Iona Gaels men's basketball

Iona Gaels
Iona Gaels
	2019–20 Iona Gaels men's basketball team
University	Iona College
Head coach	Rick Pitino (1st season)
Conference	MAAC
Location	New Rochelle, New York
Arena	Hynes Athletic Center ; (capacity: 2,611)
Nickname	Gaels
Colors	Maroon and gold;
Uniforms
Home	Away ;
NCAA tournament round of 32
	1980*
NCAA tournament appearances
	1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2006, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019; vacated by NCAA
Conference tournament champions
	1982, 1984, 1985, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2006, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
Conference regular season champions
	1983, 1984, 1985, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2019

The Iona Gaels men's basketball team represents Iona College in New Rochelle, New York in NCAA Division I competition. The school's team competes in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) and plays home games in Hynes Athletic Center.^[2] On March 14, 2020, the Gaels hired Rick Pitino as their head coach.^[3]

History

Iona College has been competing in Division I basketball since the school's inception in 1940. Iona is also one of the founding members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, which began play in men's basketball with the 1981–82 season. The Gaels have compiled the most victories of any MAAC team since the founding of the conference and have won a league record twelve MAAC titles (1982, 1984, 1985, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2006, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019). They appeared in the NCAA tournament in 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2006, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019; with the first two of those appearances coming as a member of the Metropolitan Conference and in 2012 as an at-large selection out of the MAAC. The Gaels have also been to 4 NITs, in 1982, 1983, 1996, and 1997. In 2011, the Gaels made it to the final game of the CIT post-season tournament, losing at home to Santa Clara.

Postseason

NCAA Tournament results

The Gaels have appeared in 14 NCAA Tournaments. Their combined record is 1–13.^[4]

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1979	First Round	Penn	L 69–73
1980*	First Round Second Round	Holy Cross Georgetown	W 84–78 L 71–74
1984	First Round	Virginia	L 57–58
1985	First Round	Loyola Chicago	L 58–59
1998	First Round	Syracuse	L 61–63
2000	First Round	Maryland	L 59–74
2001	First Round	Mississippi	L 70–72
2006	First Round	LSU	L 64–80
2012	First Four	BYU	L 72–78
2013	First Round	Ohio State	L 70–95
2016	First Round	Iowa State	L 81–94
2017	First Round	Oregon	L 77–93
2018	First Round	Duke	L 67–89
2019	First Round	North Carolina	L 73–88

NIT results

The Gaels have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) six times. Their combined record is 1–6.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1982	First Round	Rutgers	L 51–55
1983	First Round Second Round	St. Bonaventure Nebraska	W 90–76 L 73–85
1996	First Round	St. Joseph's	L 78–82
1997	First Round	Connecticut	L 66–71
2014	First Round	Louisiana Tech	L 88–89
2015	First Round	Rhode Island	L 75–88

CIT results

The Gaels have appeared in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) one time. Their record is 3–1

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
2011	First Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Championship Game	Valpariso Buffalo East Tennessee State Santa Clara	W 85–77 W 78–63 W 83–80 L 69–76

Victories over ranked opponents

Feb. 21, 1980: Iona 77, Louisville 60 (Madison Square Garden)
Dec. 27, 2002: Iona 65, North Carolina 56 (Madison Square Garden)
Nov. 26, 2005: Iona 89, Iowa State 72 (Ames, Iowa)

Gaels in the NBA

Richie Guerin (Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, 2013)
Jeff Ruland (1984 All-Star Selection)
Steve Burtt, Sr.
Sean Green
Scott Machado

References

^ "Logo Library - ICGaels.com". June 26, 2017. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
^ MAAC men's basketball media guide Archived 2012-03-02 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed March 9, 2012.
^ "Rick Pitino returns to college hoops as Iona coach". ESPN.com. 2020-03-14. Retrieved 2020-03-18.
^ Associated Press, "Brigham Young storms back in NCAA tournament opener", USA Today, 13 March 2012.

External links

Official website

[1] "Logo Library - ICGaels.com". June 26, 2017. Retrieved November 30, 2017.

[MAAC-2] MAAC men's basketball media guide Archived 2012-03-02 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed March 9, 2012.

[3] "Rick Pitino returns to college hoops as Iona coach". ESPN.com. 2020-03-14. Retrieved 2020-03-18.

[4] Associated Press, "Brigham Young storms back in NCAA tournament opener", USA Today, 13 March 2012.

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v t e Iona Gaels men's basketball
Venues	Joseph E. O'Connell Memorial Gymnasium Hynes Athletics Center (1974–present)
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of 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 2024–25

v t e Iona University
Located in: New Rochelle, New York
Academics	Elizabeth Seton College Institute of Thomas Paine Studies
Athletics	Iona Gaels Men's basketball Women's basketball Baseball Softball Hynes Athletics Center Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
People	List of Iona University alumni
Founded: 1940

v t e Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference men's basketball
Teams	Canisius Golden Griffins Fairfield Stags Iona Gaels Manhattan Jaspers Marist Red Foxes Merrimack Warriors Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers Niagara Purple Eagles Quinnipiac Bobcats Rider Broncs Sacred Heart Pioneers Saint Peter's Peacocks Siena Saints
Tournament & awards	MAAC men's basketball tournament Coach of the Year Player of the Year Rookie of the Year
Seasons	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