NY
MAAC tournament
March 9, 2021
5:00 pm, ESPN+
(9) vs. (8) Quinnipiac
First round
W 72–48  9–5
Boardwalk Hall 
Atlantic City, NJ
March 10, 2021
5:00 pm, ESPN+
(9) vs. (1) Siena
Quarterfinals
W 55–52  10–5
Boardwalk Hall 
Atlantic City, NJ
March 12, 2021
5:30 pm, ESPNews
(9) vs. (5) Niagara
Semifinals
W 70–64  11–5
Boardwalk Hall 
Atlantic City, NJ
March 13, 2021
4:00 pm, ESPNU
(9) vs. (7) Fairfield
Championship
W 60–51  12–5
Boardwalk Hall 
Atlantic City, NJ
NCAA tournament
March 20, 2021
4:00 pm, TBS
(15 E) vs. (2 E) No. 5 Alabama
First Round
L 55–68  12–6
Hinkle Fieldhouse 
Indianapolis, IN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern.

Source[10]

References

  1. "2020-21 Basketball Tiebreakers" (PDF). MAAC Sports. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
  2. "2020-21 Men's Basketball Standings". MAAC Sports. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  3. "Iona vs. Alabama – Game Recap – March 20, 2021 – ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
  4. Gleeson, Scott. "Rick Pitino is back in the NCAA Tournament – with the Iona Gaels". USA TODAY. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
  5. "Iona MBB Defeats Canisius In MAAC Championship Opening Round". Iona College Athletics. March 10, 2020. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  6. "Estrada's basket carries Saint Peter's past Iona". ESPN. March 11, 2020. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  7. "Iona College basketball coach Tim Cluess resigns due to health". The Journal News. March 13, 2020. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  8. "Iona Hires Rick Pitino as Its New Coach". The New York Times. March 14, 2020. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  9. Braziller, Zach (February 22, 2021). "Iona basketball goes on another COVID-19 pause". New York Post. Retrieved February 22, 2021.
  10. "2020-21 Men's Basketball Schedule". Iona College Athletics. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
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