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
Conference	Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Record	12–6 (6–3 MAAC)
Head coach	Rick Pitino (1st season)
Assistant coaches	Tom Abatemarco Casey Stanley Ricky Johns
Home arena	Hynes Athletic Center
Seasons ← 2019–20 2021–22 →

2020–21 MAAC men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Siena	12	–	4		.750			12	–	5		.706
Monmouth	12	–	6		.667			12	–	8		.600
Saint Peter's	10	–	8		.556			14	–	11		.560
Marist	10	–	8		.556			12	–	9		.571
Niagara	7	–	9		.438			9	–	11		.450
Canisius	7	–	5		.583			7	–	6		.538
Fairfield	7	–	11		.389			10	–	17		.370
Quinnipiac	7	–	10		.412			9	–	13		.409
Iona †	6	–	3		.667			12	–	6		.667
Manhattan	6	–	12		.333			7	–	13		.350
Rider	5	–	13		.278			6	–	17		.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
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Berrick JeanLouis 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Florida SouthWestern State Lehigh Acres, Florida G 1 Colton Cashaw 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Spartanburg Methodist College Charlotte, North Carolina G 2 Asante Gist 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Eastern Kentucky East Orange, New Jersey G 3 Ryan Myers 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr Christ the King High School Brooklyn, New York G 4 Parker Weiss 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) So Community School of Naples Naples, Florida G 5 Tahlik Chavez 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 160 lb (73 kg) So Garden City Community College Arlington, Texas F 11 Dwayne Koroma 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Bishop Walsh School Berlin, Germany F 12 Jordan Brooks 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Bosco Institute Grayson, Kentucky G 13 Omar Rowe 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr TaylorMade Academy Queens, New York F 15 Johan Crafoord 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Fr Glove Prep Christian Academy Stockholm, Sweden G 20 Isaiah Ross 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr UMKC Davenport, Iowa F 23 Nelly Junior Joseph 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Fr NBA Academy Africa Benin City, Nigeria F 24 Dylan van Eyck 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Northeastern Oklahoma A&M Boskoop, Netherlands G 44 James Carey 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 160 lb (73 kg) So Gettysburg College Pelham, New York F 50 Trey James 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Fr Martin County High School Inez, Kentucky F 55 Osborn Shema 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So New Mexico Military Institute Kanombe, Rwanda	Head coach Rick Pitino (UMass) Assistant coach(es) Tom Abatemarco (Dowling) Casey Stanley (Iona) Ricky Johns (Monroe) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on   Injured   Current redshirt 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.