Follow or fade me on this play at your own peril. @)
I believe the Saint Peters Peacocks will cover the +6 over Iona College at the Gaels home court (Hynes Athletic Center) in New Rochelle, New York. Both these teams are members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC).
Saint Peters is 8-8 overall and 6-1 in conference play (1st place). They are 4-6 SU this year on the road.
Iona College is 9-8 overall and 6-2 in conference play (tied for 2nd place). They are 7-2 SU this year at home
Saint Peter's won their 3rd straight game with a 77-71 road win over Fairfield this past Tuesday 19th night. Iona lost their 2nd in a row as they were edged 79-75 on the road by Rider last Sunday 16th.
According to the most current up to date (Thursday 21st) KENPOM 2016 overall ratings, Saint Peters is ranked #175 and Iona #144.
Saint Peter's offense is ranked #258, while their defense is ranked #83.
Iona's offense is ranked #84, while their defense is ranked #228.
According to the above KENPOM rankings, the Iona should cruise to a comfortable victory over Saint Peter's, right?
DEFENSE CARRYING THE DAY FOR SAINT PETER'S
Saint Peter's may be on top of the MAAC standings so far, but they need to put up more offense to sustain their success. The Peacocks are 277th in the nation by scoring 68.8 points per game this season. Saint Peter's is shooting just 43.1 percent from the floor as a team this season. The Peacocks are knocking down 6.7 three pointers a night while just hitting 33.8% from beyond the arc. Saint Peter's gets to the free throw line 20.9 times a night but they struggle to shoot 64.7% from the stripe. ANTWON PORTLEY is the leading scorer for the Peacocks as he puts up 15.3 points a night.
The Peacocks are decent on the defensive end as they are 98th in the nation in scoring defense as they allow 67.7 points a game. Opposing teams are shooting 41.7% from the floor against the Peacocks. Saint Peter's gives up 7.4 three point field goals a night while opponents shoot 33.9% from beyond the arc. The Peacocks see their opponents get to the line 19.8 times per game and the opposition shoots 67.1% from the line. QUADIR WELTON (10.7 points, 7.5 rebounds) and TRAVIS WYCHE are both scoring in double figures for Saint Peter's. CHAZ PATTERSON, CAMERON JONES, and RODNEY HAWKINS each put up at least 5.8 points a night.
IONA'S OFFENSE LOSES KEY COMPONENT AND DEFENSE IS SHAKY
Iona is a high scoring offensive team as they are 52nd in the nation averaging 79.8 points per game. The Gael shoot 45.1% from the floor this season. Iona is sinking a solid 9.7 three point
field goals per game and shooting 36.3% from beyond the arc. The Gaels reach the free throw line 20.8 times per game and knock down 71.8% of their chances. A.J. ENGLISH is the team's leading scorer with 25.4 points, 4.4 boards along with 6.1 assists per game, but he's missed 5 games already this season due to injuries. DEYSHONEE MUCH and ISAIAH WILLIAMS are both putting up more than 12 points per games. JAHAD PROCTOR, SCHADRAC CASMIR, AARON ROUNDTREE, TAYLOR BESSICK and IBN MUHAMMAD are each putting up at least 4.1 points a game for Iona. MUCH has missed 3 games and CASHMIR will miss his 14th game of the season in this one.
KEY PLAYER SUSPENDED FOR THIS GAME! Iona's second leading scorer is JORDAN WASHINGTON. He contributes 15.8 points and 6.1 boards per contest. Washington will be serving the 2nd in a 2 game suspension for his part in a postgame altercation after Saint Peter's loss to Monmouth. The loss of Washington for this game will certainly have a major impact on Iona's offense.
The Gaels have had major defensive issues this season as they enter this contest 290th in the nation with 77.1 points per game allowed. Opposing teams shoot 43.2% from the field against Iona. The Gaels give up 7.9 three point field goals per game on 36.5% shooting from three point range. Iona allos 22.6 free throw attempts and the opposition sinks 69.9% on those chances. The Gaels force 13.4 turnovers and records 7.4 steals per game.
ATS Trends
Saint Peter's Peacocks are:
6-1 ATS in their last 7 games against MAAC teams
9-2 ATS this season YTD on the road
7-2 ATS in their last 9 games on the road
4-1 ATS in their last 5 games on the road
4-1 ATS in their last 5 games vs. teams with a winning record
15-3 ATS this season YTD overall
9-3 ATS last 12 games overall
4-1 ATS last 5 games overall
Iona Gaels are:
1-6 ATS in their last 7 gaes at home vs. teams with a losing record
0-4 ATS in their last 4 games after a SU loss
0-4 ATS in their last 4 games after an ATS loss
2-8 ATS this season YTD at home
0-8 ATS in their last 8 games at home
5-14 ATS this season overall
1-11 ATS in their last 12 games overall
CONCLUSION
Iona has struggled in their last two games and will be minus a key component as JORDAN WASHINGTON serves the 2nd game of his suspension here.
Saint Peter's has been playing well in conference play and has been playing sound defense. It's certain that the Peacocks will have their hands full slowing
the Gaels' offense, but they'll take advantage of Iona's weak defense.
I see Saint Peter's hanging in close enough within the +6 to cover, and there's a real possibility they may even steal the game outright for the SU win!
Good luck to anyone who tails me on this play.
!/
k:
