IMO Manhattan's team peaked during the ECAC Holiday Season tournament in late December. They had already upset St John's and they were out to win this tournament to prove to everyone that they were now the #1 team in the Big Apple.
Manhattan easily won the early game in a sloppy ten point victory over Fordham. In the second game of the doubleheader, Iona played the full 40 minutes and prevailed over a talented Seton Hall team (minus one of its starters).
In the final the next afternoon, Manhattan came out like a team possessed while Iona looked like they hadn't slept. Manhattan was up by 6 at the half and then the Jaspers outscored the Gaels 16-4 over the next eleven mnutes. Manhattan was up by as many as 17 before Iona made a 14-2 run, cutting the deficit to 5 with 1:46 left. Manhattan ended up winning 69-58.
Following the tournament, Manhattan rolled off easy conference wins against Niagara and Fairfield at home and they started getting some votes in the Top 25 rankings.
But in their last four, Manhattan has struggled a bit. All four of these games were close (5 points or less) and the Jaspers split the four games, losing 3 of 4 ATS including a loss to Rider at home after being favored by ten.
Iona is an inconsistent team, in their last home game they were very aggressive against a talented Fairfield team, outrebounding Fairfield 45-27 and their defense kept Ajou Deng in check.
But then they lost at Siena when they shot just 34% from the field.
Why I like Iona:
1. Manhattan's last four games have all been close, I don't see them running away from Iona here. In fact I see this as one of those MAAC games that's decided in the final minute, so I like the home dog and 4.5 points.
2. If Iona comes out aggressively like they did vs Fairfield, they should outrebound Manhattan. Iona has the best rebounding trio in the conference as Courtney Fields, Dyree Wilson and Greg Jenkins are combining to pull down 18.6 rpg.
3. Junior guard Maceo Wofford has been on fire lately; since the Holiday Festival he's shooting 54% from the floor including 60% (37 for 68) from the arc.
4. Iona is the MAAC regular season champion, which they've won four of the last six seasons. As they always play well in league play, I'm sure they'll step it up tonight against the contender to the throne.
5. At 5-5 in league play, Iona can't afford another loss, especially as a win would push Manhattan to 8-2.
6. Coach Jeff Ruland's teams always play their best ball in league play; in his four seasons Iona is 16-15 in December, 23-14 in January, 15-9 in February and 6-2 in March.
7. Iona has been promoting this game for at least two weeks and should have a sell-out crowd at Mulcahy Center tonight.
8. In their last four games, Manhattan has only shot 39% from the field well below their season average of 47%.
good luck
Manhattan easily won the early game in a sloppy ten point victory over Fordham. In the second game of the doubleheader, Iona played the full 40 minutes and prevailed over a talented Seton Hall team (minus one of its starters).
In the final the next afternoon, Manhattan came out like a team possessed while Iona looked like they hadn't slept. Manhattan was up by 6 at the half and then the Jaspers outscored the Gaels 16-4 over the next eleven mnutes. Manhattan was up by as many as 17 before Iona made a 14-2 run, cutting the deficit to 5 with 1:46 left. Manhattan ended up winning 69-58.
Following the tournament, Manhattan rolled off easy conference wins against Niagara and Fairfield at home and they started getting some votes in the Top 25 rankings.
But in their last four, Manhattan has struggled a bit. All four of these games were close (5 points or less) and the Jaspers split the four games, losing 3 of 4 ATS including a loss to Rider at home after being favored by ten.
Iona is an inconsistent team, in their last home game they were very aggressive against a talented Fairfield team, outrebounding Fairfield 45-27 and their defense kept Ajou Deng in check.
But then they lost at Siena when they shot just 34% from the field.
Why I like Iona:
1. Manhattan's last four games have all been close, I don't see them running away from Iona here. In fact I see this as one of those MAAC games that's decided in the final minute, so I like the home dog and 4.5 points.
2. If Iona comes out aggressively like they did vs Fairfield, they should outrebound Manhattan. Iona has the best rebounding trio in the conference as Courtney Fields, Dyree Wilson and Greg Jenkins are combining to pull down 18.6 rpg.
3. Junior guard Maceo Wofford has been on fire lately; since the Holiday Festival he's shooting 54% from the floor including 60% (37 for 68) from the arc.
4. Iona is the MAAC regular season champion, which they've won four of the last six seasons. As they always play well in league play, I'm sure they'll step it up tonight against the contender to the throne.
5. At 5-5 in league play, Iona can't afford another loss, especially as a win would push Manhattan to 8-2.
6. Coach Jeff Ruland's teams always play their best ball in league play; in his four seasons Iona is 16-15 in December, 23-14 in January, 15-9 in February and 6-2 in March.
7. Iona has been promoting this game for at least two weeks and should have a sell-out crowd at Mulcahy Center tonight.
8. In their last four games, Manhattan has only shot 39% from the field well below their season average of 47%.
good luck
