Saint Peter’s vs Iona Prediction and Betting Preview
SportsMemo content contributor Kyle Kargel gives his Saint Peter’s vs Iona prediction in the MAAC. At the time of posting, the Gaels have opened as a 4.5-point road favorite over the home Peacocks, with the total sitting at 134.5 points.
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Tuesday, February 15 | MAAC Betting Notes |
---|---|
Point Spread: | Saint Peter’s Peacocks +4.5 vs Iona Gaels |
Total: | 134.5 Points |
Game Time: | 7:00pm ET / 4:00pm PT |
Arena: | Yanitelli Recreational Life Center in Jersey City, NJ |
TV: | ESPN3 |
Saint Peter’s vs Iona Analysis
Iona looks to get it back in gear heading down the home stretch of the MAAC conference schedule. They travel to Saint Peter’s tonight to take on the Peacocks who sit 2.5 games back of Iona for the conference lead.
The Gaels only have two conference losses on the season but those losses have come in their past three games to Siena and Niagara.
They won their last game against Monmouth and in total their past five games have all been decided by single digits which includes a 85-77 home win against Saint Peter’s back on January 30.
Iona has shown their vulnerability as a conference standings leader and Saint Peter’s will be looking to take advantage of that as they look for revenge at home tonight.
Gaels Getting it Done in the MAAC
Besides their conference losses, Iona hasn’t lost a game they should’ve won. Their other three losses this season are to Belmont, Kansas and Saint Louis. The Gaels play tough driving to the rim consistently generating the third most free throws per game of any team in the country at 23.5.
They could be shooting it better from the stripe as they only shoot it at just over 70%. They rank 18th in the country in percentage of points per game coming from the free throw line. The Gales rank 4th in total free throws made this year.
Iona plays consistently on both sides of the ball with an overall ranking in the top 90 nationally in both adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency.
Sharing the ball is also a part of the Gaels game plan as they rank in the top 40 nationally in assists per game. Nelly Junior Joseph is the big man inside the Gaels like to play through as he averages over 12 points and 8 rebounds per game.
He also makes it happen on the defensive side averaging a steal and two blocks per game as well. Team leader is Tyson Jolly who averages 34 minutes per game scoring just under 15 points per game.
Peacocks Petering Out on Offense
The Peacocks continue to struggle on offense only scoring 67 points per game as a team which is good for 286th nationally. Their effective field goal and two point field goal percentage both rank outside the top 300 overall. They don’t play fast which limits their possessions.
They struggle to take care of the ball with only so many times possessing it as they cough it up over 21% of times on offense which is 328th in the country.
The Peacocks make up for their lack of offense on defense as they rank in the top 60 in adjusted defensive efficiency and the top 40 in other key defensive categories including three point field goal percentage, effective field goal percentage, and forcing turnovers.
Junior forward KC Ndefo is the difference maker on the team as he’ll be looking to make sure Iona doesn’t get to the rim easily. He averages over 2.5 blocks per game. He actually had an 11 block game 11 days ago in their game against Quinnipiac.
Primary scorer is Daryl Banks III averaging over 11 points per game while shooting over 91% from the free throw line, good for 14th in the country overall.
Saint Peter’s vs Iona Prediction
Iona heads into this game as 4.5 point favorites and will look to take a commanding three game lead over the next best teams in the conference.
They have to feel like there is no other team in the conference better than them and it’s time to prove it as there are only five games left after this one. I think they head into Jersey City and cover the spread although judging by their most recent games, it could be a 5-9 point win.
Prediction: Iona -4.5
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Saint Peter’s vs Iona Preview from GoldSheet
College Basketball Stat Sheet
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