Once Upon A Time In Las Vegas – Championship Sunday
The Iona Gaels (13-6, 10-9 ATS, 10-9 O/U) meet with the Siena Saints (13-7, 12-7-1 ATS, 12-8 O/U) in a MAAC showdown on Friday evening. The Gaels defeated Manhattan in overtime last time out. The Saints lost to Fairfield in their previous action. Each squad recorded one home victory in last year's two meetings.
The Iona Gaels are seeking their third win in four games in this one. Iona lost a narrow 70-67 home decision against Rider last weekend and rebounded by outlasting Manhattan in an 84-76 overtime road win last time out to climb to 6-2 in conference action. The Gaels' only other conference loss was a rough 81-58 road decision to Quinnipiac. The Gaels have been assigned large spreads recently and have not covered in four consecutive games.
Daniss Jenkins has hit a bump, shooting below 39% in three of his last four games. The junior guard has scored at least 16 points in four of his last five clashes and leads the squad with 16.3 PPG and 4.8 APG. Nelly Junior Joseph has been outstanding, recording a double-double in six consecutive MAAC games. The junior forward enters with an average of 15.6 PPG accompanied by 8.7 RPG. Quinn Slazinski has scored double-digits in just one of his last five bouts. Th e senior forward has recorded an average of 11.3 PPG on a 42% mark from the field.
U4 1H (2:42): #Iona 34, #Manhattan 24
Berrick starting to cook. He's got 7.#GaelNation #MAACHoops
??@ESPNPlus pic.twitter.com/RBXwH0DEeN— Iona Men's Basketball (@IonaGaelsMBB) January 21, 2023
The Gaels are ranked 78th in DI in Ken Pomeroy’s ratings and are 2-3 on the road this season including a win against Marist. Iona is posting an average of 76.4 points on the season, landing them 76th. The Gaels have squandered 70 or more in three of their last four games and are conceding an average of 67.4 points, positioning them 133rd.